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 the final installment of our 9-part series ranking the top three UNC basketball players from each decade:

Name: Justin Jackson

Position: Forward

Years: 2014-17

Honors: ACC Player of the Year 2017; First-team All-America 2017; First-team All-ACC 2017; Naismith Award semifinalist 2017; MVP of a national champion 2017; NCAA All-Tournament team 2017; Patterson Medal 2017; All-ACC 2016; ACC All-Freshman team 2015; Jersey honored in Smith Center.

Notable Stats: Averaged 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in his UNC career; Averaged scoring in double figures each season; Averaged 18.3 points shooting 51 percent as a junior in 2017; His 731 points in 2017 is the fifth highest single-season total in UNC history; 26th all-time at Carolina with 1,626 points; 2nd highest UNC single-season mark with 105 made 3-pointers.

Jackson was a good player his first two seasons but exploded as a junior, averaging 18.9 points versus ACC competition. By lifting his game a healthy notch, it helped make the Tar Heels the top team in the nation just about throughout the season and allowed them to avenge their loss in the 2016 NCAA title game by winning it in 2017.

He was part of UNC teams that went 13-2 in NCAA Tournament play, as the Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2015, national championship the next year, and won it all in Jackson’s junior and final campaign. The Heels also won the ACC Tournament in 2016, plus the Heels finished first in the ACC standings in 2016 and 2017, and Jackson was a huge reason for that success, as he started 114 of his 118 games as a Tar Heel.

Jackson wasn’t a demonstrative player nor was he a highlight-reel guy, but his efficiency, maturity, and that he didn’t need to dominate the ball to achieve his production warrants him a spot on this list.

Name: Brice Johnson

Position: Forward

Years: 2012-16

Honors: Consensus 1st-team All-America 2016; 1st-team All-ACC 2016; 3rd-team All-ACC 2015; 2016 NCAA Tournament East Region MVP; 2016 NCAA All-Tournament team; 2-time 1st-team All-ACC Tournament; Jersey will be honored in the Dean Dome.

Notable Stats: 7th all-time leader at UNC in rebounds with 1,035; 2nd all-time UNC single-season leader with 416 rebounds in 2016; 2nd all-time at UNC with 23 double-doubles in a season (2016); 20th all-time at UNC in scoring with 1,716 career points; as a senior, first UNC player to average at least 17 points and 10 rebounds while also shooting 60% or better from the field since 1994-95; senior season per-game averages 17 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1,1 blocks, 61.4 FG%, and handed out 58 assists, registered 43 steals; career per-game averages 11.6 points, 7.0 rebounds.

Johnson’s career should be remembered for two things in particular: His incredible senior season, and how he developed as a player over four years. He averaged 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds as a freshman and shot only 57.7% from the free throw line, but his senior numbers (noted above) were sensational and he also shot 78.3% from the line.

Johnson’s on-court development coincided with his personal maturity, and his game began to take off midway through his junior campaign. From that point on, he was fantastic culminating in a senior season that has firmly etched him in with so many other outstanding Carolina players. In January of this past season, Johnson became the second player in UNC history to score at least 39 points and grab at least 23 rebounds in a single game at Florida State as a senior.

Also, in 2016 he became the first Tar Heel to ever score at least 20 points and grab at least 10 rebounds in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games. UNC has previously played 160 NCAA Tournament games without any player having done that.

Name: Joel Berry

Position: Guard

Years: 2014-18

Honors: 2017 NCAA Tournament Final Four MOP; 2018 NABC 3rd-team All-America; 2017 second-team All-ACC; 2018 first-team All-ACC; 2016 ACC Tournament MVP; 2016 first-team All-ACC Tournament; 2018 second team; Jersey No. 2 honored in Smith Center rafters

Notable Stats: 15th all-time at UNC in scoring with 1,813 points; career scoring average 12.6 points per game; averaged 12.8, 14.7, and 17.1 points over each of last three seasons; 3rd all-time at UNC with 266 made 3-pointers; 13th in assists with 451; one of only four Tar Heels with more than 1,800 points and 400 assists

The George Lynch of UNC Basketball for the 2010s. He had a similar effect on the Tar Heels as did Lynch that well exceeded any stat lines. But the numbers were good, too. In particular, the only player to score 20-plus points in consecutive national championship games since legendary Bill Walton did it for UCLA in 1972 and 1973.

Berry scored 20 points in the 2016 NCAA title game in a buzzer-beating loss to Villanova, and the next season, when the Tar Heels completed their “Redemption Tour” with a win over Gonzaga in the championship game, Berry tallied 22 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player.

For that, it was guaranteed his jersey number “2” would hang from the Smith Center rafters. But there was more to Berry’s four-year Carolina career.