Fansided

North Carolina basketball: Ranking the 27 best Tar Heels of all time

By Cody Williams

CHAPEL HILL, NC - 1983: Michael Jordan #23 of the North Carolina Tar Heels sits in the huddle against the Clemson Tigers circa 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1983 NBAE (Photo by Anthony Neste/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - 1983: Michael Jordan #23 of the North Carolina Tar Heels sits in the huddle against the Clemson Tigers circa 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1983 NBAE (Photo by Anthony Neste/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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USA’s Robert Jones (8) goes up for two points over Egypt’s Khaled Essam (5) in Olympic basketball action as USA’s Michael Banton (7) and James Brewer (11) watch the action. USA won 96-31.(Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
USA’s Robert Jones (8) goes up for two points over Egypt’s Khaled Essam (5) in Olympic basketball action as USA’s Michael Banton (7) and James Brewer (11) watch the action. USA won 96-31.(Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) /

16. Bobby Jones (1971-74)

Famously one of the “good guys” in the history of college basketball, the ABA, the NBA and the sport in general, Bobby Jones arrived to the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team in the 1971-72 season and made an immediate impact as a forward with great size on the interior, measuring in at 6-foot-9. In that first season, he put up 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 66.8 percent from the field.

After his strong debut in the program, Jones was asked to take up the mantle of leading the program more than he had in his first season. For the 1972-73 campaign, the Charlotte, NC native notched 15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while still maintaining an impressive 60.1 percent shooting mark. He finished up his career with yet another strong season as Jones averaged 16.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as a senior.

When you’re looking at the annuls of UNC basketball, Jones quite clearly has his place as a productive player that was also named a Consensus All-American. However, what keeps him on the lower half of the top 20 players in program history is his teams didn’t have much success.

While the Tar Heels made the Final Four in Jones’ freshman season, they failed to make the NCAA Tournament in his other two years in Chapel Hill. For a program like this, that goes down as a red X on his record and, thus, keeps him from creeping higher in these rankings.