Tag: ACC

85. Lorenzo Charles, NC State, 1982-1985

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Lorenzo Charles, the player, has been overshadowed by Lorenzo Charles, the dunk.  But he was a tremendous player.  In the two years following the dunk, he made first team All-ACC, including a unanimous selection as a senior, and he received a lot of support for ACC POY, won by Len Bias.  No shame in finishing second to Len Bias.

I always find it interesting to compare All-ACC/POY voting with All-America voting.  Lorenzo Charles in 1985 provides a good example of how they can diverge.

Here are the results of All-ACC voting in 1985:

ACC Player of the Year voting went like this:

So it seems clear, doesn’t it, that among ACC sportswriters, Charles was considered a clear number 2 to Len Bias’ number 1?

But in the All-American voting, we had:

How do you explain that?  Charles was a well-known player, obviously from the dunk in 1983, and having made first team All-ACC and third team All-American the season before.  The team was successful; NC State tied for the regular season lead in the ACC and made the Elite Eight.  Why didn’t he get more attention nationally?  My best guess is that there were two factors at play.  First, Duke and Georgia Tech were nationally ranked all year in 1985, while NC State wasn’t.  The Wolfpack had a great finish and wound up tied for first place, but by the time they made their run, the voters had been hearing about Price and Dawkins all year, and impressions had been formed.

The second reason is, Price and Dawkins benefited from being guards.  That year, for whatever reason, all the best players were forwards and centers.  Here’s the AP All-America team:

First Team:

Second Team:

Notice that Dawkins and Price are the only guards.  The AP voting wasn’t done by position (some other services were), but I have to think that the voters, maybe even subconsciously, felt they had to put a couple of guards up there.  There were so many good forwards and centers that Charles couldn’t crack the list.

I’m not sure if I’m arguing that Charles should have been All-America or that Dawkins and Price shouldn’t have.  Either way, I think he was the second-best player in the ACC in 1985. He deserves to be on the list.

86. Hawkeye Whitney, NC State, 1977-1980

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: Yes

In the fall of 1976, NC State was just two years removed from the glories of 1974.  Norm Sloan’s recruiting class of Hawkeye Whitney, Clyde “The Glide” Austin (sorry Drexler, Austin was the original), Brian Walker, and juco Tony Warren was supposed to return the Wolfpack to the top of the ACC.  It didn’t happen.  After decent years in 1977 and 1978, the 1979 Wolfpack was supposed to be one of the nation’s best teams.  They were ranked #12 in the preseason.  An 11-2 start with wins over #4 Louisville and #15 Long Beach State had the Wolfpack ranked #8 going into ACC play.  That turned out to be the highwater mark of the late 1970s Wolfpack.  The rest of the season consisted of one agonizing loss after another, including a double overtime loss to Maryland, a one-point loss to UNC on the infamous Dudley Bradley steal with seconds remaining, and a one-point loss to #1 Notre Dame.  The 1980 team was the final year for that class and the freshman year of the 1983 class of Lowe, Whittenburg, and Bailey; to their credit, the Wolfpack rebounded to finish 9-5 in the ACC and make the NCAA Tournament.

Tony Warren stayed with the program but wound up being a role player.  Brian Walker played one year with the Wolfpack and transferred to Purdue.  But the biggest disappointment was Austin.  Here’s what Sloan had to say about him before his freshman year:

“Clyde ‘The Glide’ Austin is something special,” Sloan beamed.  “Last year our fans sat on their hands most of the time because something was missing.  We didn’t have that turn-on type of player.  But, Clyde is that type of player and he’s going to blow the roof off.  He’s a great athlete and he’s the most exciting player I’ve ever seen and that includes a kid that grew up very close to here (referring to Phil Ford) and he’ll be a challenge to that player before too long,” Sloan smiled.  “Our competition will call him a ‘hot dog’ but he’ll do things with a basketball that you won’t believe.  You loved David Thompson and you’ll love this kid also.” – Vince Grosso, Rocky Mount Telegram, October 14, 1976

Nowadays a coach would never say that in public about a player.  In 1976, things were different; those words were spoken to about 75 boosters at Parker’s Barbecue in Rocky Mount.  But it gives you a sense of what Sloan thought he had.  Austin was an OK player, but never achieved the stardom than Sloan envisioned.

