by Charly Mann

UNC has one of the top college basketball programs in the country despite this season's record. Because of its excellent facilities, traditions, and coaching staff many of the most talented high school basketball players in the country want to play for Carolina for at least one season before joining the NBA. Until 2006 if you were a super talented player like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James you could go straight from high school to a multi-million dollar professional career. Now the NBA has mandated that everyone has to play at least one year for free on the college level before they can turn pro. This has been a blessing and a curse for the Tar Heels.

In 2009 UNC was #1 in the nation and celebrated a great NCAA national championship victory over Michigan State. Carolina had a 34 - 4 record that year. After the season two of Carolina's best players Wayne Ellington Jr. and Ty Lawson decided to leave Carolina after their junior year, and begin to get paid for playing the sport they excelled at. Each of them received multi-million dollar contracts. Without these two superstars Carolina managed only 16 wins this season, and was not considered even among the 65 best teams in the country at the end of the year. If Ellington and Lawson had returned for their senior year Carolina would have been a strong contender for another NCAA title. In the last decade many more of UNC's top players have left early to join the NBA, including Brandan Wright and Joseph Forte.

2009 UNC NCAA Championship team players Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson who both left after their junior year

Despite a poor season this year, UNC is still the most successful basketball program in the nation financially, generating over $27 million dollars in profit. While the University makes a lot of money on these kids the players do not get paid. The minimum salary in the NBA is about $450,000 a year. UNC could afford to pay its top players this amount or more and still have a very profitable program. Some actually believe the NCAA should sanction the payment of top athletes. They say it would give them an incentive to stay in school and graduate, and help maintain cohesiveness in the top programs. Another solution being offered is to make classes optional for top athletes. Currently student athletes must maintain a certain grade point average to be eligible to play, and there is a lot of pressure on faculty members to help keep top players eligible. Even with tutors and a less than demanding curriculum for some athletes, this can be a challenge. I have talked to several former Tar Heel players who tell me how hard it was for them to find time to study, attend class, get enough sleep, and have any kind of normal student life with a "sport" that takes up a large part of both semesters, requires two or more travel days a week, practice, and lots of media attention. Even when they are being students their size and celebrity status make them objects of attention for many of the students and faculty they come in contact with.

An illustration of  what the first UNC basketball game was like

If we want real student basketball at UNC we should go back to the way the program was originally designed. In 1911 a UNC sophomore from Charlotte named Marvin Ritch convinced the UNC track coach Nat Cartmell to coach a UNC basketball team. Ritch took it upon himself to find the players for the team and find opponents to play. Since 1906 basketball had been enjoyed as part the physical education program at the university The UNC coach, Cartmell, knew practically nothing about basketball. UNC's first basketball game was held at Bynum Gym on January 27, 1911 before a crowd of less than 35. The opponent was Virginia Christian College, and UNC prevailed 42 to 21. UNC managed a winning season that first year going 7-4 and knocking off powerhouses as the Durham YMCA, Woodberry Forest, Davidson, and the Charlotte YMCA, but losing to teams that included the University of Virginia and Wake Forest. Attendance never exceeded more than 40 at any of the games. UNC's arch rival of today, Duke, was known as Trinity College in those days, and was not one of the teams the Tar Heels played that year. Trinity (Duke) actually started their varsity basketball program five years before Carolina's, in 1906. Marvin Ritch, the person responsible for starting UNC's basketball program, left UNC after that year and enrolled at Georgetown where he was a standout on their basketball team.

Nat Cartmell was the first UNC basketball coach even though he knew little about the game. He was hired by UNC as the Track & Field coach. 

Many of today's best college basketball players are called counterfeit amateurs because of the special treatment they are afforded by the University and other students, and because they are anxious to make the jump to the lucrative NBA as soon as they can. The truth is that UNC basketball is more a commercial entertainment than a college sport if you consider the attention, ticket costs, and facilities it requires. That is why UNC and other major universities have athletic departments that operate as a business separate from the educational side of the University. "Students" in sports such as basketball and football are recruited and given scholarships not because of their academic ability or potential, but for their entertainment value for producing a winning team. This would be equivalent to UNC giving scholarships to up and coming singing stars in the music department so they would perform at UNC and other schools for money that the University would keep.

