No. 9: 1977
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. 9: 1977
Record: 28-5 (9-3)
NCAA Tournament: NCAA Runner-up
ACC Tournament: ACC Champions
Ranking: 5
Coach: Dean Smith
All-Americans: Phil Ford; Tommy LaGarde, Walter Davis?
All-ACC: Phil Ford (1st); Walter Davis (1st); Tom LaGarde (2nd).
Honors: John Kuester, ACC Tournament MVP, NCAA East Region MOP; Dean Smith, ACC Coach of the Year.
What's To Know: In the interesting list of "What Ifs" in UNC sports history, sitting at the top just might be the 1977 national championship game.
Without fluffing it at all, what if Dean Smith had not gone to the Four Corners offense so early in the second half of the national title game versus Marquette? He very well could have won his first title five years before James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan delivered him one.
After trailing by 12 at halftime, Carolina roared back using an 18-4 run to take the lead at 45-43, but after a Marquette basket tied the game, Smith called for his team to go into the Four Corners offense to try and pull Marquette out of a zone. The Warriors went to a man defense after more than 3 minutes, and almost immediately blocked a UNC shot near the basket, scored on their next possession and the Heels never found their rhythm again.
Carolina was playing well and had overcome a deficit when Smith made the often-criticized decision. After the move two things occurred: The Tar Heels didn't play as well the rest of the way and Marquette was given a bit of a break, a reprieve.
That UNC team, however, was loaded when healthy. Missing over the last seven weeks was All-America center Tommy LaGarde, Ford had about four ailments going into the Final Four and the great Walter Davis' shooting hand was also banged up. Still extremely talented, the Heels had terrific freshman Mike O'Koren, masterful John Kuester serving his role, and some interesting role players that later saw time in the NBA such as Rich Yonaker and Dudley Bradley. Bradley turned into an outstanding player at UNC.
In addition, when healthy, the Heels, which had three gold medal winners from the 1976 Olympics, were one of the very best teams ever at Carolina. It's just unfortunate that the basketball world didn't get to see them steam into Atlanta at full strength. If that had been the case, Smith likely never would have been in position to make the decision he did, at least not in that scenario.
Nevertheless, that was an outstanding Carolina team that could have hung a banner.
1977 NBA Draft
Walter Davis, 1st Round, No. 5 overall selection
Tommy LaGarde, 1st Round, No. 9 overall selection
John Kuester, 3rd Round, No. 53 overall selection
Bruce Buckley, 6th Round, No. 125 overall selection