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CHAPEL HILL – Prior to North Carolina gaining a commitment from Northwestern transfer Pete Nance, projections for the Tar Heels had Puff Johnson and Dontrez Styles battling filling the four spot. They would also spell Leaky Black some at the three.

But with the 6-foot-11 Nance now in the program, and clearly capable of playing the stretch-four role, where exactly do Johnson and Styles fit in this coming season?

They are wings and stretch fours, both players say, with Johnson even calling himself a guard, too.

Here’s the thing: Nance is also a true interior player, having started at center for the Wildcats, so he is used to banging some of the nation’s top big men. He will spell Armando Bacot in the post, and his presence allows UNC Coach Hubert Davis to rest Bacot more this season.

Davis acknowledged his team was tired in the second half of its loss to Kansas in the national championship game, one in which the Tar Heels led by 15 at the half. So, to maintain fresh legs, Davis will use his bench, which means Johnson and Styles will are almost certainly in the rotation and should get plenty of minutes combining at the three and four spots.

“I’ve always been comfortable playing the three, four, guarding the five,” Johnson recently said during an interview in the Smith Center. “I’ve always been comfortable playing aggressive because the bigger they are, the more aggressive you can play with them. If their small guards, you can’t really play aggressive with them and they fall around.

So yeah, I’ve been comfortable guarding fours, fives my whole life sine I’ve been a little kid playing basketball.”

Johnson, a junior who is 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds, played 249 minutes in 24 games last season averaging 10.4 minutes, 3.1 points, and 2.0 rebounds. He converted 28 of 61 shots from the floor (45.9 percent), including 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) from three-point range.

He played 67 minutes in the NCAA Tournament, however, including 18 minutes in the title game, scoring 11 points, grabbing six rebounds, and handing out an assist in the title game. That night, Johnson played 10 minutes at the three, six at the four, and even two minutes at the two.

Styles, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound sophomore, played 175 minutes in 30 games, averaging 5.8 per outing. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.4 rebounds, but handed out just two assists on the season. The Kinston, NC, native was 24-for-55 (43.6 percent) from the field, including 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) from the perimeter.

Now, Styles is also working at the three and four, but his main emphasis this summer is getting more proficient at the wing.

“Right now, I’m mostly playing the three, but Coach Davis told me he wants me a little bit at the four to play a little bit of small ball,” Styles said. “So, I feel like me being a hybrid three and four will be pretty good. A lot of mismatches.”

In 40 minutes over UNC’s first two games of its NCAA run, Styles scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and had two steals. That gave him confidence, but so has the positives coming his way from Davis and teammates.

And his game is being fueled by competing with Johnson for the first reserve off the bench at the three behind returning starter Leaky Black, and even the four.

“Puff is a great player,” Styles said. “Me and him, we’re competing but we’re also best friends off the court. So, it’s going to be a good season.”

With so much focus on Carolina returning four starters from the Iron Five and adding Big Ten honorable mention selection Nance, the guys on the team are well aware of what they need from Johnson and Styles. Both are integral to UNC meeting its mission of cutting down the nets in Houston, site of the 2023 Final Four.

“They can add scoring,” said junior point guard RJ Davis. “Their ability to run the floor, knock down open shots, rebound, defend, that’s something we’re going to need this year, especially going towards tournament time. They’re definitely going to take a big leap.

“They’ve been working really hard throughout the summer in the weight room, on the court. I’m definitely looking forward to them taking that leap this year.”

A leap by Johnson and Styles might give the Tar Heels the best bench in college basketball. And that is saying something given that some prognosticators already believe the Heels have the best starting five, too.