No. 8: 1984

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.

Record: 28-3 (14-0)

NCAA Tournament: NCAA Sweet 16

ACC Tournament: Lost semifinals

Ranking: 1

Coach: Dean Smith

All-Americans: Michael Jordan; Sam Perkins.

All-ACC: Michael Jordan (1st); Sam Perkins (1st).

Honors: Michael Jordan: ACC Player of the Year; consensus National Player of the Year.

What's To Know: If Kenny Smith didn't break his wrist in a January game against LSU, this team might occupy the No. 1 slot in these rankings. They were unbeaten when he went down and were just that good, and in fact the Heels were 21-0 before suffering a loss to Arkansas in Pine Bluff on Feb. 12 of that year.

Michael Jordan was by far the best player in the nation, Sam Perkins was a first-team All-America for the third consecutive season, Smith was excellent as a freshman headed for the top honor for newcomers had he not been hurt, plus also on the roster: 1986 No. 1 overall top NBA pick Brad Daugherty; Joe Wolf (11 years in the NBA); Dave Popson (3 years NBA); in addition to Steve Hale, Buzz Peterson, Curtis Hunter and a three-year starter named Matt Doherty. The chemistry on that team was simply amazing. Its three losses, all of which came after Smith was hurt, were by a total of seven points at Arkansas, versus Duke in the ACC Tournament, and in the Sweet 16 to Indiana.

The Heels went 14-0 in the ACC, won nonconference games over Missouri - the best program in the Big 8 at the time - at Syracuse by 23 and by 13 at a St. John's team that had Chris Mullin.

Smith missed eight games but wore a soft cast when he returned that clearly limited his effectiveness. Dean Smith later suggested he may have brought the point guard back too soon, but it wouldn't have mattered, because Smith never would have been his pre-injured self at any point that season. UNC simply wasn't the same after the injury, though still awfully good.

One could argue this is the best UNC team to never win a national championship, though the 1968 Heels, who are still to come in this series, might have something to say about that.

By the way, this was the last UNC team to play its entire home schedule in Carmichael Auditorium.

1983-84 Schedule & Results

Michael Jordan, 1st Round, No. 3 overall selection

Sam Perkins, 1st Round, No. 4 overall selection

Matt Doherty, 6th Round, No. 118 overall selection

Cecil Exum, 9th Round, No. 194 overall selection