UNC Basketball History

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This backcourt duo ran the show during my own blossoming as a die-hard Heel and devotee of The Game. They paired up in the backcourt in 1970-71 and 1971-72, years in which Carolina had records of 28-6 and 28-5. That first season the team suffered a soul-crushing ACC Final loss to Sub Carolina then rallied to take the NIT Championship - a legitimate prize in the days of an often random and capricious 25 team NCAA tournament selection.

Senior leader Previs and Karl hit the court in 1971-72 buttressed by two new big men in Junior College transfer Robert McAdoo and freshman Bobby Jones, both native Tar Heels (GSO & Charlotte). That squad battled through the ACC at a 9-3 clip with losses to dook, Maryland, and state. Out of conference an early December upset to Princeton marred the overall count. Ultimately, that team lost in the Final Four semis to a charmed Florida State that nevertheless fell before John Wooden’s UCLA Machine.

I was 11-12 years old in those days and nights of hoops. From there onward basketball would steadily edge out other sports as my greatest love. Yes, baseball has its magic and tennis will always be with me, but hoops is nigh religion to this Tar Heel and these two, Previs with his dedication to defense and team play passing, and Karl with the flare and offense made for a showcase of the things a Carolina guard could be, what a Carolina guard should aspire to be. They were the puzzle pieces on display for me of how we each give what we can to make the sum total greater. I continue to this day watching for that court philosophy and am heartened when I see it come to fruition.

That kind of teamwork and sacrifice was a mark of Coach Smith’s career. Not every team was as successful in it as the next but when it hit it was a beautiful thing to watch. The lucky among us have had that feeling, likely fleeting but still exhilarating, on the court, in a choir or band, on stage, or at a job where we clicked synchronously with our compatriots.

I look for that sense of things today and pray for any small visitation from it. When it happens revel in it. If you’ve got it anywhere, anytime embrace it. If you’ve had it think back in joy. It’s the small things that often loom so large. To Previs and Karl for giving me that first glimpse of the sublime nature of giving to the team. Salute.
 
donbosco said:
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This backcourt duo ran the show during my own blossoming as a die-hard Heel and devotee of The Game. They paired up in the backcourt in 1970-71 and 1971-72, years in which Carolina had records of 28-6 and 28-5. That first season the team suffered a soul-crushing ACC Final loss to Sub Carolina then rallied to take the NIT Championship - a legitimate prize in the days of an often random and capricious 25 team NCAA tournament selection.

Senior leader Previs and Karl hit the court in 1971-72 buttressed by two new big men in Junior College transfer Robert McAdoo and freshman Bobby Jones, both native Tar Heels (GSO & Charlotte). That squad battled through the ACC at a 9-3 clip with losses to dook, Maryland, and state. Out of conference an early December upset to Princeton marred the overall count. Ultimately, that team lost in the Final Four semis to a charmed Florida State that nevertheless fell before John Wooden’s UCLA Machine.

I was 11-12 years old in those days and nights of hoops. From there onward basketball would steadily edge out other sports as my greatest love. Yes, baseball has its magic and tennis will always be with me, but hoops is nigh religion to this Tar Heel and these two, Previs with his dedication to defense and team play passing, and Karl with the flare and offense made for a showcase of the things a Carolina guard could be, what a Carolina guard should aspire to be. They were the puzzle pieces on display for me of how we each give what we can to make the sum total greater. I continue to this day watching for that court philosophy and am heartened when I see it come to fruition.

That kind of teamwork and sacrifice was a mark of Coach Smith’s career. Not every team was as successful in it as the next but when it hit it was a beautiful thing to watch. The lucky among us have had that feeling, likely fleeting but still exhilarating, on the court, in a choir or band, on stage, or at a job where we clicked synchronously with our compatriots.

I look for that sense of things today and pray for any small visitation from it. When it happens revel in it. If you’ve got it anywhere, anytime embrace it. If you’ve had it think back in joy. It’s the small things that often loom so large. To Previs and Karl for giving me that first glimpse of the sublime nature of giving to the team. Salute.
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DB,

Nice post! Appreciate the trip down Memory Lane and I was 9- and 10-year-old in those ‘71 and ‘72 seasons and I revered Steve Previs, George Karl, Dennis Wuycik, Bobby Jones, and Robert McAdoo.

A couple of corrections:

1). Bobby Jones didn’t play as a FR; Mitch Kupchak was the first FR to play in the “modern” era in the ‘72-‘73 season.
2). Jones first played on the varsity in the ‘71-‘72 season as a SO.
3). The NCAA Tourney wasn’t capricious; you had to be a conference champion to make the Tourney.
4). Not a correction - one of my Dad’s grad students was doing a post-doc at Princeton and we watched Princeton dog the Heels @ Princeton. Not a fun game to watch.
 
donbosco said:
Whew...almost missed this one.

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Middle of top row is fellow Sig Roy B. McKnight who went on to a successful medical practice in Charlotte. In the early 80s, he had moved to Chapel Hill and would come by the House for lunch a couple of times a month. I regret not having spent more time with him and hearing about those first teams. Just looked him up and he passed away in 1985 at the age of 91.
 
Zoo_View said:
DB,

Nice post! Appreciate the trip down Memory Lane and I was 9- and 10-year-old in those ‘71 and ‘72 seasons and I revered Steve Previs, George Karl, Dennis Wuycik, Bobby Jones, and Robert McAdoo.

