Hansbrough's Injury Doesn't Stop Heels From Being Unanimous AP No. 1

Yesterday morning started off pretty well for North Carolina. The Heels were the unanimous choice as the No. 1 ranked team in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll.

Then came news that defending National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough will be out indefinitely with a stress reaction. You'd figure that the luster has fallen off UNC, right?

Not so fast. The Associated Press made North Carolina the first ever unanimous pre-season No. 1 in the poll's history. The Tar Heels are the first team in the 28-year history of the AP's preseason poll to get all No. 1 votes.

"We have a really good group of kids who are working very hard to get ready for a challenging season," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "They've worked so hard because they know they have to prove it on the court. No one gives you any awards for preseason rankings. Our guys know these lofty rankings are a result of what they have done in the past and what people think could probably happen this year. But we have to earn everything out there on the floor."

He's right and the Heels will begin their season in two weeks without their best player.

Last year the preseason AP poll had the eventual Final Four participants ranked in the top four. North Carolina (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), National runner-up Memphis (No. 3) and NCAA Champion Kansas (No. 4) were correctly tabbed as the four best teams before the season began last year.