One of the things we really enjoy at Tar Heel Illustrated is diving into the past history of North Carolina’s football and basketball programs. And ranking players and teams has been an annual endeavor that generates plenty of discourse among our readers.

We change it up each year, and this offseason is no different as we unveil the top two UNC basketball teams from basically each decade. This is a 9-part series that begins with the top two teams before the 1940s and then we do each remaining decade.

The current decade is not included as it’s only half over.

So, here is the seventh installment of our 9-part series ranking the top two UNC basketball teams from each decade:

1993

Record: 34-4 (14-2)

NCAA Tournament: NCAA champions

ACC Tournament: Lost in finals

Ranking: 4

Coach: Dean Smith

All-Americans: Eric Montross.

All-ACC: Eric Montross (1st); George Lynch (1st).

Honors: Donald Williams: Final Four MOP; George Lynch, NCAA East Region MOP; Dean Smith ACC Coach of the Year.

Dean Smith never revealed who his favorite this or that was, they were all in the same place in his heart and mind, or so he maintained that disposition publicly until his final days. While many UNC fans and observers believe if pressed Smith would have admitted Phil Ford was his favorite player he coached, it wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine the 1992-93 Tar Heels as his favorite team. In a sense, they were the consummate Smith club.

The '93 Tar Heels don't have the eye-popping names dotting the roster, though Eric Montross and George Lynch were excellent players and had long NBA careers, but this squad was more the epitome of a team. Quick, name the other three starters? Derrick Phelps…. Brian Reese…. And Donald Williams, the MOP of the Final Four that year after sinking 10 of 14 attempts from 3-point range in wins over Kansas and Michigan. The latter three played a combined total of three games in the NBA. They may not have fit in that league, but they were perfect parts for the Tar Heels.

They also had plenty of help off the bench. Carolina went very deep into its reserves, most of whom were experienced and quite long. Kevin Salvadori (7 feet) spent some time in the NBA, even Matt Wenstrom (7-1), who as a senior was basically the 10th man and actually had a brief stint in the NBA, as well. Also off the bench were 6-8 Pat Sullivan, 6-7 Henrik Rodl, 6-4 Dante Calabria, and 6-4 Scott Cherry.

What might be the most amazing thing about this club is how good it really was, especially when comparing names. They reached the 100-point mark 10 times, including in a 112-67 win over Rhode Island in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They beat South Carolina by 41, Texas by 36, won at Ohio State by 20, at a terrific Seton Hall team, and beat Notre Dame by 28. Their 16 wins over ACC teams were by an average margin of 19.4 points and they had six ACC road wins by double figures.

The 1993 Tar Heels had two bad losses - falling at Wake Forest by 26 points and at Duke by 14 four days later. Make no mistake, though, they were a borderline great team.

1998

Record: 34-4 (13-3)

NCAA Tournament: NCAA Final Four

ACC Tournament: ACC Champions

Ranking: 1

Coach: Bill Guthridge

All-Americans: Antawn Jamison; Vince Carter; Shammond Williams.

All-ACC: Antawn Jamison (1st); Vince Carter (1st); Ed Cota (2nd); Shammond Williams (2nd).

Honors: Antawn Jamison: Consensus National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, NCAA East Region MOP; Bill Guthridge, ACC Coach of the Year.

If 1977 isn't the "What the heck" team of the ages for UNC, 1998 is. Unlike in the national title game, which was when Dean Smith drew rare criticism going to the Four Corners offense fairly early in the second half versus Marquette in '77, Bill Guthridge's six-man starting rotation also received criticism once the Tar Heels were eliminated in the Final Four.

Appeasing Makhtar N'Diaye, a well-traveled transfer, Guthridge included him in a starting rotation with much the much more deserving quintet of Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Ed Cota and Ademola Okulaja. And when the Tar Heels got to the Final Four as the favorites to win the national title, N'Diaye started in place of Williams. That was the turn in the rotation and Guthridge stuck with it even though Williams had struggled when coming off the bench as opposed to when starting.

Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered in the long run and UNC would have lost anyway, but the Heels opened in a funk trailing 12-2, 28-12, and 33-18 and didn't recover until near the very end and then ran out of gas.

Perhaps this team deserved a different fate. They were hands-down the best club in the nation and the Smith Center should have a 1998 national championship banner hanging perhaps even more than 1977. It has neither.

What the '98 team had, otherwise, was chemistry like few Carolina teams when the right five were on the court, for which Guthridge deserves a great deal of credit after taking over after Smith retired. They were often breathtaking in the open court and precision-like in the halfcourt.

Jamison was simply awesome would have set possibly unreachable records had he returned for his senior season the following year, and he should be regarded as one of the program’s best players of all time.

The maturity of Carter, amazing growth of Williams' game, incredible passing of the unflappable Cota to the steadiness of Okulaja were integral parts to this amazing squad that should have cut down the nets on the first Monday in April.

Note: Jamison and Carter combined to play 38 seasons in the NBA scoring a total of 45,770 points. Both players surpassed the 20,000-point mark.