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 part two of our 9-part series ranking the top two UNC basketball teams from each decade:

1941

Record: 23-3 (11-2 Southern Conference)

Postseason: SoCon champions

Ranking: No rankings in 1940.

Coach: Bill Lange

All-Americans: George Glamack.

Honors: George Glamack: consensus National Player of the Year, No. 20 is retired by UNC.

(Note: Only eight teams were in the NCAA Tournament and six in the NIT, but two – Duquesne and Colorado – played in both tournaments, so only 12 teams played in either national tournament that season.)

The only UNC basketball team to not play in a national postseason tournament that made the list, and the 1940 North Carolina hoopsters are certainly worthy of this recognition.

UNC didn't lose until January 30, starting with a 14-0 mark. It lost three of five games to Wake Forest, Virginia and Duke but then closed the season winning its last seven contests, including capturing the Southern Conference Tournament championship. The Tar Heels weren't invited to the NCAA Tournament but still made their mark.

Not only was this a terrific team that played a role in creating that fabric of the region, but it's also reflected in the rafters in the Dean Dome, as George Glamack's jersey No. 20 is retired. Glamack was a two-time first-team All-America.

CollegeHoopedia.com wrote about Glamack and the 1939-40 season, "North Carolina All-American George Glamack was an inspiration to those fond of individuals overcoming adversity.”

The Spalding Guide noted that "Glamack, who is ambidextrous when on the court, is also so nearsighted that the ball is merely a dim object, but apparently he never looked where he was shooting, depending upon his sense of distance and direction." The secret of "The Blind Bomber" was "looking at the black lines on the court. By doing that he knew where he was in reference to the basket and could measure his shot."

Interestingly, the 1941 team that was invited to the third ever NCAA Tournament didn't make the list, as its 19-9 overall mark simply doesn't stand up to the 23-3 record put forth by this underrated team in UNC lore.

1946

Coach: Ben Carnevale

All-Americans: John "Hook" Dillon; Jim Jordan.

Honors: Dillon’s jersey No. 13 and Jordan’s No. 8 jerseys are honored in the Smith Center.

Among the losses suffered by the 1946 Carolina basketball team was a 60-46 setback at Little Creek Air Base. Yep, much like in football, there were a lot of military base teams during World War II and shortly after that fielded basketball teams that played college schedule, and many were pretty good.

But that was the last defeat for the "White Phantoms," as the '46 squad was often referred, until they dropped the national title game 43-40 to Oklahoma A&M, which is now Oklahoma State. The Cowboys became the first team to win consecutive NCAA titles, as they captured it the year before, led by Bob Kurland, the first great 7-footer ever in basketball and was also the first player to regularly dunk in games.

That was the only NCAA Tournament of the first 18 that were staged (began in 1939) in which UNC even won a game.

Historically, this is a very interesting team. Playing before nearly 19,000 fans at the old Madison Square Garden 15 years before Dean Smith was named the program's head coach, Carolina was a few missed free throws and foul trouble away from winning a national title that, coupled with the one in 1957, would have given the program two before Smith's arrival.

The White Phantoms had two UNC legends whose jerseys are honored in the Smith Center rafters. The coach of that team was Ben Carnevale, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1970 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. By the way, ACC legend Bones McKinney played on that team, too.

This team and its terrific season is such a great example of the depth of UNC basketball, and that the program was crafting an impressive trail long before Smith arrived, and its sustainability has just a few peers.