This is the only decent photograph I have found of Marvin Ritch the UNC student who was responsible for founding the Tar Heel basketball program.

The most successful basketball coach of all time was John Wooden at UCLA. His UCLA teams won 10 NCAA national championships in a period of twelve years. His last championship team was in 1975. During his time at UCLA he never received a salary of more than $35,000 a year, nor asked for a raise. Today head coach Roy Williams receives a salary from UNC that totals more than $1.2 million a year. I think most of us, including myself, think he is worth it, but this is because college basketball has become so much more than what it was 30 years ago. March Madness for example has become a national pastime. Even in 1968 when almost every family had a color television, I recall that the NCAA final between UCLA and North Carolina was not shown nationally (UCLA won that game 78 to 55).

This is Bynum Gym at the UNC Chapel Hill campus in 1910. It was the site that year of the first UNC varsity basketball game.

UNC's basketball team has a reputation for excellence and dominance that needs to be maintained. In order to do this it has to keep the great talent it recruits or the team will face decimation every year through defections to the NBA. The NBA is especially attracted to great tall college players. As a result, there are virtually no dominant post players on any NCAA team this year over 6 foot nine, and all the top players in the ACC, Pac-10, and Big Ten are 6 foot 8 or less. Almost all the best tall players are going to the NBA after one or two college seasons. The same is true of the magic players who have traditionally made the college game so spectacular. This year's most exciting player, Kentucky freshman John Wall, is almost certain to turn professional at the end of the season.

Coach Roy Williams and the graduating seniors of the 2009 UNC basketball team. Until this year Williams had taken the teams he coached to 20 consecutive NCAA tournaments and won at least one game in each.

Face it, we love Carolina basketball because they win so often, and that is what ignites the student section to show so much excitement and enthusiasm during every home game. Sooner or later the futility of cheering for a mediocre team will dampen this spirit. We owe it to our students and hardcore fans to find some accommodation with the NCAA and NBA to discourage top players from leaving the university early.

by Charly Mann

The University of North Carolina has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States. It also boasts one of the top MBA programs in the nation, as well as one of the best urban planning programs. For the last 65 years UNC has strived to excel at something else, football, and has for the most part failed in this effort. The pinnacle for success in football is getting invited to and winning a major college bowl game. By 1940, there were four major Bowl games: The Rose Bowl, The Orange Bowl, The Sugar Bowl, and the Cotton Bowl. During the late 1940s UNC had a very good football team made up of several all-stars who had played football for the military like Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. During the Justice era UNC got its first three bowl invitations to the Sugar Bowl in 1947, the Sugar Bowl in 1949, and the Cotton Bowl in 1950. Unfortunately, UNC was not a national contender, and lost all three of these games.

1929 UNC team captain Ray Farris and star halfback Strud Nash. The Tarheels went 9 - 1 for the season and were considered the second best team in the country that year. 

UNC desperately wanted to have a great football team, and in 1956 hired Jim Tatum away from Maryland where he had been one of the most successful coaches in the country. He had won the national championship in 1953 and in each of three other years his team had at least ten victories. He had also previously coached Oklahoma to a successful season and a bowl victory in 1947. In Chapel Hill his luck would change. In his first season Carolina won only 2 games, and the following two years his record was a mediocre 6 - 4. There were high hopes for his fourth season in 1959, but he was bitten by a tick and contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and died at the age of 46 before the beginning of the season.

Jim Tatum, UNC football coach 1956 to 1958

Jim Tatum's tombstone is the most prominent in the Chapel Hill cemetery, and reminds those like me of his untimely death and the potential he might have brought to UNC football. Jim Hickey (1920-1997), Tatum's assistant, was UNC's head football coach for the next eight seasons (1959 to 1966). He only managed a single season with a winning record, but in that year UNC did something it had never done before... it won a bowl game.

In 1963 UNC had the best and deepest team it had ever fielded. It featured two All-Americans, halfback Ken Willard and end Bob Lacey. It also had a great quarterback. Junior Edge, who was a brilliant passer and a good runner. UNC went 9-2 that season, losing only one ACC game to Clemson, and to powerful Michigan State on their home field. UNC was invited to play in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida on December 28th against the Air Force Academy.

