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

Note: As a reminder, these rankings are based solely off the players’ college careers.

Name: Antawn Jamison

Position: Forward

Years: 1995-98

Honors: National Player of the Year 1998; Three-time All-America 1996, 1997 & 1998; Three-time, first-team All-ACC 1996, 1997 & 1998; ACC Player of the Year 1998; ACC Rookie of the Year 1996; ACC Male Athlete of the Year 1998; NCAA East Region MVP 1998; ACC Tournament MVP 1998; Freshman All-America 1996; Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY 1998; Named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team; Elected to NABC Hall of Fame in 2021; UNC jersey is retired.

Notable Stats: Tenth all-time with 1,974 points; Averaged 22.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in 1998; Career 19 points and 9.9 rebounds per game; single-season record 316 field goals in 1998; eighth all-time at UNC with 1,027 rebounds; 389 rebounds in 1998 are fifth highest in UNC history; 57.7 percent career field goal percentage.

Jamison helped lead the Tar Heels to ACC Tournament titles and Final Four appearances in 1997 and 1998. He was on pace to become UNC’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader had he returned for his senior season. He also was the first freshman to ever lead the ACC in field goal percentage (62.4 percent). Jamison averaged 30.3 points and 12 rebounds per game in three home wins over Duke, including scoring 35 points in a rout of Duke in 1998 while touching the ball for just 53 seconds. He was named ACC Player of the Week 12 times, which is tied for the most times ever.

Jamison was just the second Tar Heel and third player in ACC history to be named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, NCAA Regional MVP and National Player of the Year in the same season (1997-98). Perhaps no Tar Heel had a more immediate impact on a Carolina team, as he turned in one of the best freshman seasons ever at UNC, and no Heel had a quicker release near the basket or was quicker with his second jump than Jamison.

Name: Jerry Stackhouse

Position: Forward

Years: 1993-95

Honors: National Player of the Year 1995; First-team All-America 1995; First-team All-ACC 1995; NCAA Tournament Southeast Region MOP 1995; ACC Tournament MVP 1994; UNC jersey is honored in the Smith Center.

Notable Stats: Averaged 19.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game as a sophomore in 1995; Averaged 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for his two-year career at UNC; 11th most made free throws in a season in UNC history with 185 in 1995; Scored 1,080 points for his career at UNC; Shot 49.6 percent from the field during his career.

Stackhouse was the epitome of an alpha dog. He had a drive that was relentless, and while he was undersized at 6-foot-5 (some even swore he was 6-4), he could play up front with the bigs, post taller forwards, but also on the perimeter where he could shoot and take it to the rack.

He was one of the best Tar Heels ever at scoring while drawing a foul. But it was his motor that infused his teammates and was a big reason a thin UNC team beat a loaded Kentucky team to win the 1995 Southeast Region and advance to the Final Four. That may have been one of Dean Smith’s greatest coaching jobs and willing the team on the court was Stackhouse and his 18-point, 12-rebound performance. His dunk and strut at Duke in 1995 is one of the more iconic clips in UNC history and is played multiple times on the video board before each home game at the Smith Center.

As a freshman, he came off the bench on a team that returned four starters from the 1993 national championship but still averaged 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest playing 21.0 minutes a game.

Name: George Lynch

Position: Forward

Years: 1989-93

Honors: First-team All-ACC 1993; third-team All-ACC 1992; All-ACC Tournament team 1992 (first), 1993 (second); MOP 1993 NCAA East Regional; 1993 All-Final Four team; UNC’s annual award for its best defensive player is named after Lynch; Voted team MVP of a national championship club in 1993 securing his jersey would hang in the Smith Center rafter.

Notable Stats: 18th all-time in scoring at UNC with 1,747 points; 4th all-time at UNC with 1,097 rebounds; 2nd all-time at UNC in steals with 241; shot 51.9% from the field for his career.

George Lynch isn’t as decorated as some other Tar Heels from the 1990s, he may not be remembered as some others, too, but the core of his game and impact on Carolina Basketball cannot be understated. He was the leader of the 1993 national championship team. That club had tremendous heart and fight and it all trickled down from Lynch, who was quite productive, too.

After averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds as a freshman, he was between 12.5 and 14.7 (1993) points, and 7.4 and 9.8 (1993) rebounds in his last three seasons. He averaged 1.7 steals per game in the 1993 national title campaign. And his defense that season, especially in the back of Dean Smith’s 1-3-1 zone was the x-factor in Carolina cutting down the nets. Note, Smith rarely played zone, but Lynch was so good in that role, the legendary coach stayed with it down the stretch in the title run.

Few UNC players have ever been the warrior Lynch was, and few ever will reach that status again.