In a decision that head coach Roy Williams says "came as a complete surprise," North Carolina rising sophomore forwards Travis and David Wear have decided to transfer.

"I met with both kids in mid-April for our typical end-of-year meetings and together we worked on their development plans for next season," coach Williams said. "Both David and Travis seemed to be excited about their futures at North Carolina."

Perhaps the players would like more guaranteed playing time next season at a different school. North Carolina's roster will again be full of 5-star recruits on both the perimeter and front line that will be looking for major playing time.

The twin brothers were 5-star recruits from one of California's top basketball programs, Mater Dei High School. The two 6-foot-10 forwards were highly touted recruits that are expected to become very good players in the future. They both received limited playing time on the deep North Carolina roster in 2009.

Travis Wear averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 32 games, while David Wear averaged 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 27 games before missing the rest of the season with a torn labrum in his left hip.

The transfer of the Wear twins just adds to the list of departing Tar Heels front line players. Starting forwards Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are gone, with Thompson graduating and Davis entering the NBA Draft as a sophomore. The good news is that the 2010-11 roster will have a completely new look from the '09-10 NIT team that was one of the biggest disappointments in the country.

UNC brings in the nation's top high school recruit, #1 ranked 6'8" forward Harrison Barnes, to the team next year. Barnes will join rising junior Tyler Zeller and rising sophomore John Henson for a trio of incredibly talented and highly-touted forwards. But there will be the potential for another year of struggle and growth that the team went through last season.

Ed Davis and Travis and David Wear were victims of the rebuilding year, but will not be at UNC to see success come out of it. Coach Roy Williams can only hope for a different result from the new class of star forwards.

Travis and David Wear have not announced where they plan to transfer to. It's expected that the players will come as a packaged deal and transfer to the same school.

- So what does the twins' transfer mean for North Carolina basketball and its fans? Well, it's obviously bad news. The Wear brothers will be good players in the future, and seem like solid candidates to stay around as 4-year development players. It's sad to see them leave.

However, there was going to be another log jam for playing time at UNC next season. The loss of the players is not the worst news in the world. Now, coach Williams can focus on developing super-talented forwards John Henson and Harrison Barnes immediately. Tyler Zeller will be the veteran of the group and look to aid their development. The lack of bench depth at the forward position is the major loss, but that's more of a luxury problem than a major issue.

The back court will be loaded with talent in 2010. Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland will be greatly improved as playmakers, and Will Graves should start as a sharpshooting wing. 5-star recruits Reggie Bullock an Kendall Marshall will come off the bench and be expected to contribute right away.

The talent is still there for North Carolina to succeed and be much improved in the 2010-11 season. Unfortunately, Roy Williams will be without 2 guys that he expected to be major contributors to the team. The success of the Tar Heels next season might correlate directly with the play of young forwards Harrison Barnes and John Henson.

North Carolina will certainly be a team to watch next season. Hopefully, it will be because they exceed expectations as a young group, and not because they struggle mightily without much experience.