North Carolina Tar Heels: Top Five Dean Smith Teams (w/ video)

Honorable Mention: 1996-97

The last season of Dean Smith’s storied career would be one of his best. Coming off a disappointing 1995-96 season where the team was ousted from the NCAA Tournament in the second round, the Tar Heels recovered and were able to have one of the best seasons in the nation.

Though they were only third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, they managed to score a 22.80 rating on the Simple Rating System while playing the second toughest schedule in the country, which made them the fourth best team at the end of the season. They also won the ACC tournament to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Smith had some of the most athletic talent he has ever had on that team. Antwan Jamison led the team with 19.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Shammond Williams was the little guard that could kill you from the outside and was athletic enough to finish on the outside, averaging 14.1 points per game. They also had some guy named Vince Carter who was a good young player that could jump out of the building, so much so that he was actually in the tip-off circle competing for the jump ball at the beginning of the game.

Led by Jamison, Williams, and Carter, The Tar Heels were able to run and dunk their way to the Final Four before they faced eventual national champion Arizona and lost. However, they still end up being one of Dean Smith’s best teams.

Next: 1994-95