CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina etched a permanent place in college basketball history in 1957, as the Tar Heels completed a 32-0 season with a triple-overtime victory over Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in the NCAA title game.

50 years later, members of that team were recognized in the Smith Center on Saturday afternoon, in a memorable halftime ceremony.

Lennie Rosenbluth, the star of UNC's run to the Final Four in Kansas City, and subsequent NCAA championship triumph, believes that the 1957 team played a large role in helping initiate the widespread interest in Tar Heel basketball that exists today.

"I like to say that Coach (Frank) McGuire and the (1957) players, we are the ones that started Carolina back to dominance in basketball," said Rosenbluth.

North Carolina's basketball program enjoyed immense success from the mid-1920s up until the late 1940s, winning several Southern Conference titles and earning a trip to the 1946 Final Four, but the program had fallen into mediocrity by the early 1950s, when McGuire left St. John's to take the UNC job.

McGuire used his New York City pipeline of friends and contacts to secure the Big Apple's top prep basketball talents, and get them to play in Chapel Hill.

When Rosenbluth came to UNC as one of McGuire's first recruits in the fall of 1953, he remembers how little interest there was in Carolina basketball.

"When I came down here, you had to play freshman basketball. You couldn't play varsity. So, we came out of the locker room and up the steps to Woollen Gym for our first freshmen game and we couldn't get into the gym. It was locked," Rosenbluth said.

"When we finally got someone to open the gym, there were like 15 people in the gym. You couldn't give a ticket away in 1953."

By the late fall of 1956, prior to Rosenbluth's senior season, the Tar Heels were ready to make a run at immortality.

The surrounding community had taken notice, and as Carolina pushed towards its national championship, tickets were nowhere near as readily available for games in Woollen.

"By the time 1957 came around, you couldn't get a ticket to the game," he said. "So I like to feel that the 1957 team really started what Carolina basketball is today."

That season, Rosenbluth averaged 27.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, as the Tar Heels became the first team in ACC history, before or since, to complete an undefeated NCAA championship season in men's basketball.

The Tar Heels, deep with talented shooters and defenders, overwhelmed their opponents with precision and speed. In an era where the game was not as finely-tuned from an 'X's' and 'O's' standpoint, UNC made its run to the 1957 title without any type of set offense.

"We didn't have any set offensive plays; it was all freelance," Rosenbluth said.

Pete Brennan, a member of the 1957 team who went on to be named ACC Player of the Year in 1958, echoed Rosenbluth's remarks about the team's offense.

"We didn't run any plays; we just went out and played New York City schoolyard basketball," said Brennan.

Brennan recalled a humorous story about Coach McGuire following Carolina's 54-53 victory over the Jayhawks in the championship finale.

A reporter covering the game figured out that the Tar Heels were not running set plays, and when he asked McGuire after the game, he confirmed that UNC did not have offensive sets.

The reporter said, "How can you do that?" to which McGuire responded, "If I don't know what they're going to do, how is the other team going to know?"

Brennan was a key component of the Tar Heel attack in 1956-1957, and hit a critical shot that kept UNC alive in the NCAA Tournament semifinal against Michigan State.

The Tar Heels, trailing by two points with six seconds remaining in double overtime, were at the free throw line, helplessly standing by as Spartan star Jumpin' Johnny Green prepared to shoot a free throw that could seal victory for the Michigan State.

As Green was about to shoot, one the Spartan forwards said "30-1" to UNC player Tommy Kearns, in reference to what Carolina's record would be if they lost the game.

Green missed the free throw, and Brennan grabbed the rebound.

He dribbled the length of the court and drained a jumper with less than two seconds to play, sending the game into triple overtime, where the Tar Heels finally claimed victory.

"I had decided that if I got the rebound, I was going to take the ball and head straight to the basket," Brennan said of his critical basket.

"I got the ball and I began dribbling down court. When I got down there, there were two Michigan State players in front of me. I had confidence in my jump shot, around the top of the key."

Although the Tar Heels were unable to defend

their NCAA title in 1958, Brennan enjoyed a banner season, earning ACC Player of the Year honors after averaging 21.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

He became just the second player in school history to average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for a whole season, and remains only the fourth to accomplish the feat, joining Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham, and Antawn Jamison.

Brennan is happy that Carolina fans remember him and his team's accomplishments a half-century later, and is pleased with his place in Tar Heel basketball lore.

"We had a book signing (in Chapel Hill) yesterday, and it was supposed to be finished at 1:00 pm, and it didn't end until a quarter until 4:00," said Brennan. "It's amazing to me that 50 years later, people still want my autograph."

For Rosenbluth, whose No. 10 will never again be worn by a North Carolina basketball player, being a part of history is something that brings pride to his entire family.

"It's a great honor to even be talked about in the same breath as (James) Worthy, (Antawn) Jamison and the other players hanging up there," said Rosenbluth.

"The nice thing about it is that as long as there is Carolina basketball, my grandchildren and my son will see my name up there and realize we're part of the Carolina family, and we were the team that really got this started with Coach McGuire."