But the one player who was a good as advertised was Whitney.  A product of Coach Morgan Wootten’s storied DeMatha program, Whitney had an outstanding freshman year, tying Mike Gminski for ACC Rookie of the Year.  He went on to make first team All-ACC in 1979 and 1980, finishing second to Albert King in Player of the Year balloting in 1980.  He was named to several All-America teams in 1980 as well.  He is NC State’s fifth all-time leading scorer, after Rodney Monroe, David Thompson, Julius Hodge, and Sam Ranzino.

Whitney always struggled with his weight.  He was drafted in the first round of the 1980 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings.  During a promising rookie season, he tore up his knee, gained weight while rehabbing, and never could get back into playing shape, effectively ending his professional career.

87. Sean May, UNC, 2003-2005

2003 Top 50 List: Not eligible

Dan Collins List: No

Sean May is on this list for one reason: his 2005 NCAA Tournament performance, which was without question one of the greatest ever by an ACC player.  Excepting that, I don’t think he is a Top 100 player.  He basically played two years; his freshman year was cut short by injury and he played only 11 games.  His sophomore year, he was a good player but not special; he was 9th in All-ACC voting, and I think that’s about where he belonged.  His junior year was a genuinely great year.  He made second team All-American and finished second to JJ Redick (and ahead of Chris Paul) in ACC Player of the Year voting .  All of that would be enough for Top 150, but probably not Top 100 by itself.

I have tried not to overemphasize NCAA Tournament performance in this ranking.  I don’t like the general trend towards “ring counting” as a way of ranking players.  In college basketball, it’s a small sample size and tends to favor players from blueblood programs who are surrounded by other great players.  But when a guy has an incredible performance and leads a team to a title, you have to give some credit for that.

Was May’s 2005 NCAA Tournament the best performance by an ACC player in tournament history?  Fourteen ACC players have been named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player:

I think you can sort them naturally into three groups.

Group 1: All-time greats

Thompson, Laettner, Battier, Dixon, May

Group 2: Really good, but one notch below the very best

Worthy, Williams, Singler, Ellington, Heyman (in a losing effort)

Group 3: Not a historic performance, more of a “he was the best player on the best team”

Hurley, Guy, Berry, Jones

A case can be made for any of Group 1 as the best. 

Thompson played only 4 games – not his fault, of course – and one of those was the famous Pitt game where he hit his head on the floor and everybody thought he was dead.  In the other 3 games, he scored 40 (!) against Providence; 28 in the semifinal win over Bill Walton and UCLA, ending the Bruins’ run of 7 straight national titles; and 21 in the final win over Marquette.  Overall he shot 54% and averaged 24 PPG, even with the 8 point injury game against Pitt. The significance of the win over UCLA magnifies his performance even more.

Laettner scored no less than 18 points in any of his 6 games, averaging 21 points and 6 rebounds per game.  He shot 62% from the field, 91% from the line, and had 28 points and 7 rebounds in the semifinal upset over UNLV.  This was not the year of the UConn buzzer beater (that was 1990) or the Kentucky shot (that was 1992). That’s how great Laettner was, you’re talking about his greatest tournament and it doesn’t even include those iconic moments.

Dixon scored 29, 29, 19, 27, 33, and 18 in his 6 games.  He shot 54% from the field, 51% from three, 88% from the line.  That Maryland team was very good, but unlike Laettner, Dixon wasn’t playing with two other guys in the Top 50.  Dixon led that team all the way to the title.

Battier scored 21, 27, 24, 20, 25, and 18 in his 6 games.  He shot 59% from two, 36% from three, 84% from the line.  He had double-doubles in 5 of the 6 games.  He had 12 steals, 16 blocks, and only 9 turnovers in the entire tournament.

May’s point/rebound totals were 19/8, 24/17, 14/10, 29/12, 22/7, and 26/10, averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds for the tournament.  He shot an astounding 67% from the field and 77% from the line.  In the final, he went 10-for-11 from the field and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Very, very difficult to pick a number one from that group.  If I had to pick one, I would probably go with Laettner 1991.  But May has a case, and a good one.

88. John Richter, NC State, 1957-1959

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

John Richter was a big man for the late 1950s NC State teams under Everett Case.  He was in fact one of the tallest players in the league at 6’8”.  Richter and Lou Pucillo were the leaders of the 1959 NC State team that finished #6 in the AP poll.  They tied for the regular season championship and won the ACC Tournament but were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to probation.  Richter received 25 votes to Pucillo’s 43 in ACC Player of the Year voting.  He was named second team All-American by the NABC and the NEA and finished 16th in the AP balloting, just missing third team.

