6/22/2021 basketball Edit

No. 5: Antawn Jamison

Antawn Jamison exploded onto the seen as a fershman and never let up, posting highly impressive numbers at UNC. (AP)

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

No. 5

Name: Antawn Jamison

Position: Forward

Jersey #33

Years: 1995-98

Honors: National Player of the Year 1998; Three-time All-America 1996, 1997 & 1998; Three-time, first-team All-ACC 1996, 1997 & 1998; ACC Player of the Year 1998; ACC Rookie of the Year 1996; ACC Male Athlete of the Year 1998; NCAA East Region MVP 1998; ACC Tournament MVP 1998; Freshman All-America 1996; Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY 1998; Named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team; Elected to NABC Hall of Fame in 2021; UNC jersey is retired.

Notable Stats: Eighth all-time with 1,974 points; Averaged 22.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in 1998; Career 19 points and 9.9 rebounds per game; single season record 316 field goals in 1998; seventh all-time at UNC with 1,027 rebounds; 389 rebounds in 1998 are fourth highest in UNC history; 57.7 percent career field goal percentage.

In Closing: Jamison helped lead the Tar Heels to ACC Tournament titles and Final Four appearances in 1997 and 1998. He was on pace to become UNC’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader had he returned for his senior season. He also was the first freshman to ever lead the ACC in field goal percentage (62.4 percent). Jamison averaged 30.3 points and 12 rebounds per game in three home wins over Duke, including scoring 35 points in a rout of Duke in 1998 while touching the ball for just 53 seconds. He was named ACC Player of the Week 12 times, which is tied for the most times ever.

Jamison was just the second Tar Heel and third player in ACC history to be named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, NCAA Regional MVP and National Player of the Year in the same season (1997-98). Perhaps no Tar Heel had a more immediate impact on a Carolina team, as he turned in one of the best freshman seasons ever at UNC, and no Heel had a quicker release near the basket or was quicker with his second jump than Jamison.