The UNC - Air Force game was rated a toss-up by sports experts and bookmakers, but the game turned out to be a blowout. The game was dominated by UNC's great fullback, and probably Carolina's best all around athlete, Ken Willard.

UNC fullback Eddie Kesler runs through Air Force defenders at 1963 Gator Bowl game in Jacksonville, Florida

The game began a little inauspiciously with Air Force winning the toss, but after that it was all Tarheels. UNC began its second possession of the game on their own 23. During that drive Willard had runs of 12, 24, and 10 yards. The Big Bull, as he was nicknamed, then smashed it in from three yards for the first score. UNC missed the extra point and with 2:31 left in the first quarter UNC had a 6-0 lead. When Air Force got the ball back they raced down the field to the Carolina 16 before being stopped by an interception at the ten yard line by UNC's Ronnie Jackson. UNC Quarterback Junior Edge then completed a series of long passes to get the ball within a few yards of the end zone and then ran it in himself for the next score. Carolina tried for a two point conversion to make up for the missed extra point but that failed, and UNC now led the game at 12-0 with 9:40 left in the half. The next Air Force drive stalled, and UNC raced down the field for its third touchdown led by second string quarterback Gary Black who threw a series of passes that culminated in a touchdown. Black also tossed another pass for a two point conversion giving Carolina a 20-0 lead. As the first half came to a close the Falcons seemed on the verge of scoring their first touchdown until UNC quarterback Junior Edge, now playing defense, picked off a pass from Air Force Quarterback Terry Issacson at the Carolina two yard line.

Carolina began its second series of the second half with Ken Willard having consecutive runs of 7, 10, and 7 yards. UNC halfback Eddie Kesler then scored from one yard out, and then Edge threw to All American Bob Lacey for another two point conversion giving UNC a 28-0 lead with 4:44 left in the third quarter. Second-string quarterback Black replaced Edge on UNC's next possession and led the team with several long pass plays. The most memorable was a pass to UNC tackle Gene Sigmon, who was made eligible to receive the pass by Carolina's unusual formation. The drive included six consecutive completed passes and ended when Black ran it in from the six yard line. UNC then kicked their first and only extra point of the game making the score 35-0.

UNC Quarterback Junior Edge scores a touchdown for UNC at 1963 Gator Bowl

Throughout most of the fourth quarter UNC used players with names even few loyal fans were familiar with. They were the Carolina third string team, and while they were prevented from running up the score, their defense continued to hold Air Force scoreless for the rest of the game, giving UNC its first ever bowl victory 35 - 0. UNC would not win another bowl game until 1972.

At the end of that day UNC Coach Jim Hickey was the most popular man in Chapel Hill. Ken Willard was voted the game's most valuable player. Hickey had three more seasons at UNC, all with losing records and in 1967 was replaced by Bill Dooley.

A victorious Gator Bowl UNC football team carry coach Jim Hickey on their shoulders

It was not long ago when a UNC college football coach's salary was not that different from that of most professors. Jim Hickey lived in a very modest house on Greenwood Road across from where it intersects with Stagecoach Road. Jim Tatum also had a modest house on Laurel Hill Road, and after he died his wife became a teacher at Durham Academy to make ends meet. In the 1930s the greatest football coach of all time, Knute Rockne, was paid only $10,000 a year at Notre Dame. Today UNC's head football coach Paul Davis has a contract through 2015 that is worth more than $2,000,000 a year, several times higher than any administrator or faculty member at UNC. I love Carolina football but I would rather see UNC recruiting top faculty for its students than spending millions on a football coach.