Richter was also MVP of the 1959 Dixie Classic.  On back-to-back-to-back days, the Wolfpack beat Louisville, who eventually went to the Final Four; Oscar Robertson and Cincinnati, who also went to the Final Four; and seventh-ranked Michigan State, with Jumpin’ Johnny Green.  You gotta love the Dixie Classic.

Richter was the first round pick of the Boston Celtics and spent one year in the NBA backing up Bill Russell and winning an NBA championship with Russell, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, and the rest of Red Auerbach’s Celtics.  In the offseason, he developed a blood clot in his arm, and doctors advised him to take a year off. When he did return, it was with the Sunbury Mercuries in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, or what eventually became the CBA.

Richter ranks fourth in NC State school history in career rebounds, behind Ronnie Shavlik, Tom Burleson, and Richard Howell.

Players to Lead the ACC in Scoring and Rebounding in the Same Season:

Most basketball fans have heard of 3-point plays but John Richter, North Carolina State’s 6-foot-8 freshman center, has come up with something new – a 5-point play.  In a recent game against the Duke frosh, the Philadelphian came up with, not one, but two 5-point plays.  The oddity goes like this: Richter was fouled in the act of shooting a field goal.  He made the goal, accounting for two points.  He was given one free throw, which he missed.  But Richter grabbed the rebound after missing and scored a field goal, accounting for four points.  He was fouled again and this time made the free throw, thereby accounting for five points.  Richter scored 32 points and grabbed 32 rebounds during the game, to pace a 71-64 win for the Wolflets. – The Charlotte News, January 14, 1956

89. Dennis Wuycik, UNC, 1970-1972

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Dennis Wuycik was a two-time first team All-ACC selection who received some consideration for ACC Player of the Year in 1971 (won by John Roche) and 1972 (won by Barry Parkhill).  The 1972 Tar Heels were ranked in the Top 5 all season and made the Final Four behind the play of Wuycik, Bob McAdoo, George Karl, Bill Chamberlain, and Bobby Jones.

Wuycik suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening round of the 1971 ACC Tournament.  UNC and South Carolina had been the top two teams in the conference all season, and the Gamecocks took home their first (and last) ACC Tournament title, beating the shorthanded Tar Heels 52-51 in the final.  Despite Wuycik’s absence, UNC went on to win the NIT championship (and hung a banner for it, I’m sure).

True Shooting Percentage is an advanced, unofficial statistic that measures a player’s shooting efficiency, considering two-point FGs, three-point FGs, and free throws in its calculation.  It is intended to be a better measure of shooting efficiency than just FG%, 3-Pt. FG%, or FT% alone.  Anyway, with the caveat that my data set is incomplete, Wuycik has one of the highest True Shooting Percentages in ACC history at 65.3%.  The only player I was able to find with a higher mark is Carlos Boozer at 66.5%.  All that to say, when Wuycik shot the ball, it went in the basket most of the time.

We know that UNC has always emphasized getting the ball inside and that there is a long list of excellent UNC big men.  But the record under Dean Smith is truly amazing.  In Smith’s 36-year career, the Tar Heels had a big man (forward or center) voted first or second team All-ACC all but four years, and one of those was Smith’s first, so we’ll give him a pass on that one.  Here is the list:

Even in 1970/1990/1992, they had good big men on the roster who were All-ACC in other years.  Maybe I’m cheating a little bit with a couple of these guys; Bob Lewis and Rick Fox were listed as forwards but were more midrange or perimeter players.  But those quibbles aside, this is an amazing run. It speak to Dean’s incredible ability to recruit and develop players at a consistently high level to fit the style he wanted to play.

90. Mike Lewis, Duke, 1966-1968

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Mike Lewis (not to be confused with UNC’s Bob Lewis, who played at the same time) was an outstanding big man who played at the tail end of the Vic Bubas era at Duke.  He had a monster year in 1968, averaging 22 points and 14 rebounds.  He was unanimous first team All-ACC, received a lot of support for ACC Player of the Year (won by Larry Miller), and made third team All-American.  He had 24 double-doubles (Tim Duncan holds the ACC record in that category with 29 in 1997).

