Fansided

Ranking the top 30 UNC basketball players in program history

By Cooper Watson

CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 7: Michael Jordan kisses former coach Dean Smith of the North Carolina Tar Heels during a halftime ceremony honoring the 1993 national championship team during a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Dean Smith Center on March 7, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 7: Michael Jordan kisses former coach Dean Smith of the North Carolina Tar Heels during a halftime ceremony honoring the 1993 national championship team during a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Dean Smith Center on March 7, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – MARCH 04: Fans of the North Carolina Tar Heels cheer during a game against the Duke Blue Devils on March 04, 2017 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 90-83. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC – MARCH 04: Fans of the North Carolina Tar Heels cheer during a game against the Duke Blue Devils on March 04, 2017 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 90-83. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

17. George Glamack (1938-41)

George Glamack has one of the most interesting stories not just in UNC history, but in all of college basketball history.

Glamack was nicknamed “The Blind Bomber” during his time in Chapel Hill because of his nearsightedness. It is said that he could hardly see the ball and that he gauged his shots not by looking at the basket, but by his knowledge of distances based on the blurred black lines on the court.

As almost unbelievable as this is, Glamack was named the National Player of the Year by the Helms Foundation in both 1940 and 1941, which also saw him earn first-team All-American honors.

Glamack’s UNC teams put up a combined Southern Conference record (pre-ACC) of 25-6 over his junior and senior seasons. Perhaps most importantly, Glamack was the star of UNC’s first-ever NCAA Tournament team in 1941, under the leadership of Head Coach Bill Lange.