No. 16: 1969
Our series counting down the Top 30 North Carolina basketball teams of all time continues.
Our mission isn't to make any declarative statements, but rather have some fun, give our readers something to discuss, walk down memory lane some and provide a needed escape.
Your thoughts and picks are welcome in our message board thread for this series.
No. 16: 1969
Record: 27-5 (12-2)
NCAA Tournament: NCAA Final Four
ACC Tournament: ACC Champions
Ranking: 4
Coach: Dean Smith
All-Americans: Charlie Scott.
All-ACC: Charlie Scott (1st), Bill Bunting (1st), Dick Grubar (2nd).
Honors: Charlie Scott, ACC Tournament MVP; MOP East Region.
What's To Know: In only three weekly AP polls during the 1968-69 season, The Tar Heels were ranked No. 2 in all but three weekly polls during the 1968-69 season, as UCLA was in the top spot for the entire season. The Tar Heels never dropped below No. 4, which was their final ranking.
UNC basketball clearly had the national respect of sportswriters everywhere as Dean Smith closed out his first decade at the helm. The Tar Heels had been to consecutive Final Fours, played for the national title the season before and had plenty of studs back. They may well have been the second best team in the country until the final weekend of the season when the Final Four was played at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
There, in part because of 26 turnovers, Carolina was blown out 92-65 by Purdue in the national semifinals and then 104-84 by Drake in the consolation game. Closing a season so poorly affects its rating in this series, but it shouldn't take away from how excellent the Tar Heels were for nearly four months.
They reached the 100-point mark eight times, six more times they were in the 90s, and failed to score at least 80 points in only five games. UNC averaged 86 points per contest in winning the ACC Tournament. The great Charlie Scott averaged 22.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game that season. Bill Bunting was at 18 and 7.7, and Rusty Clark at 14.4 and 9.2.
The 1969 team didn't fare well at the Final Four, but it was an excellent team that helped further entrench Smith's Tar Heels as one of the nation's premier programs with an amazing future ahead.
1969 NBA Draft
Bill Bunting, 2nd Round, No. 26 overall selection
Dick Grubar, 6th Round, No. 83 overall selection
Rusty Clark, 11th Round, No. 145 overall selection