 at drawing contact in the paint. His career FTA Rate (59.2), while not Hansbroughian, is still sixth among UNC’s 63 1,000-point scorers. He had some injury problems (most notably a stress-fractured foot that cost him the first 9 games of his junior season) and off-court issues (an assault charge that led to his Hall of Fame Tip-off Classic suspension, and a missed curfew that led to his suspension for the 1989 NCAAT Round of 32 game vs. UCLA) that marred his Carolina legacy a little. On the court, though, Reid was a steady and productive player, and someone who could rise to the occasion in a big game. In ’87, he had one of the best postseason runs of any Carolina freshman in history (topped, probably, by only Ford in ’75 and O’Koren in ’77)– highlighted by 27 points vs. Michigan and 31 vs. Notre Dame (on 15-of-18 shooting) in consecutive NCAAT games. Then, in ’88, Reid averaged 17.6 points and 10.9 boards in seven postseason contests. He capped off his postseason career by winning the 1989 ACC Tournament MVP, averaging 16/8 and leading the Heels to a championship-game victory over Danny Ferry and Duke (Ferry was Reid’s arch-nemesis– this might have been the peak of the rivalry, at least from a mutual animosity standpoint; these teams hated each other and the battles were fierce). He also made a third career all-regional team in ’89 (despite the UCLA suspension), averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds in the Southeast Regional (including 26 and 6 in a Sweet 16 loss to Michigan). Although he never made a Final Four, Reid battled valiantly in his postseason career as a Tar Heel.
34. Rashad McCants: 2003-05, SG/SF, 6’4″, 207, Asheville, NC
- Peak season (2004): 20.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 47.9 FG%, 74.8 FT%, 40.8 3Pt%, 59.0 TS%, 3.76 WORP / 35 games
- Career averages (3 years): 17.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 48.6 FG%, 72.1 FT%, 41.5 3Pt%, 59.7 TS%, 7.64 Career WORP, 2.67 WORP / 1,000 minutes
- Accolades: one 2nd-team All-American, one 3rd-team All-American, one 1st-team All-ACC, one 3rd-team All-ACC, one regional All-Tournament team, one Final Four All-Tournament team, starter on one Final Four/national championship team
McCants exploded onto the college basketball landscape like a firecracker, scoring 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting in first game as a Tar Heel. Carolina defeated Penn State by 30 that night in the Preseason NIT, signaling to the rest of the country that they were back after the 8-20 debacle in 2002. The next week at Madison Square Garden, he scored 25 against #2 Kansas and 18 against Stanford as the young Heels captured the title. Despite that brilliant start, McCants’s UNC career/”jail” sentence wasn’t all lollipops and puppies. He butted heads with Matt Doherty (who was fired after the ’03 season), checked out mentally for stretches of time, played generally lackadaisical defense, and was slow to buy into everything Roy Williams was selling. Still, McCants was one of the most brilliant and versatile scorers to ever pass through Chapel Hill. He’d take smaller guards into the post, beat slower forwards off the dribble, and rain 3s over everyone with textbook form. McCants’s career 3Pt% of 41.5 ranks 4th in team history (trailing Hubert Davis, Jeff Lebo, and Reyshawn Terry). His 20-PPG season in 2004 is one of only seven in Carolina history since 1970 (joining Hansbrough (twice), Jamison, Forte, H. Davis, and Ford in that elite club). McCants’s performance in the ’05 national championship game was a microcosm for his bipolar collegiate career. He poured in 14 huge 1st-half points in helping the Heels to a 13-point lead before going scoreless in the 2nd half as the team held on for dear life.
33. Rick Fox: 1988-91, SF, 6’7″, 221, Nassau, Bahamas
- Peak season (1991): 16.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.0 spg, 45.3 FG%, 80.4 FT%, 34.2 3Pt%, 56.7 TS%, 4.66 WORP / 35 games
- Career averages (4 years): 12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 51.8 FG%, 75.7 FT%, 38.8 3Pt%, 60.9 TS%, 9.81 Career WORP, 3.09 WORP / 1,000 minutes
- Accolades: one 3rd-team All-American, one 1st-team All-ACC, one 3rd-team All-ACC, one ACC Tournament MVP, one All-ACC Tournament team, one regional All-Tournament team, starter on one Final Four team
Fox was a fantastic all-around wing at Carolina, contributing as a scorer, rebounder, passer, and defender (won the team’s Carmichael-Cobb award in 1991). His All-ACC 1991 season was instrumental in ending Dean Smith’s 8-year Final Four drought. Fox’s game-winner in the 1990 Round of 32 upset against top-seeded Oklahoma is one of the great shots in Carolina history. It capped off a 23-point performance for Fox in that game. His overall brilliance was again on display in the ’91 ACC Tournament. Fox averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 3 games, highlighted by 25/6/3 in a championship-game drubbing of Duke (96-74). It was more of the same in the East Regional– averages of 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.3 steals on the way to all-regional honors. Even in the ’91 Final Four– remembered by most for Fox’s cold shooting (5-of-22, including 0-of-7 behind the arc)– he chipped in 9 rebounds and 7 assists. After shooting 43.9% on 3-pointers with a TS% of 63.4 as a sophomore and junior, Fox slumped to 34.2% and 56.7% in ’91. Despite his drop in efficiency as a senior (and a proclivity for turnovers that plagued him his whole career), Fox’s ability to positively affect the game in so many ways earn him spot #33 in the top 100.
32. Vince Carter: 1996-98, SF/SG, 6’6″, 190, Daytona Beach, FL
- Peak season (1998): 15.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 59.1 FG%, 68.0 FT%, 41.1 3Pt%, 65.9 TS%, 3.98 WORP / 35 games
- Career averages (3 years): 12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 54.7 FG%, 70.5 FT%, 36.8 3Pt%, 62.2 TS%, 8.64 Career WORP, 3.23 WORP / 1,000 minutes
- Accolades: one 1st-team All-American, one 1st-team All-ACC, one 3rd-team All-ACC, two regional All-Tournament teams, starter on two Final Four teams
Carter’s inclusion on this list could probably be justified merely by linking to one of his Carolina highlight videos. But it takes more than ridiculous dunking ability to make one a top 100 Tar Heel. Although he was a third scoring option (behind Jamison and Sh. Williams) as a sophomore and junior, Carter thrived in that role by putting up phenomenal efficiency numbers. After shooting just 34% behind the arc in his first two seasons, Carter improved to 41% as a junior. And, after being frequently benched by Dean Smith as a freshman for defensive lapses, Carter turned into a lock-down defender by ’98. He could defend four positions with his athleticism, combining fundamental aptitude (won the Carmichael-Cobb in ’98) with otherworldly physical gifts. He also combined highlight-reel plays with great decision-making. Carter’s A:TO as a Tar Heel was 1.60– 1.80 over his final two seasons. He very rarely turned the ball over or made careless plays. While Carter would sometimes defer to others on the offensive end, he became more aggressive when the stakes were high. He scored 18 in a ’97 Elite 8 win against Louisville, before leading the Heels with 21 in the Final Four loss to Arizona. In the 1998 postseason, he scored 20+ points in 3 of Carolina’s last 4 games (after reaching that mark just 4 times in the first 34 games), including a team-high 21 against Utah in another Final Four loss. While the Final Four failures in ’97 and (especially) ’98 were painful for UNC fans, Carter should be remembered for rising to the occasion in both games.
