Willie Cooper honored by UNC as its first African-American player
Posted Feb 14, 2020
55 years ago, Willie Cooper became the first African-American basketball player at North Carolina. In a decision that caused him anguish at times over the years, Cooper decided to stop playing basketball and focus on academics, thereby relinquishing the chance to become UNC's first varsity black basketball player. Instead that distinction went to Charlie Scott.
(Wake Weekly)
Related: Basketball, Basketball Recruiting
UNC Basketball Keeping the Ties While Moving ForwardCarolina Basketball Family ties are incredibly important, but you have to prepare for the future, have to adapt and evolve and at the same time...
Fri May 15, 2026Video: Locked On Tar Heels - Did Alexandros Samodurov Commit to UNC Basketball? What We Know
Rumors circulated Thursday evening that Greek center Alexandros Samodurov committed to UNC Basketball. But has he really? Isaac Schade shares what we know right now...
Fri May 15, 2026
UNC Basketball Staff Hires Provide Glimpse of Michael Malone's Vision
What does a coach who’s had a tremendous amount of success at the NBA level but hasn’t done it at the college level need in...
Thu May 14, 2026
Video: What Kevin Thomas Brings To UNC Basketball
Joe Tipton and Jamie Shaw join host Ani Umana of the Next Gen podcast to discuss class of 2026 four-star UNC Basketball commit Kevin Thomas...
Thu May 14, 2026