Well, we’ve finally made it to the cream of the crop. It’s been a long process (see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, 31-40, 21-30, and 11-20), but we’ve now reached the top of the mountain: the ten greatest players in Carolina basketball history!
First, a quick review of 100 through 11: (Click on a name to jump to that player’s details)
I won’t leave you in suspense a second longer.
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To review picks 21-100, see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, 31-40, and 21-30.
Time to introduce numbers 20 through 11.
As alluded to in the George Lynch write-up, Davis is the only member of this list’s top 20 to not have an All-American honor on his resume. While Davis’s scoring averages did not change much throughout his career (14.3 PPG as a freshman, 16.1 as a sophomore, 16.6 as a junior, 15.5 as a senior), he became a more and more efficient scorer (year-to-year TS%’s of: 53.6, 54.4, 58.3, 61.1). Much like Vince Carter, the upperclassman version of “Sweet D” was an efficient and dangerous secondary/tertiary scoring option (behind Ford and Kupchak). On different teams (like, say, the Forte teams of 2000 and 2001), Carter and Davis could have easily been 20-PPG scorers (albeit with a probable loss in efficiency). Davis was a fantastic passer and defender, rebounded well for a wing, and could affect the game in many ways. His most famous Tar Heel memory is probably the long banker against Duke to cap the ’74 “8 points in 17 seconds” comeback. Davis averaged 19.0 PPG and 7.7 RPG (including 31 and 12 in an opening round win against Wake) as the Heels won the ’75 ACCT, but was somehow left off the All-Tournament (first) team. After scoring 22 points in the ’77 ACCT semis, Davis was limited to 8 minutes in the championship game with a broken index finger. He missed the Round of 32 game, struggled in the Sweet 16 (while adjusting to his taped-together fingers), then busted out in the Elite 8. Despite the injury to his shooting hand, Davis averaged 20 PPG (on 64.5% from the field) and 6.3 RPG over UNC’s final three games (Elite 8 versus Kentucky, and Final Four match-ups against UNLV and Marquette). While injuries eventually caught up to the Heels in ’77, Davis’s postseason run was one of the most heroic and memorable in the program’s history. Like Phil Ford, Davis is missing that elusive national championship to complete his legacy. The lack of a ring wasn’t at all related to his stretch-run performance, however. Continue reading
To review picks 31-100, see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, and 31-40.
In his first year on the varsity in 1958, a sophomore Shaffer averaged 11.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and shot 74.1% from the line. Those numbers improved across the board in each of the next two seasons (13.2/7.1/77.1, 18.2/11.2/78.6), culminating in ACC Player of the Year and 1st-team All-American honors in ’60. After a rough start to his ACC Tournament career (4.7 PPG on 31.6% from the field in ’58), Shaffer played extremely well in Raleigh (the annual site of the ACCT in those days). In ’59, he averaged 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds in three ACCT games (including 21 and 21 in the 1st round versus Clemson). He was even better as a senior, averaging 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games. Shaffer made the All-Tournament team in both of those seasons. At a solidly-built 220 pounds (quite big for the late-50s), Shaffer combined physicality, skill, and a soft shooting touch. While he’s the least heralded of Carolina’s ACC POYs (a group that also includes Rosenbluth, Brennan, Cunningham, Miller, Kupchak, Ford, Jordan, Jamison, Forte, Hansbrough, and Lawson), Lee Shaffer has earned his place among the program’s legends.
In what is essentially a glorified practice, it’s hard to draw too many concrete conclusions about what lies ahead for the season. So I’ll try to ignore the big-picture things (e.g., Carolina’s sluggish start, 14-0 run fueled by freshmen + Bullock, etc.) and just post a few observations:
Roy Williams: In observing Roy’s substitution pattern, I was surprised by how closely it resembled his pattern for a typical regular-season game. I thought there might be more experimental line-ups and even more scorer’s-table chaos than usual. Really, though, it was a tight 9-man rotation for most of the game’s first 30 minutes. Bullock replaced Strickland at the 2 around the under-16 timeout, then Strickland replaced Marshall at the 1 near the under-12 timeout. I’d expect that rotation pattern to be rather consistent. The starting 5 played 12.9 minutes as a unit (in which they led 34-23)– a total that’s in line with how they’re used in the regular season. As McAdoo gains seasoning, he’ll be the first frontcourt reserve (it was Watts-for-Henson vs. Pembroke). And the starters will play more total minutes in close games, of course. But already, Roy seems to have a very good handle on how he wants to utilize his personnel this season.
