Coby White, photo via Todd Melet

Coby White is not the best UNC freshman ever – at least not yet.

After he scored 34 points against Syracuse and became the first Tar Heel freshman to go for 30-plus three times, some pundits and stat freaks are calling Coby White the best first-year player in UNC annals.

Numbers aside, Coby isn’t quite there. As a Dean Smith disciple from way back, I believe the best individual performance must culminate with something special for your team. And while Coby certainly has a chance to be on a great team, it is too early to tell.

Statistically, Sam Perkins remains the best Carolina freshman. In 1981, he helped the Al Wood-led Tar Heels to a second-place finish in the ACC, a tournament championship over Maryland in Landover and a trip to the Final Four, where Carolina avenged two regular-season losses to Virginia and Ralph Sampson before dropping the NCAA title game to Indiana in Philadelphia on the day Ronald Reagan was shot. Perkins was ninth in the ACC in scoring, fourth in rebounding and won Rookie of the Year easily.

White has a chance to finish among the league stat leaders, currently 11th in scoring and seventh in assists. But the hairy hare has had some very average games and still must quarterback the Tar Heels to a championship of some kind. In some ways, White compares to Phil Ford in the pre-ACC Rookie of the Year era who was the first freshman to win MVP in the 1975 ACC tourmament for the champion Tar Heels.

Of course, Michael Jordan hit the shot that won the 1982 national championship, and will forever be remembered for that. Michael also won ACC Rookie of the Year, but was more of a role player as a freshman on a team with senior Jimmy Black, junior James Worthy and sophomore Perkins.

Other great freshmen on stand-out Tar Heel teams were J.R. Reid, who was ACC Rookie of the Year in 1987, the second Carolina team in four years to go unbeaten in the ACC standings. But Reid did not play on an ACC tournament winner as a frosh or Final Four team ever.

Ed Cota was Rookie of the Year for the 1997 Final Four Heels. So was Joseph Forte in 2000. Marvin Williams, sixth man on the 2005 NCAA champs, also won ACC Rookie of the Year. Tyler Hansbrough was All-ACC and Rookie of the Year to begin a career that ended with the NCAA title.

Coby White won’t win the top rookie, which will go to either Zion or R.J. Barrett. But he can be among the best statistical Tar Heel freshmen on a team that proves to be championship caliber in the end.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Same Old, Same Old
The 208-page report released by UNC this week pertaining to the football scandal revealed few new facts and fewer names – thanks to heavy redaction in almost every document. What it did underscore was the gross lack of oversight in the entire mess. From the first $67,000 paid to a Kansas law firm that was […]
Unanswered Questions
The NCAA’s 38-page report on the Carolina football sanctions is detailed in its outline of violations by the school and the individuals involved (although no names are mentioned; just Student Athlete 1, Student Athlete 2, former assistant coach, former tutor, etc.). But it, as the entire investigation has over the last 22 months, leaves many […]
UNC Formally Cuts Ties With Former Athletes
North Carolina has sent letters of "permanent disassociation" to former Tar Heels football players Marvin Austin, Greg Little and Robert Quinn for NCAA violations that led to criminal charges against five people for violating the state's sports agent law.
Butch Davis' Job Interview
Gravley’s softball interview with Butch Davis came off as just another smooth move by the former Carolina football coach. This time, at least, Davis looked and acted better than on the self-serving YouTube video he released with a pasty complexion, plastered hair and excuses galore. Davis is obviously back in the job market, and […]
Deems May reply to Dr. Harmon
Dear Dr. Harmon, Your August 12 opinion published by Chapelboro.com in response to my feelings of Coach Davis’ firing, indicated that my letter “could not have hit further from the intended mark.” I must respectfully disagree by saying that if my letter elicited  combative responses from you and Mr. Chansky of Chapelboro fame, then the […]
Davis Should Go -- Now
UNC can still begin moving beyond its regrettable football scandal of the last year, regardless of its final fate from the NCAA. Ohio State has conveniently provided Carolina with the model it should use in order to separate a scandalous past from a brighter future.   The Buckeyes, whose transgressions aren’t nearly as severe as […]
Chansky's Notebook: Time Out For Hockey
The next NCAA tournament report is interrupted by . . . While they are still holding on to a playoff spot, the Carolina Hurricanes certainly deserve props for rallying from another bad start to contending for their first trip to the NHL playoffs since three years after their one and only Stanley Cup in 2006, […]
Chansky's Notebook: On To The Next One
I love a coach who no longer has to prove anything. When people ask me about Roy Williams, I give them my opinion: he’s just a good ol’ guy, using the adjective that Williams often does when referring to himself in the third person. In the 31 years as a head coach, Williams has won […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Great American Divide
What a Sunday afternoon for Duke and President Trump. Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that half the country is split down the middle on Duke basketball and President Donald J. Trump. How could you possibly ignore the juxtaposition of the Blue Devils’ last-second escape in the NCAA tournament and the Prez’s acquittal from the […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Hairy Hare
Coby White is not the best UNC freshman ever – at least not yet. After he scored 34 points against Syracuse and became the first Tar Heel freshman to go for 30-plus three times, some pundits and stat freaks are calling Coby White the best first-year player in UNC annals. Numbers aside, Coby isn’t quite […]
›