No. 29: 1940
THI’s annual spring series this year looks at the Top 30 North Carolina basketball teams of all time. We will run the series almost daily until we reach No. 1.
Be sure to check out our Top 20 UNC football series we recently completed.
No. 29: 1940
Record: 23-3 (11-2 Southern Conference)
Postseason: SoCon champions
Ranking: No rankings in 1940.
Coach: Bill Lange
All-Americans: George Glamack.
Honors: George Glamack: consensus National Player of the Year, No. 20 is retired by UNC.
(Note: Only eight teams were in the NCAA Tournament and six in the NIT, but two – Duquesne and Colorado – played in both tournaments, so only 12 teams played in either national tournament that season.)
What's To Know: The only UNC basketball team to not play in a national postseason tournament that made the list, and the 1940 North Carolina hoopsters are certainly worthy of this recognition.
UNC didn't lose until Jan. 30, starting with a 14-0 mark. It lost three of five games to Wake Forest, Virginia and Duke but then closed the season winning its last seven contests, including capturing the Southern Conference Tournament championship. The Tar Heels weren't invited to the NCAA Tournament, but still made their mark.
Not only was this a terrific team that played a role in creating that fabric of the region, but it's also reflected in the rafters in the Dean Dome, as George Glamack's jersey No. 20 is retired. Glamack was a two-time first-team All-America.
CollegeHoopedia.com wrote about Glamack and the 1939-40 season, "North Carolina All-American George Glamack was an inspiration to those fond of individuals overcoming adversity.”
The Spalding Guide noted that "Glamack, who is ambidextrous when on the court, is also so nearsighted that the ball is merely a dim object, but apparently he never looked where he was shooting, depending upon his sense of distance and direction." The secret of "The Blind Bomber" was "looking at the black lines on the court. By doing that he knew where he was in reference to the basket and could measure his shot."
Interestingly, the 1941 team that was invited to the third ever NCAA Tournament didn't make the list, as its 19-9 overall mark simply doesn't stand up to the 23-3 record put forth by this underrated team in UNC lore.