Stop thinking about North Carolina in terms of what the Tar Heels had lost coming into this season. Yes, Roy Williams' team lost the 2016 national championship game on Kris Jenkins' iconic shot for Villanova. Yes, Carolina lost two of its best players after the season in Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige.

But if No. 4 UNC's dominant march to the title of the Maui Invitational proved anything, it's that it's past time to begin thinking of this team in terms of what it has gained over the past seven months.

Start with Kennedy Meeks, he of the 15-point, 16-rebound double-double against No. 16 Wisconsin in Carolina's 71-56 win over the Badgers in the Maui Invitational final. Meeks is having what might turn out to be a true breakout senior season.

After three seasons of supporting the likes of Johnson and, before that, James Michael McAdoo, Meeks has stepped into the limelight. His workload on offense has jumped to a whole new level, and his rebounding at both ends has continued at its usual heroic levels.

Kennedy Meeks led the way in North Carolina's win over Wisconsin in Maui with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Darryl Oumi/Getty Images

At least so far on the young season, UNC coach Roy Williams has continued to give Meeks the kind of regular, yet capped, minutes that once marked a concern for the big man's conditioning and endurance. But now that he's showing a conspicuously more chiseled physique, this limited-minutes approach is paying dividends in a new way: Meeks plays each possession like a man capitalizing on each precious opportunity.

Not that Meeks is a one-man show. Joel Berry II is shooting 48 percent on his 3s for the season and is now coming off a game in which he riddled the Badgers with 22 points on just 12 shots. If Berry continues to perform this superbly as a scoring point guard, the preseason concerns about replacing a player of Paige's stature will prove to have been just that -- preseason concerns.

With Meeks and Berry teaming with fellow veterans Isaiah Hicks, Justin Jackson and Nate Britt, the Tar Heels are showing a decidedly experienced look this season. That worked well for Villanova last season, after all, and it’s serving UNC's purposes this season. The Heels made Wisconsin look helpless on offense, and it's true that Carolina's size can push opponents out of their routine on that side of the ball.

Then again, North Carolina is likely to be better at scoring than it is at preventing scores. It's early, but thus far in 2016-17 the Tar Heels have been hitting their shots, including their rare tries from beyond the 3-point line, and, of course, pounding the offensive glass.

Still, even a team brimming with juniors and seniors has room for a freshman as talented as Tony Bradley. The 6-foot-10 big man has kept up with Meeks in the race for highest offensive-rebound percentage in Division I (no small feat) while making a very high percentage of his 2s. That Bradley has earned consistent minutes on a team of this caliber speaks volumes about his potential.

Most of all, UNC is gaining momentum at 7-0. Williams' men will need it -- badly -- in their next game, at Indiana next week. The Hoosiers just lost on the road to Fort Wayne, but Bloomington is a very tough place to play.

The tests will keep coming for North Carolina (did I mention the game coming up against Kentucky in Las Vegas in a few weeks?), but now we know the Heels won't be defined by a heartbreaking loss or by the players who are no longer here. On the contrary, this team sees a goal, the program's sixth national title. Carolina sees its objective and is gaining on it.