No. 2: 1982

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.

Record: 32-2 (12-2 ACC)

NCAA Tournament: NCAA champions

ACC Tournament: ACC Champions

Ranking: 1

Coach: Dean Smith

All-Americans: James Worthy; Sam Perkins.

All-ACC: James Worthy (1st); Sam Perkins (1st).

Honors: James Worthy, National Player of the Year, Final Four MOP, NCAA East Region MOP, ACC Tournament MVP; Michael Jordan ACC Rookie of the Year.

What's To Know: One thing that surprises younger UNC fans that didn’t see the 1982 Tar Heels in person or on TV back in the day is they can’t believe one of this great program’s best teams ever wasn’t all that deep. After the starting five, there was a considerable drop off.

Now, part of that is due to just how excellent the starters were. James Worthy was later named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, Sam Perkins was a three-time first-team All-America who played 17 seasons in the NBA scoring 15,324 points and pulling down 7,666 rebounds in the process. He also played in 167 playoff games where he scored another 1,861 points.

Worthy’s No. 42 jersey is retired by the Los Angeles Lakers. He won three NBA titles there, including a Finals MVP, averaged 21.1 points in 143 playoff games and is in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Jordan, well, most everyone knows what Jordan has accomplished.

All three were named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team and combined they scored 69,936 points, grabbed 19,046 rebounds and handed out 10,399 assists while also playing in 489 playoff games.

So, the 1982 Tar Heels were not exactly the deepest team in UNC history, but that trio was so good and dominant along with senior point guard Jimmy Black serving as an extension to Dean Smith on the floor and sophomore Matt Doherty, who is one of the greatest role players ever at Carolina.

In the pre-shot cock and 3-point shot era, the Heels were explosive though statistically not what one might think given the names of the starters and program’s reputation. The Tar Heels scored 80 or more points just three times, but they held opponents to under 50 points 10 times and below 40 points 3 times.

These Heels ran amazing sets and half court stuff, drawn up and executed to near perfection at times, and they got baskets seemingly every time one was needed. They came a game short of winning the national title the year before, falling to Indiana by 13 points and their mission was to make amends, and they did, defeating a terrific Georgetown team in the finals. Carolina barely escaped James Madison in their first NCAA Tournament game, but generated steam and got to Dean Smith's seventh Final Four, where the legendary coach final cut down the nets.

Originally, the '82 team was No. 1 in these rankings, but after thoroughly measuring it versus the other competitor, it became pretty clear the second spot was where the '82 Heels belonged, which is still quite impressive.

Note: Four Naismith Hall of Famers were a part of the 1981-82 UNC basketball team: Smith, Worthy, Jordan and assistant coach Roy Williams. Perkins is in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

1981-82 Schedule & Results

James Worthy, 1st Round, No. 1 overall selection

Jimmy Black, 3rd Round, No. 59 overall selection

Chris Brust, 6th Round, No. 131 overall selection

Jeb Barlow, 7th Round, No. 153 overall selection