Lewis was a similar player to Randy Denton, who succeeded him as Duke’s big man in residence.  I rate Lewis a bit higher because he achieved a level as a senior that was slightly better than Denton’s best.  Lewis’s 14.4 rebounds per game average in 1968 has been exceeded only three times since then: Tom Owens in 1970 (14.9), Len Elmore in 1974 (14.7), and Tim Duncan in 1997 (14.7).

Lewis played a major role in the two most famous “slowdown” games in the ACC Tournament.  In the 1966 semifinal, UNC held the ball and didn’t shoot unless they got a layup.  It almost worked, as the Tar Heels built a 17-12 lead in the second half, but Duke managed to claw back.  Lewis sank a late free throw to secure a 21-20 win for the Blue Devils, who went on to win the ACC championship and advance to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons.  In 1968, NC State tried it, and this time Duke was not so fortunate as the Wolfpack pulled out a 12-10 win to advance to the final against UNC.  Lewis was Duke’s high scorer with four points. 

If these slowdown games sound like a desperation tactic, that’s because they were.  Duke was the dominant program in the ACC in the 1960s, and their program at the time was known for size and rebounding, kind of like Roy Williams’ North Carolina teams.  Lewis was at the center of that, but Duke had other quality big men as well.  Dean Smith in 1966 and Norm Sloan in 1968 were honest in saying that they didn’t think they could deal with Duke’s size in a normal game, hence the spread out/slow down tactic.  Interestingly, Duke coach Vic Bubas didn’t complain or criticize their tactics at all.  He said in effect, it’s not against the rules, so I don’t have a problem with it.  For some reason, it took the NCAA 18 more years to figure out that this was gimmickry, not basketball, and institute a shot clock.

Lewis was also involved in a fascinating home-and-home series with John Wooden and UCLA.  In December 1965, the Bruins came to North Carolina and played the Blue Devils on back-to-back days; in December 1966, Duke went out to California and returned the favor.  Wouldn’t it be cool if a few of the top teams still did that?  Both the 1965 games were won by Duke; both the 1966 games were won by UCLA.  The difference?  Lew Alcindor.  1966 was Alcindor’s first year on varsity, and not coincidentally, the first year of the Bruins’ 10 year run of dominance.  Poor Mike Lewis, standing at 6’7”, didn’t stand a chance, and nobody else that played Alcindor did either.  That 1966-67 UCLA team is arguably the most dominant team in the history of college basketball, and Alcindor is arguably the greatest player in the history of college basketball.

91. Vann Williford, NC State, 1968-1970

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Charlie Scott was the best player in the class of 1970.  Vann Williford was the second best.  A two-time first team All-ACC selection, Williford received significant support for ACC Player of the Year in 1970, finishing behind Scott and John Roche. He was also named MVP of the ACC Tournament – an exciting tournament won by NC State in a double overtime final over South Carolina.

The Wolfpack then advanced to the NCAA Tournament to take on Bob Lanier and third-ranked St. Bonaventure.  Williford had 35 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort.  The Bonnies went on to the Final Four.  Williford’s last college game was the regional third place game.  He had 36 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Calvin Murphy and #17 Niagara. 

Looking back at that 1970 ACC Tournament, Williford’s performance really stands out. I did a quick study of ACC Tournament MVPs to see which of them scored the greatest percentage of their team’s points over the course of the tournament. As far as I can tell, only three players have scored 40% or more:

Next in line are Albert King, 1980 (37.9%), James Forrest in 1993 (37.3%), Len Chappell in 1962 (35.4%), and Zion Williamson in 2019 (35.1%).

So if you combine the stellar ACC Tournament with the two monster games in the NCAAs, that’s a pretty strong finish to a college career. I wonder if Williford would have received some All-America support if the vote had been held after the season.

Williford was a high school teammate of Carolina’s Rusty Clark at Fayetteville (NC) High School. He was not highly recruited but wound up at NC State in a roundabout way. Pistol Pete Maravich was the son of NC State coach Press Maravich but was unable to make the ACC’s minimum SAT score. As a result, Press and Pete moved on to LSU and left the cupboard somewhat bare for new coach Norm Sloan. Williford had signed with Pfeiffer but was hoping to get an better offer. When he got one from Sloan, he jumped at the chance.

