NCAA Basketball: Mount Rushmores for the top 25 programs of all-time

North Carolina Basketball Mount Rushmore: Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Tyler Hansbrough

Michael Jordan

Well, duh.

Michael Jordan’s NBA career is better than his collegiate career, but that doesn’t mean his college career wasn’t great. As a freshman, he hit the shot that won the North Carolina Tar Heels the national championship in 1982.

From there, his level of play only grew. He was a consensus All-American in 1983 and 1984, averaging over 19.8 points per game over the course of his sophomore and junior seasons.

His offensive exploits were so great that it was often said Dean Smith, his coach, was the only player that could stop him. The GOAT was the National Player of the Year in 1984 and left school early to be picked No. 3 overall by the Chicago Bulls.

We all know what happened then.

Dean Smith

Smith is one of the true legends of college basketball. His Tar Heel teams reached 11 Final Fours during his 36 years in charge in Chapel Hill, winning two national championships (1984, 1993). Smith’s 879 career wins are still fourth all time. He holds NCAA records for most 20-win seasons (30), consecutive 20-win seasons (27) and 35 consecutive seasons with a winning record.

Yet Smith’s imprint on the game went far beyond his accomplishments. He’s famous for creating the four corners offense and double-teaming someone on defense, along with having his team huddle during breaks in play and have the scorer point to the passer following an assist.

North Carolina’s new college basketball arena, which opened in 1986, was named after him and is called the Dean E. Smith Center.

Roy Williams

Roy Williams developed under Smith, serving as an assistant for a decade before taking the head coaching job at Kansas in the late 1980s. He made the move back to Chapel Hill in 2003 and has continued Smith’s legacy to the point where the playing surface has now been dubbed Roy Williams Court.

UNC has made the NCAA Tournament in 15 of Williams’ 16 seasons, including five Final Four appearances and three national championships. Health issues may limit how long Williams can continue coaching, but his 453 wins at Carolina ranks second in program history behind Smith. He’s set to pass Smith in career wins during the 2019-20 season (he currently has 871).

Tyler Hansbrough

There were plenty of options for the fourth spot on North Carolina’s Mount Rushmore, but I’m going with Tyler Hansbrough. The 6-9 big man accomplished just about everything you can at the college level.

He was a First-Team All-ACC performer all four years, was a three-time consensus First-Team All-American and was the consensus National Player of the Year in 2008. Many thought he would leave after that junior season, which ended in a Final Four berth, but he returned and led the Tar Heels to the 2009 national title.

Hansbrough is the ACC’s career scoring leader, is UNC’s all-time leading rebounder and has the NCAA record with 982 made free throws.