CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina has parts, a lot of parts. It’s deep, talented and combines enough experience with some youthful exuberance that will make this an interesting team to chronicle over the next five months.

And yes, it has enough pieces and the leader at the helm to contend for a national championship, but will the Tar Heels develop a level of chemistry always associated with clubs that cut down the nets in April?

That’s the question as the Heels kicked off practice last week and hosted their annual media day Wednesday afternoon at the Smith Center.

The new parts are a grouping unlike any that have entered the fabled UNC program. Three pairs of a different kind:

McDonald’s All-Americans Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot could end up in next summer’s NBA lottery. Freshmen guards Anthony Harris and Jeremiah Francis are overcoming serious injuries and it’s uncertain how much they will contribute this year. And graduate transfers Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce figure to factor significantly in how the Tar Heels’ season plays out.

Four of Carolina’s starters could come from that sextet of newcomers. At least four of the team’s top six or seven players will, and that makes for some interesting dynamics as Roy Williams begins working his magic. The thing is, the chemistry off the court began in the summer, so that’s a good sign.

“I think it’s been driven mostly by BRob (Brandon Robinson) and Garrison (Brooks), they’ve accepted them so quickly,” Williams said, noting the new guys haven’t been treated like new guys. “It’s never been these are the old guys and these are the new guys, it’s never been that from the first day of practice.

“And I think because the other things we do in the summer, when the former players are here, it’s always the current team against the former players. I think going through that in the summer does help pull them all together.”

Add that Anthony and Bacot brought strong personalities into the mix, something that’s not always widely embraced by returning players. Egos are a way of life in any field, and sometimes monster distractors in athletics.

But not with this group.

“The team really embraced me,” said Bacot, whose preference for fun and zaniness has been apparent on social media and among his teammates. “I came in talking from day one and they all was cool. But I had a relationship with a lot of them prior to coming here, so they all kind of knew who I was, everybody was just cool.”

Often written and talked about, chemistry isn’t the sexiest topic and perhaps for that reason is also one of the most misunderstood by fans and sometimes the media.

Roll out five big-time talents and a team should win, right? Not exactly. Talent is obviously the number one ingredient, but there’s much more to it than that. And besides, as talented and deep as the Tar Heels are, they aren’t overwhelmingly so, and some other teams out there have more of both.

So, building cohesion is as important as staying healthy. But given they have a true point guard in Anthony who gets as much if not more joy out of distributing the ball than anything else helps.

Also add that Williams can comfortably play two legitimate big men on the lower blocks together with Brooks and Bacot helps, too. And then place super-scorer (his teammates’ words) Keeling and jack-of-all-trades Leaky Black in their roles with guys like Pierce, Robinson and perhaps Andrew Platek, and this is a team that should jell over time and find itself battling for something significant in March.

That, of course, is if the chemistry is right. And the early returns are it shouldn’t be an issue.