Contract for UNC football coach Paul Davis: Nov. 27, 2006 – Jan. 15, 2015
Annual Salary: $315,000
Bonuses/Perks:
• In order for UNC-CH to provide the coach with a compensation package that is competitive with other institutions, UNC-CH agrees to make supplemental compensation payments to coach in the following amounts:
o Sept. 2007: $750,000
o Dec. 2007: $250,000
o March 2008: $287,500
o June 2008: $287,500
o Sept. 2008: $287,500
o Dec. 2008: $287,500
o March 2009: $300,000
o June 2009: $300,000
o Sept. 2009: $300,000
o Dec. 2009: $300,000
o March 2010: $312,500
o June 2010: $312,500
o Sept. 2010: $312,500
o Dec. 2010: $312,500
o March 2011: $325,000
o June 2011: $325,000
o Sept. 2011: $325,000
o Dec. 2011: $325,000
o March 2012: $337,500
o June 2012: $337,500
o Sept. 2012: $337,500
o Dec. 2012: $337,500
o March 2013: $350,000
o June 2013: $350,000
o Sept. 2013: $350,000
o Dec. 2013: $350,000
o March 2014: $362,500
o June 2014: $362,500
o Sept. 2014: $362,500
o Dec. 2014: $362,500
• Coach shall receive a $157,000 retention bonus each year
• 1/12 his salary if the football team is invited to participate in the ACC Conference Championship
• 1/12 his salary if football team is invited to participate in a post-season bowl game other than an ACC first or second choice (non-BCS) bowl game or a BCS game
• 1/12 his salary if football team's graduation rate equals that of the undergraduate student body
• $30,000 annual expense allowance per year for entertainment and other purposes to advance the university's football program
• Coach shall be entitled to operate a summer football camp, for which he could receive outside compensation
• Coach shall be entitled to advise and comment on all proposed scheduling of university football games

by Charly Mann

The University of North Carolina has fielded NCAA champions in Men's Basketball six times, Men's Lacrosse four times, and Women's Soccer 20 times, but has always had a reputation for a mediocre football program. Over the course of the football team's history of more than 120 years they have a winning percentage of only 56%, and most of these wins came over much smaller schools with weaker rosters. Nonetheless, football is a beloved sport in Chapel Hill because it is played in the most beautiful stadium and setting in the country, usually under gorgeous autumn skies. While the weather may be ideal, the coeds in attendance beautiful, and the smuggled in alcoholic beverages invigorating, the final score of most important games is usually disappointing.

Famous Amos Lawrence rushing for a UNC touchdown in the 1980 season

In 1980, something quite amazing happened in Chapel Hill. Not only did UNC field a great football team, but they were in Chapel Hill Memories unbiased estimation the college national champions that year. The team was incredible on both defense and offense, and could have held its own against any NFL team at the time. UNC crushed virtually all of its opponents holding most of them to less than 10 points, while its offensive juggernaut led by the two greatest running backs in Carolina history, "Famous" Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant, was unstoppable. Not only did UNC go undefeated in the ACC, but the only league game that was even a challenge was beating Clemson 24-19 at Death Valley.

Lawrence Taylor, UNC's greatest defensive player, sacks another quaterback

Kelvin Bryant (44) and Amos Lawrence (20) celebrate that UNC is the #1 football team in 1980

As a small footnote, UNC did lose one game that season to highly regarded Oklahoma on their home field in Norman, Oklahoma under the helm of the greatest college football coach of all time, Barry Switzer (can you tell I now live in Oklahoma?), but that game is really irrelevant. You see on December 31, 1980 at the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, UNC defeated Texas 16 to 7. Now this is significant for those of us determining the national championship for that year. UNC beat Texas in the state of Texas on a field that was almost like a home game for the Longhorns. Two months earlier Texas had beat Oklahoma at their annual Red River Shootout at the neutral Cotton Bowl in Dallas 20 to 13. It does not take a math genius to see that UNC vindicated their one blemish to clearly establish that they were the best team in the country in 1980. For the record, three of the teams that various polls awarded the National Championship to that year, Florida State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma all had worse records than UNC at 10-2. UNC was 11-1.

