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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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
(Photo Credit: Getty Images) /

5. Antawn Jamison (1995-98)

Had Antawn Jamison returned to Chapel Hill for his senior season, he could quite possibly be competing for the top spot in these rankings as the best player in North Carolina basketball history. However, the fact that he cracks the top five of these rankings after only spending three seasons in the program is truly a testament to how great he was in the college basketball world.

The 6-foot-9 power forward quickly showed as a freshman that he was going to be an outright force for however long he chose to stay in the college basketball ranks. In that first season with the Tar Heels, Jamison averaged 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds per game while shooting 62.4 percent from the floor. For his trouble, he was named to the All-ACC first team, a feat he’d achieve in every season at Carolina.

Jamison bested his impressive freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign as he put up 19.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game on the year. That season, he not only led the Heels to the Final Four but also earned second-team Consensus All-American honors.

It was Jamison’s junior season that truly wowed everyone, though. Averaging 22.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, Jamison won the Wooden and Naismith Awards as the best player in the country. Meanwhile, he also took the Tar Heels to the Final Four for the second-straight year.

With what he did individually and as a leader of two Final Four teams, Jamison’s No. 33 is retired at UNC and deservedly so as he’s an unquestioned great.