No. 21: 1981
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. 21 - 1981
Record: 29-8 (10-4)
NCAA Tournament: NCAA Runner-up
ACC Tournament: ACC Champions
Ranking: 6
Coach: Dean Smith
All-Americans: Al Wood; James Worthy.
All-ACC: Al Wood (1st); James Worthy (2nd).
Honors: Al Wood, NCAA West Regional MOP; Sam Perkins, ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP.
What's To Know: The 1981 Tar Heels were 18-6 at one point and 22-7 a few weeks later. Not exactly what you'd expect from a UNC team ranked among the top 30 in the program's history. But they developed into an outstanding team by March, which was reflected in their performance that month.
They really only had three scorers, led by Al Wood and James Worthy, and relied heavily freshmen Sam Perkins and Matt Doherty.
The Tar Heels had three double-digit losses in the regular season, including twice to Wake Forest, but they also had three one-point defeats. Whatever the problem was, however, the Heels corrected it when the postseason arrived. And after all, isn’t that the mission?
Carolina pounded N.C. State and then beat Wake Forest by a point in the ACC Tournament before edging Maryland by a point in cutting down the nets. Their NCAA Tournament run began after getting a bye with wins over Pittsburgh and Utah in a true road game in the Sweet 16 (yes, teams sometimes got to play on their home courts in the NCAAs back then). A 14-point win over Kansas State sent Worthy, Perkins, Wood and company to the Final Four.
There, Wood put on a show for the ages, scoring 39 points, including 17 consecutive for the Tar Heels in the second half of the semifinal victory over Virginia. The Heels lost to Indiana 63-50 just hours after President Reagan was shot, though by the time the game started he was out of surgery and his life was no longer in danger. The game was almost postponed.
The 1981 Tar Heels developed over the course of the season and found a mojo that carried into the following campaign, which also brought on the addition of a freshman from Wilmington who went on to become the greatest player of all time. Narrow wins on the way toward the 1982 national championship were aided by what the 1981 team experienced.
1981 NBA Draft
Al Wood, 1st Round, No. 4 overall selection
Pete Budko, 5th Round, No. 93 overall selection
Mike Pepper, 6th Round, No. 123 overall selection