20+ point, 10+ rebound average in a season since 1970:

  • Vann Williford, 1970, 23.7/10.0
  • Randy Denton, Duke, 1971, 20.4/12.8
  • Tom Burleson, NC State, 1972, 21.3/14.0
  • Kenny Carr, NC State, 1976, 26.6/10.3
  • Rod Griffin, Wake Forest, 1978, 21.5/10.0
  • Mike Gminski, Duke, 1978, 20.0/10.0
  • Mike Gminski, Duke, 1980, 21.3/10.9
  • Joe Smith, Maryland, 1995, 20.8/10.6
  • Tim Duncan, Wake Forest, 1997, 20.8/14.7
  • Antawn Jamison, UNC, 1998, 22.2/10.5
  • Tyler Hansbrough, UNC, 2008, 22.6/10.2
  • Marvin Bagley, Duke, 2018, 21.0/11.1

92. Bob Sura, Florida State, 1992-1995

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Bob Sura’s freshman year was Florida State’s first year in the ACC.  They had been a pretty good program in the old Metro conference, but nobody expected much from them coming into the big, bad ACC.  The schedule didn’t do them any favors; their first ACC game was in Chapel Hill against fifth-ranked UNC, and to make matters worse, FSU was shorthanded, with Douglas Edwards suspended.  No problem.  All they did was breeze in and dominate the Tar Heels in the game that drew the infamous “wine-and-cheese crowd” comment from Sam Cassell.  Sura fit into that team perfectly. He had that Eminem swagger right from the start.  He had a tremendous year and was voted Rookie of the Year over James Forrest of Georgia Tech.

In 1993, everyone was back, and expectations were high.  The Seminoles didn’t disappoint, finishing 12-4 in the ACC and making a run to the Elite Eight, where they were destroyed by Jamal Mashburn and Kentucky.  You could see that kind of beatdown coming; they were one of those teams that tried to outscore you, and that only takes you so far, but it sure was fun to watch.  Sura, Edwards, and Cassell were all great, and all three made second team All-ACC.

That was the end of the glory days for the Pat Kennedy Seminoles.  The next year, Edwards and Cassell were gone, and the Seminoles fell all the way to 6-10 in the ACC.  But individually, Sura had a tremendous year as the focal point of the offense.  He was the third-leading vote getter behind Grant Hill and Randolph Childress for first team All-ACC.  In 1995, Sura’s scoring and FG% were down a bit.  You get the sense that the roster had been thinned out so much at that point that defenses were really able to key on him.  It was also the year of Stackhouse/Duncan/Smith/Wallace, and Sura found himself back on second team All-ACC.  He went on to have a fine NBA career.

Since 1993, there have been only 4 seasons in which an ACC player averaged 15+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists.  Greivis Vasquez did it twice, in 2008 and 2009; Grant Hill did it in 1994; and Sura in 1995.

Sura, Julius Hodge, and Danny Ferry are the only ACC players with 2000 points, 700 rebounds, and 400 assists.

All-Time ACC Seven-Letter Name Team:

Random fact: there have been 64 players in ACC history who played 4,000+ career minutes.  Sura (and Duane Ferrell) had 3,999.

93. Jon Scheyer, Duke, 2007-2010

2003 Top 50 List: Not eligible

Dan Collins List: No

This one surprised me.  I don’t remember thinking of Jon Scheyer as a great player while he was active.  Since then, I think my brain had subconsciously lumped him in with Steve Wojciechowski and Greg Paulus.  I certainly wasn’t looking for opportunities to heap further recognition on Krzyzewski-era Duke players; I’m as tired of hearing about them as anyone.  But I have to follow where my methods lead; and they lead me to the conclusion that Jon Scheyer deserves to be on this list.

First of all, let’s talk about the year he had in 2010.  He was the best player on the best team in the country – a national championship team, no less.  He was unanimous first team All-ACC.  He was runner up for ACC Player of the Year.  He was a named second team All-America by all the major services.  Like advanced metrics?  According to kenpom, Scheyer had the third highest offensive rating in the nation in 2010 among players who used at least 20% of their team’s possessions.  According to sports-reference.com, he led the nation in win shares.

OK, so he had a great year.  What else did he do?  Well, for one thing, he scored a lot of points.  Would you believe that Scheyer ranks 32nd in ACC history in career points?  He scored more career points than Shane Battier, Grant Hill, and John Lucas.  He is one of just six players (the others are Johnny Dawkins, Greivis Vasquez, Danny Ferry, Bob Sura, and Julius Hodge) with 2000 points, 500 rebounds, and 400 assists.  He was MVP of the ACC Tournament in 2009, when he had 29 in the final to lead Duke over Florida State. 