The first 60 selections on the list can be found here: 100-91 (+ methodology), 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, and 50-41.
Phelps was one of the truly elite defenders in Carolina history, winning three straight Carmichael-Cobb awards from ’92-’94 (no easy task with George Lynch, also a top-notch defender, on the roster for two of those years). Like Cota (passing), Phelps (defense) had one truly extraordinary talent. He gets the (slight) nod due to the rest of his game being slightly better than the rest of Cota’s game. After backing up King Rice as a freshman in ’91 (and playing about 10 MPG during UNC’s Final Four run), Phelps moved into the starting line-up permanently in ’92. In February of that season, he set a UNC record with 9 steals against Georgia Tech. He also added 11 assists in that game, demonstrating how profoundly he could affect the outcome on both ends without scoring (he scored just 5 points on 5 FGAs in that game). Phelps steered the Heels to a title in ’93 in his typical fashion– no gaudy stats, just game-changing contributions on both ends (like locking down Cincinnati’s Nick Van Exel in the 2nd half of the Elite 8 contest). As a senior, Phelps made 2nd-team All-ACC, then All-ACC Tournament team by averaging 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 3.0 steals in three UNC wins. His career ended in a disappointing manner as he suffered a concussion after a flagrant foul by BC’s Danya Abrams. Phelps played just 14 minutes in that Round of 32 loss before being injured.
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Due to distribution problems at Maple Street Press, the fifth edition of Tar Heel Tip-off will not be available in a print version this season. I have chosen to make my Tip-off content available to read/download (for free!) at issuu.com, though. This includes a 2011-12 season preview article, as well as four-page player profiles for each of the eight returning rotation players.
If you can’t see it above, check it out at issuu.com.
If you’re just tuning in, catch up with past installments: 100-91 (+ methodology),
90-81, 80-71, 70-61, and 60-51.
Along with classmates Grubar and Clark, Bunting moved right into the starting line-up as a sophomore in ’67, joining “The L & M Boys” (Bob Lewis and Larry Miller) in bringing Dean Smith his first Final Four appearance. Bunting, a three-year starter, was just a role player in his first two seasons (7.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG) before busting out in his All-ACC senior campaign (18.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG). It wasn’t just a matter of having more opportunities, either: after shooting 44.0% from the field and 66.3% from the line as a sophomore/junior, he improved those percentages to 59.8% and 82.7% in 1969. Bunting’s junior-to-senior PPG increase of +10.1 trails only Donnie Walsh’s (+10.2) in Carolina history. Bunting was a huge contributor in the ’69 postseason, too: chipping in 16.0 PPG/9.3 RPG in the ACC Tournament, 18.0/8.5 in the East Regional, and 19 and 7 in the Final Four loss to Purdue. While the Class of ’69 never got over the hump in the Final Four, its three consecutive trips there left an indelible mark on the program– especially considering they were the first three of the Dean Smith era.
The first three installments of this scintillating series can be found here (100-91 + methodology), here (90-81), and here (80-71).
We’ll start this segment with #70.
As a sophomore, Dedmon was the top frontcourt reserve on Carolina ‘s’69 Final Four team (backing up seniors Rusty Clark and Bill Bunting). While Charlie Scott’s 40-point explosion deservedly earns most of the credit for UNC’s victory over Duke in the ’69 ACCT championship game, Dedmon was also sensational. He added 19 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench– Heels other than Scott and Dedmon combined for just 26 points in Carolina’s 85-74 victory. As both a junior and senior, Dedmon led the Heels in rebounding. He added 2.8 assists per game as a senior in ’71– an incredible figure for a center. Dedmon capped off his UNC career by averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over 3 games to win co-MVP of the ACC Tournament (despite losing the pivotal jump ball against South Carolina that cost the Heels the title). He then played an instrumental role in leading Carolina to the NIT championship (back when that was still a really big deal in the one-NCAAT-bid-per-conference era).
If you’ve missed the first two installments, click here (91-100 + methodology):
and here (81-90):
Let’s pick things back up with #80.
After playing sparingly as a sophomore in 1960, Hudock moved into the starting line-up as a junior for the 19-4 ’61 Heels, averaging 12 points and 8 boards. Stars Doug Moe and York Larese graduated following that season and, more importantly to the future of the program, Dean Smith replaced Frank McGuire. In Smith’s first year, Carolina, captained by Hudock, fell to 8-9. Despite the team’s struggles, Hudock averaged a double-double in ’62 on his way to earning 2nd-team All-ACC honors. He can always be remembered as the sole captain of Dean Smith’s first Carolina team.