UNC basketball: Ranking the top 30 Tar Heels of all time

Ranking the top 30 UNC basketball players in program history

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 – JANUARY 11: A general view of a megaphone for a North Carolina Tar Heels cheerleader on the court during a game against the Clemson Tigers on January 11, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Clemson won 76-79 in overtime. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

13. Bobby Lewis (1964-67)

Bobby Lewis was one of the greatest scorers in the history of UNC basketball. His career averages of 22.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG are impressive, but Lewis is best known for setting the Tar Heels single-game scoring record—a record that still stands today—with 49 points against Florida State in the 1965-66 season.

Lewis averaged 21.0 and 27.4 PPG as a sophomore and junior, respectively, but only 18.5 PPG as a senior. This is partially due to the emergence of Larry Miller as his co-star if you will. In that 1966-67 season, Lewis and Miller led the Tar Heels to their first Final Four under Head Coach Dean Smith.

As a junior and senior, Lewis was a second-team All-American. He earned All-ACC honors in all three of his seasons. Lewis’ 27.4 PPG mark in his junior season is also the second-highest single-season average in UNC program history.

Although Lewis’ teams did not have incredible success (by UNC standards) in his first two seasons, his final team more than made up for it which, coupled with his individual greatness and proficiency as a scorer, makes Lewis one of the truly great players in program history.