No. 22: 1995
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. 22: 1995
Record: 28-6 (12-4)
NCAA Tournament: NCAA Final Four
ACC Tournament: Lost in finals
Ranking: 4
Coach: Dean Smith
All-Americans: Jerry Stackhouse; Rasheed Wallace.
All-ACC: Jerry Stackhouse (1st); Rasheed Wallace (1st); Jeff McInnis (3rd).
Honors: Jerry Stackhouse: National Player of the Year.
What's To Know: The sophomore trio of Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis stepped forward in the 1994-95 season and delivered what the much more veteran team of a year earlier didn't. Those Heels were coming off a national championship, but chemistry issues infected the '94 team and it never reached its potential.
The '95 Tar Heels, however, were a tight group on the court. They didn't have much depth but in the end that wasn't really a factor because they were really good together. Add '93 Final Four MOP Donald Williams and junior guard Dante Calabria to the mix, and this was a terrific starting five despite not being all that big.
Tested early, Carolina cruised through a five-game stretch against a slate of Texas, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Cincinnati and Villanova. An overtime loss to Tim Duncan and Wake Forest in the ACC championship game with Wallace hobbled moved the Heels from a 1 seed to a 2 in the South Region. There, Carolina escaped Murray State, thanks to Serge Zwikker's 19 points in place of the injured Wallace, routed Iowa State, and in Birmingham the Heels beat Allen Iverson and Georgetown and a Kentucky team many pundits picked to win it all. But UNC's thin, iron unit was too much for UK's 12-man rotation.
The Heels' 75-68 loss to Arkansas in the Final Four was their third lowest scoring game of the season and came on their worst shooting performance of the campaign. That was disappointing, but overall, this was a very good season for Dean Smith and the program. Stackhouse and Wallace were an outstanding tandem that played with fire, spunk and were one of the most entertaining duos in program history. It was fun and exciting team and maxed out on its potential.
1995 NBA Draft
Jerry Stackhouse, 1st Round, No. 3 overall selection
Rasheed Wallace, 1st Round, No. 4 overall selection