The ball arced toward the rim, tracking cleanly — then clanked off the front iron. The Tar Heels survived, eking out a 67-66 victory over Pittsburgh at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.

But to recapture the magic of last year, the Tar Heels will need to replace key positions as players have left. After backing up Madera for the majority of last year, Van De Brake will have to ...