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, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 20: General view of the empty concourse of the Dean Smith Center before the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on January 20, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 20: General view of the empty concourse of the Dean Smith Center before the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on January 20, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

15. Brad Daugherty (1982-86)

Brad Daugherty walked onto campus in Chapel Hill in 1982 as a 16-year-old. As a freshman and sophomore, Daughtery averaged 8.2 and 10.5 PPG. While those numbers are respectable, his growth from that young age would see him explode onto the scene as an upperclassman.

In his junior season (1984-85), Daughtery averaged 17.3 PPG and 9.7 RPG, leading the Heels to the Elite Eight in their first season post-Michael Jordan. As a senior, he put up 20.2 PPG and 9.0 RPG, earning him All-American honors.

Daughtery’s production coupled with his still relatively young age helped make him the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. He was UNC’s second No.1  overall pick, just four years after James Worthy became the first in 1982. No UNC player has been taken No. 1 overall since Daughtery in 1986.

Daughtery was never the best player on a Final Four or National Championship team, but his contributions to UNC’s program over his four years in Chapel Hill are undeniable.