A couple of corrections:

1). Bobby Jones didn’t play as a FR; Mitch Kupchak was the first FR to play in the “modern” era in the ‘72-‘73 season.
2). Jones first played on the varsity in the ‘71-‘72 season as a SO.
3). The NCAA Tourney wasn’t capricious; you had to be a conference champion to make the Tourney.
4). Not a correction - one of my Dad’s grad students was doing a post-doc at Princeton and we watched Princeton dog the Heels @ Princeton. Not a fun game to watch.
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I think you could say the NCAAT was somewhat capricious at the time due to the unevenness in qualifying to get there. Yes, in the ACC you had to win the ACC tournament to get there. Other conferences awarded the NCAAT berth to the regular season champion. And then there were A LOT of independent schools that did not have to win any kind of conference championship to get in. They just needed to be good enough among the independent schools to get an invitation. This made it so that many independent teams not nearly as good as teams that played in conferences got NCAA berths. In the 1971 NCAAT, eight of the 25 teams were independent.
 
Having to win the ACCT in order to make the NCAAT made those three days electric and nerve wracking. Today, the ACCT is an extension of the regular season and means next to nothing other than the winner being designated ACC conference champion ( which did mean something to fans back in the day )
 
heelinhell said:
Having to win the ACCT in order to make the NCAAT made those three days electric and nerve wracking. Today, the ACCT is an extension of the regular season and means next to nothing other than the winner being designated ACC conference champion ( which did mean something to fans back in the day )
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Winning the conference -- either way -- and beating the once-known-as-The Big Four-schools -- still means a good deal to me.
 
heelinhell said:
Having to win the ACCT in order to make the NCAAT made those three days electric and nerve wracking. Today, the ACCT is an extension of the regular season and means next to nothing other than the winner being designated ACC conference champion ( which did mean something to fans back in the day )
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Meant a bit more than that to State a couple of years ago when they would not have made the NCAAT bur for winning the ACCT. But generally speaking and sadly, you are correct.
 
donbosco said:
Winning the conference -- either way -- and beating the once-known-as-The Big Four-schools -- still means a good deal to me.
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I don't disagree. I want to beat dook*** ,ncst, and wake every game in every year.. And I want to finish 1st in the conference and win the ACCT every year. That is a big deal.

But when it comes to the ACCT back in the day, it was not just a big deal, it was everything and on steroids 🤪
 
One of the great things about the Duke-UNC basketball rivalry is that even if one of the teams is having a clearly better season than the other, and even when one of them is having down year, there still tends to be tight contests with the underdog sometimes coming out victorious.

In 1990, Duke clearly had the better team, but UNC seept the series.

In 1992, Duke clearly had the better team, but UNC won the first contest (“The Bloody Montross Game”).

In 1995, UNC clearly had the better team by far, but Duke sent the first matchup into double overtime before the Heels eventually won by 2.

In 1999, Duke clearly had the better team by a wide margin, but UNC played them tight in the first matchup before Duke pulled away to win by 12.

In 2000, Duke clearly has the better team, but UNC took the first game into overtime before losing by 4.

In 2003, Duke clearly had the better team, but UNC kept the game tight in the first matchup before Duke pulled away at the end and then won the second matchup.

In 2004, Duke had the better team, but the Heels played both games close, losing the first matchup by just 2 in overtime and losing the second matchup by 5.

In 2006, Duke had the better team but the Heels won the second matchup in Cameron.

In 2015, Duke clearly had the better team, but the Heels took the first matchup into overtime to end up losing by only 2.

In 2016, the Heels were a good bit better than Duke, but Duke pulled off a 1-point win in the first matchup in Chapel Hill.

In 2017, the Heels were a good bit better than Duke, but Duke won the first matchup and the third matchup in the ACCT.

In 2018, Duke was a good bit better than UNC, but the Geels won the first matchup and the third matchup in the ACCT.

In 2020, Duke was better than UNC by a long shot, yet in the first matchup the game went into overtime and the Heels lost on a series of some of the biggest fluke plays I’ve ever seen (or maybe it was the flukes that allowed to Duke to send the game onto overtime, or a combination).

In 2022, Duke had the better team all season long and then the Heels beat Duke in Cameron in their second matchup and again in the NCAAT, ending K’s career.

Last season, Duke was clearly a lot better than UNC and the Heels lost by only 3 to them in the ACCT after Lubin missed the front end of a 1-and-1 while down 1 with 4 seconds left.
 
Icky Mettle said:
In 1995, UNC clearly had the better team by far, but Duke sent the first matchup into double overtime before the Heels eventually won by 2.
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The 1995 game in Cameron is one of the best games in the history of the rivalry.
 
dukeman92 said:
The 1995 game in Cameron is one of the best games in the history of the rivalry.
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And many people across the country think dook won because all ESPN shows as a highlight from that game is the Capel shot that everyone else thinks was the game winner instead of merely the shot that sent it to the 2nd OT.
 
donbosco said:
www.tarheelblog.com

The 25 Greatest Games in UNC Basketball History: #7 - The 1995 Double OT Game

Wire to wire, the greatest game in UNC-Duke history.
www.tarheelblog.com www.tarheelblog.com
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Duke, on the other hand, was a wasteland. Coach K had taken a leave of absence due to back surgery, leaving Pete Gaudet in command. However, even K couldn’t have saved this team

I disagree with this. K reversed their record and made the NCAA tournament the very next year without Trajan Langdon and Cherokee Parks. Arguably the two best players from that 1995 team.
 
dukeman92 said:
The 1995 game in Cameron is one of the best games in the history of the rivalry.
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The 1974 “8 points in 17 seconds” game was a much better game.

In that game, the team that hit the miraculous buzzer beater to tie the game, won the game.
 
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