The University of North Carolina beats Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl on Dec 31, 1980 to avenge their only defeat of the regular season

Among the stars of this great team was Amos Lawrence (1977-1980) who had an incredible four seasons at UNC where he rushed for over 1,000 yards. As a freshman he rushed for 286 yards in one game against Virginia. In 1980, he carried the ball for 11 touchdowns. His fellow running back Kelvin Bryant had three consecutive 1,000 plus yard seasons at Carolina. They usually ran behind All-American guard and team co-captain, Ron Wooten. The defense was anchored by the greatest defensive player in the history of football, Lawrence Taylor. As a linebacker he was so intimidating that he instilled fear in our entire opponent's offense. In 1980 alone Taylor sacked the opposing quarterbacks 16 times. His jersey, #98, was later retired in his honor. Fellow linebacker Darrell Nicholson was almost as great as Taylor, and also was an All-American that year. Defensive tackle Donnel Thompson was so good at stopping running backs that his linebackers could concentrate on blitzing the quarterback or additional pass defense.
 

UNC's 1980 regular season football record. They also beat Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl to finish 11-1. This was UNC's best season record ever.

by Charly Mann

UNC Wins it All for Dean Smith's first NCAA Basketball Championship March 30th, 1982

The pinnacle of UNC’s basketball greatness was its national championship game against Pat Ewing and the Hoyas of Georgetown in the packed New Orleans Superdome. At that time Dean Smith had been coach of the Tar Heels for twenty-one seasons, but had yet to win a national championship. The Carolina starting five was probably the best team in college history, including Michael Jordan, unquestionably the greatest basketball player of all time, James Worthy, the best player on that team, and now ranked as one of the fifty greatest basketball players of all time, and Sam Perkins, who contributed even more to the Carolina in scoring and defense during his college career than the other two men.

From left to right Sam Pekins, Jimmy Black, Michael Jordan, Matt Doherty, and James Worthy, UNC's NCAA 1982 basketball national champions starting five

Despite this abundance of talent North Carolina was far from dominate in most of its game during that season, losing twice, including once to unranked Wake Forest 55 - 48. To win the ACC tournament championship game against Virginia UNC had to resort to the four corner stall for the last eight minutes, and then be fortunate enough to have Matt Doherty make three free throws in the last thirty seconds for the 47-45 victory. Even in its first game of the NCAA tournament Carolina barely eked out a victory over the much less talented James Madison team 52-50.

In the NCAA championship game UNC needed every bit of luck it could muster. Georgetown's center Patrick Ewing blocked five Carolina shots in the first half, but all  were ruled goaltending, giving the Heels nearly one third of their first half points. Even so Georgetown held a 32 to 31 lead a halftime. For the entire second half the game stayed close, and with 32 seconds left Georgetown had a 62 – 61 lead. At this time Carolina called a time out that set up the most remembered shot in UNC history. Jimmy Black got the incoming ball and with 16 seconds left passed it to freshman Michael Jordan who was wide open, and made an incredible 17 foot jump shot giving the Tarheels a one point lead at 63 – 62. Still with more than ten seconds left, and in possession of the ball, Georgetown seemed poised to win the game with a final shot until Fortuna the Roman Goddess of Luck intervened. For some inexplicable reason Georgetown guard Fred Brown who had to choose which of his four team mates to pass the ball to for the final shot, instead passed the ball to North Carolina’s James Worthy thus giving the Tarheels their first basketball NCAA title since 1957.

Remembered as "The Shot", freshman Michael Jordan's 17 foot jump shot against Georgetown for NCAA title

James Worthy, not Michael Jordan, was the key player in the game scoring 28 points, and was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA Tournament. The mystery to me was how this Carolina team was not more dominant in the championship and throughout the season. It is rare for a team to have even one truly great player on its roster, and Carolina that season had three of the greatest in history. While it is true that some of their opponents had great players that year, including Ralph Sampson at Virginia and Ewing at Georgetown, UNC had three, and the two other Carolina starters that year Jimmy Black and Matt Doherty, one of Carolina’s best outside shooters, were outstanding. I’ve always believed Dean Smith was a great coach and exceptional recruiter, but that his coaching style which emphasized a slow moving and low scoring offense designed to get the ball as close to the basket as possible before a shot was taken, was not suited for the talents and athletic ability for most of this team. In those days there was no thirty-five second clock or three-point shot for long range baskets. The 1982 team had the ability to play a fast paced offense, and had a great defense led by Carolina’s all time leading shot blocker Sam Perkins. Finally Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and Matt Doherty were among the best long range shooters ever to play the game, yet it was very unusual for any Tarheel to take a shot from what is now considered three-point range.

