Sterling Manley quietly had an excellent freshman season for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound power forward came off the bench in each of the Tar Heels’ 37 games last season, and eventually established himself as the team’s best traditional post player. Fellow freshmen Garrison Brooks and Brandon Huffman contributed, too, but it was Manley who put separation between himself and the rest of the pack by season’s end.
Despite playing just 10 minutes per game, Manley averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds during his rookie campaign in Chapel Hill. He hit better than 56 percent of his shots from the floor – tops on the team among players who averaged at least 1.