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 – DECEMBER 14: Ramses, mascot of the North Carolina Tar Heels, cheers fans and waves a flag before playing the Kentucky Wildcats on December 14, 2013 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 82-77. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC – DECEMBER 14: Ramses, mascot of the North Carolina Tar Heels, cheers fans and waves a flag before playing the Kentucky Wildcats on December 14, 2013 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 82-77. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

9. Billy Cunningham (1962-65)

Billy Cunningham is the greatest UNC player of all time to never really experience much team success. Cunningham’s first season in Chapel Hill was Dean Smith’s second—1962-63. Over the next three years, the Heels would finish third, fifth, and second in the ACC with a combined overall record of 42-27 and, perhaps most importantly, zero NCAA Tournament appearances.

Despite that, he is undoubtedly a top 10 player in program history. He ranks first in UNC’s career record books in rebounds per game (15.4) and second in points per game (24.8). Cunningham not only holds the career rebounding average record, but he also has the three single highest individual season averages (14.3, 15.8, 16.2) in program history.

Cunningham was a two-time All-American, three-time All-ACC, and the ACC Player of the Year in 1965, as well as a member of the ACC 50th Anniversary team which honored the 50 greatest men’s basketball players in ACC history.