Another view of Michael Jordan's gaming winning shot in 1982 UNC National Championship game 

by Charly Mann

I was not yet one, but already a Tarheel born, when Carolina played its1950 football season. That year UNC won three games, and tied one. The other games had unsuccessful outcomes. I know that year's team practiced as hard as any other, but did not receive the glory it would have liked. I have created a tribute to that team with a little photo magic.

Billy Hayes 1950 UNC fullback

1950 Football Season

9/23/1950 vs. N.C. State W 13-7
9/30/1950 @ Notre Dame L 7-14
10/7/1950 @ Georgia T 0-0
10/14/1950 vs. Wake Forest L 7-13
10/28/1950 vs. William & Mary W 40-7
11/4/1950 @ Tennessee L 0-16
11/11/1950 vs. Maryland T 7-7
11/18/1950 @ South Carolina W 14-7
11/25/1950 vs. Duke L 0-7
12/2/1950 @ Virginia L 13-44

by Charly Mann

The 1924 National Champion UNC Basketball Tarheels

The University of North Carolina was the dominating basketball program in the country in 1923 and 1924. For two years in a row the team won all their games. Prior to 1936 no college basketball team was ever awarded the title of national champion, but in that year the 1924 Tarheels were retroactively given that award.

The highlight of the season was UNC’s first game against Kentucky (for decades the leading basketball power in the country). Kentucky was favored to win the game, but UNC crushed the Kentucky Wildcats 40 to 21.

The 1924 North Carolina team had two great players; All-Americans Cartwright Carmichael and Jack Cobb.

UNC won the NCAA national championships five times, in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, and 2009.

1924 Basketball Season

For the second time in two years, Carolina finished her season's schedule without defeat and for the second time in three years the Tar Heels ran a brilliant course through the tournament at Atlanta and emerged as undisputed Champions of the South.

In the tournament of 1924 the University team had won the Southern crown and had written its name deep into the basketball history of the Southland. In 1923 the Tar Heels traveled to Atlanta without a single defeat and were widely heralded as sure winners; but illness and staleness crept in and the team was eliminated in the second round in its only defeat of the year. 1924 saw the team sweep through the South-Atlantic without defeat for the second consecutive time, and at Atlanta in a blaze of glory the Old North State quint defeated four of the strongest institutions in the South and won the championship.

Only two letter-men composed the team that ended the season in triumph against Alabama. Carmichael and McDonald, two of the greatest players ever developed in the South, played their last season for Carolina and were the framework of the team. Capt. Green was injured while on the trip through Virginia and was unable to share in the glory at Atlanta. Carl Mahler, letter-man from the 1924 team, failed to return to school, and Sam McDonald, another regular, found his work too heavy to permit of his playing.
Coach Shepherd found plenty of material with which to work. Besides Green, McDonald and Carmichael, there were eligible Dodderer, Cobb, Devin, Johnson, Koonce, Poole and Lineberger.

The team gave great promise early in the season by easily defeating several independent club teams in practice games and the smaller Colleges in the State. But when Carolina invaded Virginia and returned undefeated, it was generally predicted that Southern honors would again be won by Carolina.

Leaving Chapel Hill, after defeating Washington and Lee for the second time, the Tar Heels went southward to the Georgia capital and drew the University of Kentucky as their first opponent. With apparent ease the score was doubled on the Kentuckians and Vanderbilt was pitted against Carolina. The Tennessee team was completely outclassed, and defeated, 37 to 20. With the field narrowed down to four contestants, Carolina drew the Mississippi Aggies (1923 Champions) as their opponents for the semi-finals and defeated them by 10 points.

In the final championship game with the University of Alabama, the brilliance of the Tar Heels was considerably dulled by the tenacious guarding of the Alabama team. However, in a final spurt that took her away from their closely-trailing opponents, the Carolinians increased their lead and won the cup.

Front Row (left to right): Jack Cobb, Bill Dodderer, Captain Winton Greene, Cartwright Carmichael, Sam 'Monk' McDonald
Back Row: Mayer Bretney Smith, Jimmy Poole, Donald Koonce, Billy Devin, Henry Lineburger