Keeping It Heel
Fansided

The UNC Basketball program’s Top 10 players of the 1990s

By Nick Delahanty

7 Dec 1996: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith confers with guard Ed Cota during the Pepsi Challenge against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC won the game, 86-75. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /
7 Dec 1996: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith confers with guard Ed Cota during the Pepsi Challenge against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC won the game, 86-75. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones / /
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Apr 5, 1993; New Orleans, LA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Michigan Wolverines forward Juwan Howard (25) and Chris Weber (4) battle for position against North Carolina Tar Heels center Eric Montross (00) during the 1993 NCAA Men’s Final Four championship game at the Superdome. North Carolina defeated Michigan 77-71. Mandatory Credit: MPS-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 1993; New Orleans, LA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Michigan Wolverines forward Juwan Howard (25) and Chris Weber (4) battle for position against North Carolina Tar Heels center Eric Montross (00) during the 1993 NCAA Men’s Final Four championship game at the Superdome. North Carolina defeated Michigan 77-71. Mandatory Credit: MPS-USA TODAY Sports /

UNC basketball 1990s top player No. 4: Eric Montross

Career Stats: 11.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 58.5 FG%

For a program that has had its fair share of dominant big men, Eric Montross ranks among the best of them.

As a three-year starter, Montross was the Tar Heels leading scorer during the 1992-1993 season (his junior year), a season in which the UNC basketball program went 34-4 and ended with a national championship.

Montross used his 7-foot, 270-pound frame to his advantage, as he was an elite rebounder and rim protector. He put together three seasons in which he averaged seven or more rebounds per game, hauling in 941 career boards as a Tar Heel.

As a senior, Montross averaged just under two blocks per game, as the big man made it a habit of causing problems for opponents who tried to drive near the basket.

During his career in Chapel Hill, Montross was a two-time consensus All-American, two-time All-ACC selection as well as a two-time All-ACC Tournament recipient. His dominant college career led him to be the ninth overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, and his 00 jersey hangs in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center as an honored jersey number.

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