Keeping It Heel
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North Carolina Basketball: 10 players the rivals loved to hate the most

By Joey Loose

Jan 21, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Former North Carolina Tar Heels great Tyler Hansbrough presents forward Armando Bacot (5) with the game ball after the game. Bacot became the all-time Tar Heels rebounding leader during the game breaking Hansbrough’s record. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Former North Carolina Tar Heels great Tyler Hansbrough presents forward Armando Bacot (5) with the game ball after the game. Bacot became the all-time Tar Heels rebounding leader during the game breaking Hansbrough’s record. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 4, 2004; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; UNC’s Rashad McCants scores on a reverse lay up in the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats.Mandatory Credit: Photo By Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright 2004 Bob Donnan
Dec 4, 2004; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; UNC’s Rashad McCants scores on a reverse lay up in the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats.Mandatory Credit: Photo By Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright 2004 Bob Donnan /

4. Rashad McCants

Rashad McCants was at North Carolina for the same three-year period as May, though he didn’t quite have the same sort of villain backstory that May had with Indiana. McCants was a highly-ranked shooting guard from New Hampshire who had three very impressive seasons with the Tar Heels. He’s incurred the ire of not only the Blue Devils, but a few other fanbases in the process.

A two-time All-ACC player, McCants was a scoring machine for the Tar Heels, averaging 20.0 points a game as a sophomore and leading the Tar Heels to the national championship as a junior. He had a few less than memorable performances against Duke but was still a menace for the team against each of their opponents.

What makes McCants memorable were the comments he made after his career at North Carolina, comments that have made him a villain in the Tar Heels’ fanbase. He disparaged the university and his time there and has only just started mending fences in recent years.

He played four seasons in the NBA but spent much of his professional career overseas. He was someone whose play was easy to hate, and the fact that things have become so vicious between him and some of the North Carolina fans makes him an even stronger inclusion on this list.

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