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CHAPEL HILL — The buzz around the Dean Smith Center is all about the talented stable of freshmen recruited to win and win now.

But make no mistake: This is Deon Thompson's North Carolina team; these are Marcus Ginyard's Tar Heels.

A season after winning a national championship then saying goodbye to five of its top seven scorers, North Carolina opens the college basketball season at home tonight against Florida International (7 p.m., ESPNU).

There are a lot of unknowns with this mostly untested, inexperienced group. At least one thing is certain: Thompson and Ginyard are the undisputed leaders.

"(Leadership) is not something Marcus and I talk about," Thompson said. "I think it's something that's just a given. If you lead by example, people will follow. It's part of out job to communicate with the young guys, and do it the right way."

Thompson, a beefy 6-foot-9 power forward, is the lone starter back from last season and the top returning scorer at 10.6 points per game.

Ginyard, a 6-foot-5 senior guard who redshirted last season while recovering from foot surgery, was a starter before the injury and is the Tar Heels' best defender.

"It remains to be seen what kind of job Marcus and Deon do (as leaders), but I think they're going to do very, very well," coach Roy Williams said. "... It's certainly a security blanket for the coaching staff."

Thompson seems particularly well-suited to his new role because this team is built around big men.

Thompson, who at 6-9 is the shortest of the big guys, wears his work ethic on his sleeve. Or, rather, tattooed on his skin. The words on his right wrist read "Take Everything," while his left wrist reads "Give Up Nothing."

He's joined up front by 6-10 Ed Davis, a preseason All-ACC pick, and 7-footer Tyler Zeller. Then there are three 6-10 freshmen: highly-touted John Henson and twin brothers David and Travis Wear.

"We're all very different," Thompson said. "Ty Zeller can really get up and down the court with those long legs and uses a quick little baby hook to score. Ed is a long, bouncy shot-blocker who has that smooth lefty hook. John Henson is more of an inside-out player who can do a lot of things. The twins both have great turnaround jumpers. We're all different, but in a good way because we're compatible with each other."

Thompson, Davis and Zeller are traditional low-post big men, but Williams said the three freshmen forwards have 3-point range on their jump shots and could play some on the perimeter.

"The big key is, who can slide their feet defensively to guard the quick 6-5 or 6-6 kid on the other team?" Williams said. "I think all three of those kids could do it offensively. The question is whether they can do it on the defensive end."

Ah, defense. Ginyard's specialty, and the one area this year's team holds an edge over even last year's national champs.

"I would not be surprised if we are better defensively in December than we were last year with a much more veteran team," Williams said.

A lot of that has to do with sophomore point guard Larry Drew II, who is built differently than last year's star Ty Lawson. Williams said Drew will deflect more passes and is tougher to shoot over than Lawson was.

But Drew is not a scorer. In fact, Henson shot more 3-pointers in the practices leading up to tonight's opener than Drew.

Versatile guard/forward Will Graves of Greensboro, the 2006 News & Record high school player of the year at Dudley, might be the team's best 3-point shooter. Freshmen Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald will also get a chance at shooting guard.

"Two things are unknown about our team," Williams said. "One is the guard play, because we don't have anybody who's ever done it at crunch time. The other is 3-point shooting, because we don't have anybody who's ever done it at crunch time."

Led by Thompson and Ginyard — two guys who have done it at crunch time — the Tar Heels will start uncovering those unknowns tonight.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com