(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
No. 1 has helped UNC become No. 1 in almost every decade.
In the summer of 1951, Carolina basketball was coming off its first losing season in 10 years and did not even qualify for the old Southern Conference tournament. The 12-15 record was duplicated the next season, and that was the end for coach Tom Scott.
In 1961, came another change. Frank McGuire resigned after nine mostly successful seasons in the brand-new ACC, including the legendary 1957 team that went 32-0 and won the NCAA championship. He was succeeded by an unknown assistant coach.
In 1971, Dean Smith re-established his program that had reached three consecutive Final Fours by capturing the then-prestigious NIT after winning the ACC regular season with a team picked to finish 6th.
In 1981, the Tar Heels came off Smith’s sixth Final Four by replacing senior Al Wood with a freshman from Wilmington named Michael Jordan, who made the winning shot in the 1982 Final Four.
In 1991, Carolina broke a nine year absence from the last weekend of college basketball by returning to the Final Four and losing to Kansas and Smith protégé Roy Williams in Indianapolis, where thousands of Tar Heels endured Duke winning its first-ever NCAA title.
In 2001, the Tar Heels began the post-Dean Smith/Bill Guthridge era by tying for first place in the ACC under new head coach Matt Doherty, who followed that with a disastrous 8-20 season, paving the way for Roy Williams’ return and his first two national championships.
In 2011, Williams’ program bounced back from the indignity of failing to reach the NCAA tournament for first time as a college coach with the first of nine straight years back in the Big Dance, including his ninth career Final Four and third NCAA title.
And in 2021, Williams stepped down after 38 years as a head coach at Kansas (15) and UNC (18) and becoming the fourth coach in history to surpass 900 career victories.
Williams was succeeded by former UNC player and assistant coach Hubert Davis, the first African-American head basketball coach in Carolina’s history of playing the sport.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines