UNC Basketball: Kanler Coker 2016-17 season preview
Walk-on Kanler Coker enters his final season with UNC but was rewarded before it began
Shea Rush | Brandon Robinson | Seventh Woods | Tony Bradley Jr. | Kenny Williams |Justin Jackson | Joel Berry | Stilman White
North Carolina Tar Heels senior Kanler Coker won’t stuff the stat sheets this season. He won’t be a starer, nor will he be a household name.
But he’s had a unique path to finding Roy Williams’ squad.
Coker started his career in Chapel Hill as a member of the Tar Heels football team. He was a quarterback for the Tar Heels from 2013 to 2014 and served as a backup. Coker appearaed in three games during his two years with the team.
He was recruited after attending both Gainesville North Hall High School and Flowery Branch High School in Georgia.
An elbow injury ended his time on Fredora’s team, so Coker decided to turn his attention to basketball where he played guard in high school.
Williams asked Coker to be a member of the team before one of the Tar Heels Summer practices in 2015 and next thing you know, he’s playing in a Final Four.
For Coker, the decision to play basketball was an easy one. He’s been motivated by the death of his younger brother Keaton who passed away in July 2014:
“It was a no-brainer,” said Kanler. “I think about Keaton smiling down from heaven, and I knew he’d be proud. It was motivation for me the whole time.”
Now Coker enters his senior season as the Tar Heels attempt to finish some business they left on the court and he’s looking to make the most of it.
Looking back at 2015-16
Coker was a member of the Tar Heels team that reached the Final Four and made it to the National Championship Game.
He saw action in 13 total games for the 2015-16 season, highlighted by two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Coker got minutes in the win against Indiana in the Sweet 16 and Syracuse in the Final Four.
Coker was just one-for-four in 16 total minutes, scoring two points in those games. But playing in a Final Four is something he will remember forever.
What to look for this season
Before the season started, it was a special one for Coker.
The senior guard paid his own way to play for the Tar Heels during the 2015-16 season but he won’t have to anymore. Williams announced to the team that Coker had received a scholarship to play basketball at UNC.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard accepted the offer and is now on scholarship as we begin the season.
As for Coker’s role on this Tar Heels team, expect more of the same as in 2015-16.
Coker will see action in games that are out of reach late. He will be part of the Tar Heels “Blue Steel” unit that also features Stilman White.
With the talent on UNC’s roster, finding playing time might be difficult for Coker in games that in reach. He will get one start in UNC’s final home game of the year, which is against Duke and will be a moment Coker has been waiting for.
The Tar Heels open the 2016 season in New Orleans against Tulane on Nov. 11.
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