Keeping It Heel
Fansided

The 18 greatest UNC basketball players of the Roy Williams era

By Jordan Falls

ST. LOUIS - APRIL 04: Sean May #42 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70 to win the NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Edward Jones Dome on April 4, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS - APRIL 04: Sean May #42 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70 to win the NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Edward Jones Dome on April 4, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: Justin Jackson #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dunks late in the second half against Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Steppig – Pool/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

No. 8: Justin Jackson

A teammate of Joel Berry and the final player ranked on this list from the 2017 National Championship team is Justin Jackson. Again, like several other players on this list, Jackson developed throughout his time in Chapel Hill and became a consistent scoring option for the Tar Heels.

During his freshman season, he played 26.7 minutes per game, making just 30.4% of his three-point attempts, and scored 10.7 points per game. By his final season, he averaged 32 minutes per game, made 37% of his three-pointers, and averaged 18.3 points per game.

Those 18.3 points per game in 2016-2017 led the team in scoring for the season. He also provided 4.7 rebounds per game that season for the Tar Heels. During the 2017 NCAA Tournament, he averaged 34.5 minutes per game, averaging 19.5 points per game, including 16 in the National Championship.

Despite his low numbers in 2015, he was still named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Along with the 2017 National Championship, Jackson had plenty of accolades to show for the season, earning First-Team All-ACC, ACC Player of the Year, and Consensus First-Team All-American.

As with several others on this list, his No. 44 jersey is honored in the rafters of the Smith Center.

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DETROIT – APRIL 04: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels attempts a shot in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats during the National Semifinal game of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship at Ford Field on April 4, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

No. 7: Wayne Ellington

When you look at Wayne Ellington and his statistics, you may think some other players should be ranked higher on numbers alone, and you would be right. However, more goes into this ranking than just stats.

Ellington averaged 28.1 minutes per game during his time in Chapel Hill, scoring 14.5 points per game. However, I don’t have to tell you that the 2008-2009 team was loaded with talent, and the offense was spread equally among the team.

During his final two seasons, he averaged over two made three-pointers per game. His three-point-making ability led to the Tar Heels going to him often in key situations. During the 2009 NCAA Tournament, he hit 53.1% of his three-pointers, including a perfect 3-3 in the National Championship game. He averaged 19.2 points per game in 33.5 minutes during the title run.

His performance in the Final Four earned him NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, leading to his No. 22 jersey being honored in the Smith Center rafters. He was also named Second-Team All-ACC during his sophomore season in 2008.

On some teams, you could argue Ellington would have been the best player, during his time in Chapel Hill, he was the third-best…

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