Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: The 15 Tar Heels opposing fans hated most

By Blake Cockrum

DETROIT - APRIL 06: Tyler Hansbrough #50 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates with his teammates after they won 89-72 against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship game at Ford Field on April 6, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT - APRIL 06: Tyler Hansbrough #50 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates with his teammates after they won 89-72 against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship game at Ford Field on April 6, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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UNC Basketball
CHARLOTTE, NC – 1989: J.R. Reid #34 of the Charlotte Hornets stands on the court during an NBA game at Charlotte Colesium in 1989. (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images) /

J.R. Reid

J.R. Reid is one of the best players in the history of the UNC basketball program to never appear in a Final Four. He was the face of the Tar Heels in the late 80’s, and had some fierce battles on the court with some of the most iconic players in Duke history like Christian Laettner and Danny Ferry.

Head coach Dean Smith added fuel to the fire when he came to the defense of Reid after seeing a fan’s sign that read, “J.R. CAN’T Reid.” Smith claimed that Reid and fellow Tar Heel Charlie Scott had a higher combined SAT score than that of Laettner and Ferry.

Reid had a terrific three-year run in Chapel Hill, beginning with a wildly successful freshman campaign that saw him average 14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 59 percent from the floor. He also recorded 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.6 minutes per game. He started 31 of the team’s 35 games that season. Reid and company made it to the Elite 8 that year, where a loss to Syracuse ended their 32-win season and bid for a Final Four.

Reid backed up his terrific freshman season with an even better performance as a sophomore. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward scored a team-high 18 points per game during the 1987-88 season alongside the likes of Scott Williams and Jeff Lebo. His 8.9 rebounds led all Tar Heels, too, and he started each of the team’s 33 games. The Tar Heels won the ACC regular season title that season, but again lost in the Elite 8; this time to Arizona.

At the conclusion of his sophomore season, Reid received first team All-American honors. He’d been named first team All-ACC earlier that year.

Reid’s junior season at North Carolina wasn’t quite as dynamic, averaging fewer points (15.9), rebounds (6.3), assists (1.3), steals (0.9) and blocks (0.8) than he did the prior year. He also played less minutes per game than either of his first two seasons in Chapel Hill, though he did notch a career-best 61.4 shooting percentage. The Tar Heels’ title hopes were dashed a round earlier than the two previous seasons, dropping their Sweet 16 matchup with Michigan by a score of 92-87.

Reid was selected No. 5 overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1989 NBA Draft. He played 11 years in the NBA for the Hornets, Spurs, Knicks, Lakers, Bucks and Cavaliers.

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