Yesterday, ESPN, written by Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf released their top 100 college basketball players ahead of the start of the regular season next week. Three UNC basketball talents find their name on the list.

The first player on the list is Drake Powell. The freshman forward ranks No. 88, according to the writers who had this to say about his impact.

"At 6-5, Powell's greatest strength is probably his versatility. In a landscape full of elite players, he can be a talented scorer and also defend multiple positions -- key for a UNC squad that had a top-10 defense a year ago."

The next player on the list was just 11 spots above Powell and that is guard Elliot Cadeau. Hubert Davis gave high praise over the offseason of Cadeau and his improvements which were noticed by Borzello and Medcalf too.

"He has long been considered one of the elite passers in the country but will look to improve upon his 18.9% 3-point shooting. If he can make strides as a shooter and on-ball defender, he can be one of the best point guards in college basketball."

The last Tar Heel is the best, RJ Davis. Davis came in at No. 2 after a lengthy piece on the debate between fifth-year senior and potential superstar freshman in Duke's Cooper Flagg.

"Davis deserves to be the preseason national player of the year favorite. He was a first-team All-American. He has been to the national title game. He led North Carolina to a 1-seed last season. And he's likely going to put up bigger scoring numbers than Flagg -- and make a legitimate run at becoming the Tar Heels' all-time leading scorer. "

Ultimately, they chose Flagg because of his hype and potential ceiling. However, Davis is still one, if not the, best player in the country.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : Three Tar Heels ranked in ESPN's preseason top 100 college basketball players