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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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: Joel Berry II #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels cuts the net after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: Joel Berry II #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels cuts the net after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

26. Joel Berry II (2014-18)

Joel Berry ranks one spot above Marcus Paige on this list for one central reason: He won a National Championship. With a program like UNC, titles are key.

As a sophomore, Berry averaged 12.8 PPG on the national runner-up team that fell just short vs. Villanova. He was second on the team ins coring behind Brice Johnson and tied with Paige for the lead in assists with 3.8 per game. As a junior, Berry averaged 14.7 PPG as the starting point guard on the squad that won UNC’s seventh National Championship. He was also the Most Outstanding Player of that 2017 Final Four.

Berry’s senior season saw him average 17.1 PPG, although UNC finished third in the ACC and was bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Throughout his career in Chapel Hill, Berry was a two-time All-ACC player who helped lead UNC to two regular-season ACC titles as well as being the ACC Tournament MVP in 2016. Most importantly, he is a National Champion.