Every offseason, we have fun at Tar Heel Illustrated diving into the past history of North Carolina’s football and basketball programs. Ranking players and teams in a variety of groupings giving our readers topics to discuss.
We change it up each year, and this offseason is no different as we unveil the top three UNC basketball players from basically each decade. This is a 9-part series that begins with the top three players 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 second of our 9-part series ranking the top three UNC basketball players from each decade:
1940s
Name: George Glamack
Position: Center
Jersey #: 20
Years: 1938-41
Honors: National Player of the Year 1940 & 1941; Two-time first-team All-America 1940 & 1941; Two-time first-team All-Southern Conference 1940 & 1941; UNC jersey is retired.
Notable Stats: Averaged 20.6 points per game in 1941; Scored 1,191 career points, the second UNC player to reach 1,000 career points; 15th all-time at UNC for averaging 16.8 points per game for his career during a time when there was not nearly as much scoring as there is today; Fourth highest single-game scoring record at UNC with 45 points vs. Clemson in 1941.
Glamack was said to have had a deadly hook shot with either hand. Nicknamed “The Blind Bomber” because he was so nearsighted, he could not really see the basket very well, so he shot the ball according to the lines on the court. Glamack obviously was remarkably effective doing it this way.
He led UNC to the Southern Conference title in 1941 and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. His 31 points in an NCAA Tournament game versus Dartmouth was a tournament record until 1951. Also helped lead Carolina to the 1940 Southern Conference championship.
Name: John “Hook” Dillon
Position: Forward
Jersey #: 13
Years: 1945-48
Honors: 2-time All-America; 3-time All-Southern Conference; 2-time All-Southern Conference Tournament team; Jersey honored in the Dean Dome.
Averaged 12.9 points in 1946 as UNC reached the NCAA title game.
Dillon’s career shouldn’t be compared to the stats of Tar Heels over the last 40-50 years, as the game is much different now than it was then. His 12.9 points per game in 1946 led UNC in scoring as it reached the NCAA title game. His hook shot, which was why he was given the nickname “Hook,” was a thing of beauty and something of a novelty at the time.
He averaged 15.5 points in the Final Four and title game in 1946. Dillon was UNC’s second leading scorer as a freshman behind All-America Jim Jordan. The ’46 team went 13-1 in Southern Conference play but didn’t win the SoCon tournament. Yet, the NCAA selection committee chose Carolina over Duke, the tourney champions, at a time when the league tournament champion did not get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After Bob Paxton sent the national semifinal win over Ohio State to overtime with a 35-footer just before the buzzer, Dillon took over in overtime. Dillon scored 15 points in the title game. There isn’t a great deal of information on Dillon, but he was clearly one of the game’s great players in his time, and that’s enough to get him on this list.
Jim Jordan
Name: Jim Jordan
Position: Guard
Jersey #: 13
Years: 1944-46
Honors: First-team All-American 1946; All-American 1945; All-Southern Conference 1945, 1946.
Originally, Jordan went to Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland, but the Navy ROTC transferred him to UNC where he played three seasons. An all-around player, Jordan was also the team leader, served almost as a coach on the floor, and did everything well.
He averaged 11.2 points in 1945 and 11.5 points in 1946 when the White Phantoms reached the national championship game but lost to Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) and its giant center Bob Kurland.
Because athletes in the military didn’t have service years count against them, which UNC football legend Charlie Justice experienced before ending up a Tar Heel, Jordan played two more seasons of college hoops after leaving. He played at Kentucky and won a national championship in 1948 after leaving UNC.
