North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball

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North Carolina Tar Heels
University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Conference	ACC
Location	Chapel Hill, NC
Head Coach	Roy Williams (5th year)
Arena	Dean Smith Center (Capacity: 21,750)
Nickname	Tar Heels
Colors	Carolina Blue and White
Uniforms
Home     Away
NCAA Pre-Tournament Era Champions
1924
NCAA Tournament Champions
1957, 1982, 1993, 2005
NCAA Tournament Runner Up
1946, 1968, 1977, 1981
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1941, 1946, 1957, 1959, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Conference Tournament Champions
1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1945, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008
Conference Regular Season Champions
1935, 1938, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008

The University of North Carolina's men's basketball program is a successful college basketball program. Considered to be "one of the dominant basketball teams in the NCAA history"^[1][2], the Tar Heels have won four NCAA championships and 17 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles. The program is well-known for its famous alumni, such as Michael Jordan, coaching history, and a rivalry with the Duke University Blue Devils (a team located only eight miles away in Durham, North Carolina). The rivalry is widely regarded as one of the most intense in all of sports.^[3]

On January 21, 2007, UNC became only the second college basketball program to reach 1,900 wins in its history. The University of Kentucky was the only previous school to reach this mark. The Kansas Jayhawks have since become the third team to reach 1,900 wins.

[edit] Team history

UNC played its first basketball game against Virginia Christian, on January 27, 1910, a 42-21 win for UNC^[4]. Since then the Tar Heels have amassed an all-time 1,950-699 (.736) record (through the 2007-2008 season)^[4]. UNC's 1,950 wins are second all time, behind the University of Kentucky's 1,966 wins.

The 1924 Tar Heels squad went 26-0 and was retroactively awarded the national championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1936. The Helms Foundation named its own national college basketball champion for each year from 1936 through 1982. The foundation also retroactively awarded championships from 1901 through 1935. While the 1924 team was undefeated, they did not play a single opponent from north of the Mason-Dixon Line; indeed, intersectional play would not start on a regular basis for another decade. However, the 1924 Tar Heels did beat the University of Kentucky Wildcats that season in a battle of what most considered the two best teams in the nation.

The Tar Heels won their first NCAA Championship under coach Frank McGuire in 1957. The 1957 championship team was led by Lennie Rosenbluth and several other transplants from the New York City area. C.D. Chesley, a Washington, D.C. television producer, piped the championship game in Kansas City to a hastily-created network of stations across North Carolina--an event which proved pivotal in basketball becoming a craze in the state^[5].

McGuire was forced to resign in 1961 after an NCAA violation regarding "improper recruiting entertainment"^[6] and was replaced by one of his assistants, Dean Smith. Smith led the Tar Heels to 13 ACC tournament titles, as well as two NCAA titles in 1982 and 1993. The 1982 squad was led by James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and a young Michael Jordan. The 1993 team starred Donald Williams, George Lynch and Eric Montross. Roy Williams, the current head coach of the Tar Heels, won his first NCAA Championship and the fourth for the university in 2005. The 2005 squad was led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants.

UNC was a member of the Southern Conference from the founding of that conference in 1921 through 1953^[7]. In 1953, UNC split off from the Southern Conference and became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference^[8].

[edit] Streaks

The Tar Heels own several impressive streaks in college basketball history. They appeared in either the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament (NIT) every year from 1967 to 2001--including 27 straight appearances in the NCAA tourney from 1975-2001 (the all-time consecutive appearance record) after that competition allowed more than one team from a conference to get a guaranteed bid. Arizona is second to the Tar Heels with a current streak of 24 NCAA Tournament appearances, which is the longest active streak. The Tar Heels also notched 37 straight winning seasons from 1964 to 2001--the second-longest such streak in NCAA history, behind only UCLA's streak of 54 consecutive winning seasons from 1948 to 2002.

From the ACC's inception in 1953 to 2001, the Tar Heels did not finish worse than a tie for fourth place in ACC play. From 1965 onward, they did not finish worse than a tie for third, and from 1965 to 1986 they did not finish worse than a tie for second. Neither of these streaks have been seriously threatened by another ACC team; during this time the ACC's other six charter members finished first at least once and last at least once, and only Clemson failed to win a tournament title.

All of these streaks ended in the 2001-02 season, when the Tar Heels had an 8-20 season under coach Matt Doherty. They also finished tied for 7th in conference play, behind Florida State and Clemson--their second losing conference record ever (the first being in the ACC's inaugural season).

Additionally, the Tar Heels hold an interesting and unique record in terms of a recurrent head-to-head rivalry. Since the first game in 1926 at Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels have won 53 consecutive home games against Clemson, which has never beaten the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, current as of the 2007-08 season.^[9] The 53rd consecutive win is an NCAA record.

[edit] Honored and retired jerseys

Main article: Honored North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players

Forty-three former North Carolina men's basketball players are honored in the Smith Center with banners representing their numbers hung from the rafters. Of the 43 honored jerseys, seven are retired.

To have his jersey honored, a player must have met one of the following criteria^[10]:

• ACC Player of the Year
• MVP of a National Championship-winning team
• Member of a gold medal-winning Olympic team
• First- or second-team All-America

To have his jersey retired, a North Carolina player must win a widely recognized national player of the year award. Men's basketball player must win one of the following six awards^[11]:

• Associated Press Player of the Year
• Oscar Robertson Trophy, formerly known as the United States Broadcasters Association National Player of the Year
• National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year
• Sporting News Player of the Year
• John R. Wooden Award
• Naismith College Player of the Year

Seven players (including Jack Cobb, whose jersey did not have a number) have had their jerseys retired. Tyler Hansbrough's number 50 will be the eighth jersey to be retired when he leaves school, as in the 07-08 season he won all 6 of the major awards required to have ones jersey retired.^[12]

[edit] Notable players and coaches

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (March 2008).

