Fansided

College basketball blue bloods ranked by all-time legacy

By Mike Phillips

Michael Jordan is all smiles along with coach Dean Smith as Jordan announces at a 1984 press conference that he will forgo his senior year in college to play professional basketball. (Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images)
Michael Jordan is all smiles along with coach Dean Smith as Jordan announces at a 1984 press conference that he will forgo his senior year in college to play professional basketball. (Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images) /
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27 MAR 1982: North Carolina forward James Worthy (52), guard Michael Jordan (23) and Houston center Akeem Abdul Olajuwon (35) and center Larry Micheaux (41) during the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Final Four semifinal game held at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA,. North Carolina defeated Houston 68-63 to meet Georgetown in the championship game. Worthy was named MVP for the tournament. Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
27 MAR 1982: North Carolina forward James Worthy (52), guard Michael Jordan (23) and Houston center Akeem Abdul Olajuwon (35) and center Larry Micheaux (41) during the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Final Four semifinal game held at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA,. North Carolina defeated Houston 68-63 to meet Georgetown in the championship game. Worthy was named MVP for the tournament. Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /

3. North Carolina

  • Record: 2,261-799 (.739 Winning Percentage)
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances: 50
  • Final Fours: 20 (1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017)
  • National Titles: Six (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017)
  • Notable Alums: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter

This ranking will certainly make the denizens of Chapel Hill happy, but North Carolina deserved to finish ahead of Duke in the blue blood rankings. Not only is North Carolina one of the winningest programs of all time, but they also have plenty of banners and titles to show for it along with a few of the sports’ greatest players in their alumni ranks.

The Tar Heels have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 50 times, the second most in history, and they have appeared in a record 20 Final Fours. North Carolina’s first national championship came back in 1957 when Frank McGuire’s Tar Heels topped Kansas in triple overtime to cut down the nets.

The program reached new heights when the legendary Dean Smith succeeded McGuire in 1961, becoming March regulars and consistently getting deep at the NCAA Tournament. Smith’s first title came in 1982 when a young player by the name of Michael Jordan nailed the winning jumper in the championship game against Georgetown.

The Tar Heels wouldn’t win another title under Smith until 1993 when they became the second straight ACC team to knock off the Fab Five of Michigan and cut down the nets. Smith retired with an incredible legacy in 1997, and the program went through a brief lull trying to find his successor.

That man finally arrived in 2003, when Roy Williams bolted Kansas to come back to his alma mater. Williams has taken the Tar Heels to five Final Fours since he arrived, winning three more championships to further cement North Carolina’s place in the record books.