No. 4: 2005
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. 4: 2005
Record: 33-4 (14-2)
NCAA Tournament: NCAA champions
ACC Tournament: Lost in semifinals
Ranking: 2
Coach: Roy Williams
All-Americans: Raymond Felton; Sean May; Rashad McCants.
All-ACC: Sean May (1st); Raymond Felton (1st); Rashad McCants (3rd); Jawad Williams (3rd).
Honors: Sean May: Final Four MOP, Syracuse (East) Region MOP; Marvin Williams ACC Rookie of the Year; Raymond Felton, Bob Cousy Award.
What's To Know: Never has a senior class at UNC gone from one end of the spectrum to the other quite like the class of 2005. From the worst season in school history (8-20) as freshmen to winning the national championship - with a very public termination of their ex-Tar Heel head coach in the process - Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott and Jackie Manuel can speak of an experience like nobody else that has been a part of this fabled program.
They had help, of course, as the loaded junior class in 2005 led the way, though Williams and Manuel were starters. But point guard Raymond Felton's growth and improved perimeter shooting, Rashad McCants beautifully handled by Roy Williams, and one of the greatest individual runs by a Tar Heel turned in by Sean May were the cornerstones of the championship.
Supremely talented Freshman Marvin Williams accepted a reserve role in his only season as a Tar Heel, and it was enough to give the bench enough bite to cut down the nets for Williams' first national title.
Some pundits discredited Roy Williams by suggesting he won it with Matt Doherty's players, but that’s ignoring the mess he inherited and how much coaching was necessary to get that group in the same page while completely overhauling the culture within the program. He gained the players’ trust and molded them into a fortified and united bunch that ended the season as the best club in the nation. It was one of the great coaching jobs in UNC history.
2005 NBA Draft
Marvin Williams, 1st Round, No. 2 overall selection
Raymond Felton, 1st Round, No. 5 overall selection
Sean May, 1st Round, No. 13 overall selection
Rashad McCants, 1st Round, No. 14 overall selection