The biggest argument against him is that he wasn’t named All-ACC, not even third team, prior to his senior year.  And I admit, that’s pretty compelling.  There are going to be very few guys on this list who only made All-ACC once.  But I think he should have been on in 2009.  Gerald Henderson made first team and Kyle Singler second team, but Scheyer was the best offensive player on the team, looking at the advanced metrics.  He just didn’t score quite as many points as they did, and the leading scorers tend to be rewarded in All-ACC voting.  He should have been second team.  Keep in mind also that All-ACC voting happens before the ACC Tournament, which he was the MVP of, so that probably would have changed things too.

When you consider the total package – the great senior year, the national championship, the sneaky good junior year, the ACC Tournament MVP, the advanced metrics, and the impressive career totals – for me, it’s too much to ignore.

94. Eric Montross, UNC, 1991-1994

2003 Top 50 List: No

Dan Collins List: No

Eric Montross is a difficult player to rank.  I always felt that he was overhyped.  A prized recruit from Indiana, he steadily improved through his first three years and had a great year for the 1993 national championship team.  Montross and George Lynch both made first team All-ACC, and they deserved it.  But nationally, Montross got the attention.  He made second team All-American along with Rodney Rogers, while Lynch made nothing.  Montross finished ahead of Rogers in Wooden Award voting.  He wasn’t better than Rodney Rogers on the best day of his life.

The hype train was at full speed heading into the 1994 season.  Montross was the top vote-getter on the preseason All-America team – ahead of Grant Hill, Glenn Robinson, and Jason Kidd.  Instead, he took a step backwards, averaging only 13.6 points and regressing significantly in FG% and FT%.  Late in the season, he had a stretch of nine ACC games in which he scored a total of 82 points.  When the votes were tallied, Montross wound up on second team All-ACC, finishing behind teammate Derrick Phelps and Clemson’s Sharone Wright in the voting, among others.

But nationally, the voters didn’t get the message.  Montross made second team AP All-America, first team (!) NABC All-America, and finished 9th in Wooden Award voting.  It’s a perfect illustration of the difficulties with national voting, where votes are often cast based on reputation rather than performance.  I’m sure most of the voters take their responsibilities seriously, but their day jobs require them to focus locally.  It’s natural they won’t know players from across the country as well, and so they vote on reputation.

“It’s hard to say North Carolina center Eric Montross has had a bad season.  He’s second on the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game and first in rebounding at 8.1.  He’s hitting 54.3% of his shots.  OK, you can say he’s a bad free-throw shooter, courtesy of a 57.3% mark from the line, but that’s about it.  Still, it was more than a mite surprising to see Montross listed as one of the five finalists for the Naismith Award as college basketball’s player of the year.  It made you wonder if they’d been watching film of last year’s NCAA Tournament instead of this year’s games.  Admittedly Montross has battled some oppressive zone defenses, but he has not had an All-American year.  He hasn’t even been the best center in the ACC with Maryland’s Joe Smith emerging for that honor.  It makes you wonder if those nominations are by reputation only.” – Lynn Zinser, The Charlotte Observer, 3/5/1994

In Montross’ defense, the 1994 Tar Heels were not a good perimeter shooting team.  Donald Williams had a disappointing year, and there were some injuries in the backcourt.  Teams did collapse inside and challenge the Heels to make perimeter shots.  Montross’ offensive game lacked the variety to adjust to the way he was being defended.  Additionally, the team had chemistry problems which had nothing to do with Montross.  As the season went on, seniors Brian Reese and Kevin Salvadori found themselves sitting and watching freshmen Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace take more and more of their playing time.  It seemed to create a negative vibe.  The Heels still won the ACC Tournament and received a 1 seed, but somehow it wasn’t that big of a shock when they were upset by Boston College in the second round.

The other thing that happened to Montross in 1994 is that he simply got leapfrogged by younger, better players.  Joe Smith, Tim Duncan, even Cherokee Parks – these guys were more athletic and had more complete games than Montross.

But he was what he was – a two-time All-American and a first team All-ACC player who made huge contributions to a national championship team.  He deserves to be on the list.