Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ toughest moments of the past 20 years

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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UNC Basketball
ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 19: Larry Drew II #11 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball past Dogus Balbay #4 of the Texas Longhorns at Cowboys Stadium on December 19, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Missing the NCAA Tournament Part 1

After winning the NCAA Tournament championship in 2009, the Tar Heels bid farewell to Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington. They returned sensational sophomore big man Ed Davis and redshirt senior Marcus Ginyard the following season, while welcoming in one of college basketball’s top-ranked recruiting classes. That class — one that was heralded as the No. 2 freshman class in the nation by 247Sports — was headlined by 5-star power forward John Henson, and boasted four other 4-star recruits.

Things got off to a pretty good start that season, as the Tar Heels rolled off seven victories in their first eight games. That included wins over 15th-ranked Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State. After that, though, things took a sharp turn for the worse.

North Carolina lost two of its next three games, and three out of seven. Then they lost 11 of their 16 Atlantic Coast Conference games, and finished the regular season with a record of 16-16. They were nowhere near earning a bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, and instead accepted a bid to the NIT Tournament. Had it not been for the four wins they rolled off there en route to an NIT title game appearance — which they lost to Dayton — the Tar Heels wouldn’t have had a 20-win season.

Two of their five freshmen — brothers David and Travis Wear — transferred from North Carolina to UCLA during the offseason, and point guard Larry Drew II did the same thing a year later. It ended up working out rather well, however, as pass-first floor general Kendall Marshall took the reins and led a team that featured Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, Tyler Zeller and Henson in the starting five. That core group would go on the win 61 games over the next two seasons, and capture back-to-back ACC regular season titles.

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