A tipoff of a UNC-Duke game at the Dean Smith Center

• Larry Brown, Head Coach of the Charlotte Bobcats
• Vince Carter, NBA All-Star
• Ed Cota
• Billy Cunningham, Basketball Hall of Famer, member of the NBA 50 Greatest Players
• Walter Davis, NBA All-Star
• Brad Daugherty, NBA All-Star, NASCAR analyst for ESPN
• Matt Doherty, former UNC player and coach
• Hubert Davis, currently a College Basketball analyst on ESPN
• Raymond Felton, member of the 2005 championship team
• Phil Ford
• Joseph Forte
• Rick Fox, 3-time NBA Champion
• Brendan Haywood
• Tyler Hansbrough
• Antawn Jamison
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Star, innaugural winner of the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year
• Michael Jordan, member of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, member of the 1982 championship team, 6-time NBA Champion, 5-time NBA MVP, 6-time NBA Finals MVP, 3-time NBA All-Star MVP, 10-time NBA Scoring Champion
• George Karl, currently coaches the Denver Nuggets in the NBA
• Mitch Kupchak, current general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA
• George Lynch, member of the 1993 championship team
• Jackie Manuel, former NBADL player, member of the 2005 championship team
• Sean May, member of the 2005 championship team
• Bob McAdoo, NBA Hall of Famer
• Rashad McCants, member of the 2005 championship team
• Eric Montross, member of the 1993 championship team
• Jeff McInnis
• David Noel, member of the 2005 championship team
• Ademola Okulaja
• Julius Peppers, NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl Defensive End for the Carolina Panthers, member of the Tar Heels team that reached the 2000 Final Four
• Sam Perkins, member of the 1982 championship team
• J. R. Reid
• Lennie Rosenbluth
• Lee Shaffer
• Kenny Smith, TNT basketball analyst
• Jerry Stackhouse
• Reyshawn Terry, 2007 2nd round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, member of the 2005 championship team
• Rasheed Wallace, NBA All-Star
• Marvin Williams, member of the 2005 championship team
• Roy Williams, 2007 Naismith basketball hall of fame inductee
• Shammond Williams
• Joe Wolf
• James Worthy, Basketball Hall of Famer, Member of the NBA 50 Greatest Players, member of the 1982 championship team,
• Brandan Wright, 1st round pick of the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA before being traded to the Golden State Warriors

[edit] Awards

National Coach of the Year:

• Frank McGuire - 1957
• Dean Smith - 1977, 1979, 1982, 1993
• Bill Guthridge - 1998
• Matt Doherty - 2001
• Roy Williams - 2006

ACC Coach of the Year:

• Frank McGuire - 1957
• Dean Smith - 1967, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993
• Bill Guthridge - 1998
• Roy Williams - 2006

National Player of the Year:

• Lennie Rosenbluth - 1957
• Phil Ford - 1978
• James Worthy - 1982
• Michael Jordan - 1983, 1984
• Kenny Smith - 1987
• Jerry Stackhouse - 1995
• Antawn Jamison - 1998
• Tyler Hansbrough - 2008

ACC Player of the Year:

• Lennie Rosenbluth - 1957
• Pete Brennan - 1958
• Lee Shaffer - 1960
• Billy Cunningham - 1965
• Larry Miller - 1967, 1968
• Mitch Kupchak - 1976
• Phil Ford - 1978
• Michael Jordan - 1984
• Antawn Jamison - 1998
• Joseph Forte - 2001 (Shared with Duke's Shane Battier)
• Tyler Hansbrough - 2008

ACC Rookie of the Year:

• Sam Perkins - 1981
• Michael Jordan - 1982
• J.R. Reid - 1987
• Ed Cota - 1997
• Joseph Forte - 2000
• Marvin Williams - 2005
• Tyler Hansbrough - 2006
• Brandan Wright - 2007

[edit] Record

[edit] Home venues

• Bynum Gymnasium (1910-1937)
• Woollen Gymnasium (1938-1964)
• Carmichael Auditorium (1965-1986)
• Dean Smith Center (1986-present)

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The 1957 National Championship game versus Kansas was the only triple overtime contest in championship history.^[13]
• Carolina reached the Final Four in 2000 as an 8-seed, their lowest seeding in a Final Four appearance.^[14]
• UNC has appeared in 40 NCAA Tournaments, tied for second all-time behind UCLA (40) and Kentucky (49).^[15]
• UNC has been the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament 12 times, the latest being in 2008 (most #1 seeds all-time)^[16]
• UNC has been ranked in the top 25 AP Poll 703 times (1st all-time).^[4]
• UNC has beaten #1 teams a record 12 times^[4]
• UNC has the most consecutive 20-win seasons, with 31. ^[17]
• UNC has the most consecutive top-3 ACC finishes with 37. ^[17]
• Brendan Haywood recorded the first triple-double in UNC History against the University of Miami December 4, 2001 with a 18 point, 14 rebound, and 10 blocks (also a UNC record) in the contest.^[18]
• The 2008 ACC Tournament was the first time UNC has ever won the ACC Tournament without defeating at least one in-state rival during the tournament.^[19]

[edit] Awards and Achievements

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Carolina-Duke rivalry

[edit] External links

• University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site

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