UNC Basketball: My Tar Heel Dream Team

Editors Note: Bryan Finlayson continues his try out here at Keeping It Heel to become a new staff writer.

There has been a lot of talk and debate across the country on whether or not the US Men’s Olympic Basketball team could beat the original “Dream Team” from 1992. Obviously, this is a ridiculous argument. Not only did the 1992 team have 10 of the top 50 greatest players of all time and 11 hall of famers, but they had what 2012 doesn’t………a former UNC basketball player. I don’t understand how there is even a debate at all because the greatest basketball team ever assembled should include at least one player from the greatest college program in the country.

However, we’ve spun our tires too long on this debate. So let’s start a new one shall we?

Who would make Carolina Basketball’s Dream Team?

Criteria: Anyone who has donned a North Carolina uniform is eligible for consideration unless they transferred elsewhere (i.e. Larry Drew II, etc.), 12 players make the roster as they do in the Olympics, players will be selected based purely on their accomplishments at North Carolina and not the NBA, and committed recruits that haven’t played in a game for UNC do not count.
Starting Five

Typically when you make rosters such as this, you list off the reserves first. In this case, I want to start with the starters because, to me, they seem a little more clear cut than the reserves and I think the more debatable players should be saved for last.

Point Guard: Phil Ford — North Carolina has been blessed with many great point guards throughout their history, but none were better than #12. Ford may not have won a national championship at North Carolina, but he did rack up three All-American awards and was named the National POY in 1978 after putting up 20.8 ppg. Today, Phil continues to remain the precedent by which all other point guards are measured.

How many great point guards that came after Ford would have came to Carolina if he never existed? There is no way we can tell, but my guess would be that things would have turned out a lot different. Phil Ford was the perfect player to run Dean Smith’s innovative schemes. I don’t think any point guard could ever run the four corners like Ford did.

Ford left North Carolina as the all time leading scorer with 2,290 points. He was the complete package as a North Carolina point guard and rightfully deserves a spot in this starting lineup. Oh yeah, he won a gold medal as the starting point guard in the 1976 Olympics.

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan — With all of Jordan’s NBA accolades, it’s easy to forget how great of a college career he had. However, the North Carolina faithful remember and they remember well. They are reminded of his greatness every time they enter the mouth of the Dean Dome and see that number 23 hanging front and center in the rafters.

Flashbacks of the game winning shot I alluded to before run through their minds along with tenacious defense, wind mill dunks (Maryland painfully remembers that one), and his tongue hanging out of his mouth; a symbol that when apparent, signaled that something awesome was about to happen.

Michael played three years at North Carolina before departing to become the greatest to ever play the game, before he left he averaged put up 17.7 ppg during his tenure paired with two consensus first team All American selections and the 1984 National POY Award.Oh yeah, he helped UNC win the 1982 championship. It wouldn’t be UNC’s Dream Team without the only North Carolina member on the original “Dream Team”.

Small Forward: Charlie Scott — Some people may find it hard to believe that North Carolina would have a player from the 1960’s make this roster much less the starting lineup, but let me tell you, Scott’s numbers back it up. Scott was a pretty versatile player in his day. He stood around 6’5” and could play guard or forward making him extremely difficult to opponents to guard him. Charlie Scott is most famously known as being the first African-American scholarship player to ever play basketball for UNC.

He was a true pioneer and could play a little bit of basketball as well. Scott averaged 22.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg while at Chapel Hill and like Ford, has an Olympic Gold Medal to his name that he won in 1968. Perhaps Scott’s most defining moment on the basketball court came when he hit the game winning shot against Davidson in the 1969 Elite Eight propelling UNC to its third straight final four. To this day Scott is the only player to have his jersey in the rafters for UNC to have played in three final fours. This position amongst the starting five may be up for the most debate, but Scott has done more than enough on the court to earn it.

Power Forward: James Worthy — When is the last time you’ve seen a Tar Heel run out onto the hardwood sporting the number 52 on his jersey? The correct answer is 1982. James Worthy, or “Big Game James” as he was widely known later into his career, really started a trend of dominant big men to roll through Chapel Hill. As a junior at North Carolina, James led, what is today considered one of the greatest North Carolina teams of all time, to the 1982 National Championship game against the Georgetown Hoyas.  James averaged 15.6 ppg and collecting first team All American honors and the National Player of the Year Award along the way.

The championship game is most famously known for “The Shot” that was made by one of his freshman teammates (not sure anyone remembers who), but James won that game for the Tar Heels. Aside from scoring 28 of the team’s 63 points, Worthy stole a pass from Fred Brown in the final seconds to seal the game for good and by doing, so clinching North Carolina’s first national championship in 25 years.  The moment gave birth to one of the most famous quotes in Carolina history “Throw Away to Worthy!”

Center: Tyler Hansbrough — He is arguably the greatest player to ever suit up for the Heels. Tyler came in as the blue chip prospect on a class that boasted two other McDonald’s All-Americans in 2005. He was given the impossible task of defending a National Championship with a team that had lost its top seven scorers from a year ago to the NBA and graduation. Hansbrough did more than just help the team get by, he averaged 18.9 ppg on his way to being the only freshman in North Carolina basketball history to be awarded first team All Conference honors as a unanimous selection.

Tyler followed up his stellar freshman season with three first team All American selections, the 2008 National Player of the Year award, and of course, the 2009 National Championship.  Tyler Hansbrough’s #50 jersey was retired and hangs proudly in the Dean Dome rafters. He remains The ACC and North Carolina’s all time leading scorer with 2,580 career points. North Carolina has had a number of great centers throughout the years, but none compare to the career of Tyler Hansbrough. It is only fitting that he be named the starting center for UNC’s Dream Team.

Check back later today for Part II The Reserves