UNC men’s basketball legend Lennie Rosenbluth, who led the Tar Heels to a perfect 1956-57 season and a national championship, was posthumously elected to the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 on Tuesday.
Originally from The Bronx, N.Y., Rosenbluth became one of the finest players in program history under head coach Frank McGuire. Rosenbluth played three seasons at Carolina from 1955-57, being named first team All-ACC all three years. He averaged at least 25 points per game in each of those seasons, pairing that with averages of 11 rebounds per game in 1955 and 1956.
But it is Rosenbluth’s senior season which has become known as one of the most memorable in program history. Rosenbluth averaged a UNC single-season record of 28 points per game in 1957, helping the Tar Heels blaze through the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. He was named ACC Player of the Year, a consensus first team All-American and the National Player of the Year, all while leading Carolina to the NCAA title game against Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas.
Rosenbluth and the undersized Tar Heels took the Jayhawks to triple overtime, UNC’s second triple overtime game in a row. Rosenbluth scored 20 of Carolina’s 54 points in the game, but it was Joe Quigg’s go-ahead free throws and steal on the final Kansas possession which sealed the 54-53 victory. With the win, UNC completed a 32-0 season and clinched the program’s first NCAA title in men’s basketball. It was also the first in ACC history.
Rosenbluth’s No. 10 jersey has since been retired by the program. His career scoring average of 26.9 points per game is a Carolina record, and his 2,045 points scored set a then-ACC record and are the most ever by a Tar Heel in three seasons. He also holds single-season school records for points (897) and scoring average (28.0), both set in 1956-57.
Rosenbluth was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1957 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors, who ironically would select Chamberlain just two years later. In 2002, Rosenbluth was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary men’s basketball team.
Rosenbluth died in 2022 at the age of 89.
He is the 15th Tar Heel to be elected to the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Among the other UNC inductees are McGuire, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, James Worthy, Charlie Scott and Tyler Hansbrough.
Featured image via Associated Press
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