Five Best Power Forwards in UNC Basketball History
Sep 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) talks with James Worthy during media day at the team practice facility in El Segundo. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Honorable Mentions:
George Lynch (1989-93)—12.5 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 1 Final Four, 1 National Championship
Tyler Zeller (2008-12)—12.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1 National Championship, 2nd Team All-American in 2012
James Worthy (1979-82)—14.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1 Final Four, 1 National Championship, 1st Team All-American in 1982
OK, so I know that a lot of people won’t agree with the choice to leave Worthy off of this list. But hear me out. If you go through the other power forwards on this list, they all had better stats at Carolina than Worthy did. All of the other players also were all-Americans for at least one season, and all but two of the other five players won National Championships or reached the Final Four. Worthy undoubtedly had a spectacular career in the NBA, but he wasn’t as good in college as some of the other players on this list. For example, the best numbers that Worthy ever put up in a season were 15.6 points per game (1981-82) and 8.4 rebounds per game (1980-81). Most of the other players on this list averaged better numbers than this over their entire careers.