Without Reggie Bullock, James Michael McAdoo would take on a greater role for North Carolina -- if, that is, McAdoo returns to school. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — So Reggie Bullock is leaving North Carolina one season early to follow his dream of playing in the NBA. This isn’t a surprising a decision. It’s probably the right decision, right now, for Bullock.

No, we don’t know how it will turn out. We don’t know where Bullock will be drafted in June, or what might have happened to his draft prospects had he decided to return for his senior season. But we do know this: Bullock comes from a meager financial background. The chance to make money now has to be appealing. And after three years, who knows how much more he could have improved in college.

North Carolina was a good shooting team during the 2012-13 season, but consistent scoring in the post eluded the Tar Heels. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — You might recall that before North Carolina’s season-opener against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 9, I posted a list of 10 questions that surrounded the Tar Heels at the start of the season. You can read those 10 questions right here.

Little by little, UNC provided answers to those 10 questions as the season progressed. And now, with the season complete, those answers are final. So here goes – the questions that surrounded UNC then, and the answers to those questions now, with the season already a memory:

Marcus Paige says he learned from playing against N.C. State's Lorenzo Brown earlier this season. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — Marcus Paige hasn’t re-watched all of North Carolina’s 91-83 defeat against N.C. State. But he watched enough of it to try to learn something from a humbling performance.

“It wasn’t a terrible game for me, personally,” Paige, the Tar Heels’ freshman point guard, said of his play against the Wolfpack when the teams first met on Jan. 26. “But obviously it wasn’t a good game at all. So obviously there’s a lot of room to go up.”

The transition to the college game hasn't been easy for North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the story I wrote about Marcus Paige, the North Carolina point guard who is still transitioning to the college game.

If you’ve been thinking that Paige has looked like a different, better player lately, there’s good reason for that: He told me recently that after a difficult start, he is gaining confidence. It has made a difference.

Stay tuned for some bonus material at some point later …

Brice Johnson's offense was a bright spot for North Carolina during the non-conference portion of the schedule. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — As North Carolina coach Roy Williams said recently, “big-time basketball” is upon us. That being, of course, the start of ACC play. The Tar Heels open the conference portion of their schedule on Sunday night at Virginia, and so now’s as good of a time as there ever will be to take a look back at how UNC fared during the non-conference portion of its schedule.

So without further delay, a look back at the good, the not-so good and everything else in between from the start of the season until now:

North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige is expected to play Saturday against East Tennessee State. ROBERT WILLETT

CHAPEL HILL — Marcus Paige, North Carolina’s freshman point guard, is expected to play on Saturday against East Tennessee State. A UNC basketball team spokesman on Friday described Paige’s status as “probable” for the game on Saturday.

CHAPEL HILL -- The momentum of the dance contest was so strong even Roy Williams couldn’t resist: Freshmen in ballet tutus, salsa moves and a Broadway kick line. When the entire team came to the bench and tried to pull Williams onto the floor, he obliged with a shuffling sort-of shag, never mind the still-healing scars from his kidney surgery.

“I was surprised,” Leslie McDonald said. “I didn’t know he was going to do it at first. But coach Williams is a lovable, passionate type of guy, so when he hears the crowd going, he’s going to get up and dance.”

Williams was caught up in the moment at a Late Night with Roy that was very much a tribute to the coach after his recent cancer scare. His appearance on the court was greeted with a standing ovation, and his official introduction prompted another, prolonged ovation that left Williams visibly emotional.

Incoming North Carolina basketball recruit Marcus Paige has a stress fracture in his left foot, but his high school coach expects him to be healed by the time he arrives at UNC in June.

Paige, a standout point guard at Linn-Mar High in Marion, Iowa, first noticed something was amiss with his foot while he competed in the McDonald’s All-American game last week in Chicago, said Chris Robertson, Paige’s coach at Linn-Mar. Paige was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the days after the game.