Building A College Basketball Champion in the 21st Century

Posted Jun 22, 2022
UNC’s two national champions from the 2000-09 stretch symbolized the modern path to an NCAA title; they were loaded with future NBA players. Six players in the 2005 NCAA title game played in the NBA and four were lottery picks: Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants. No NCAA champion has ever had more lottery picks. (Chapelboro.com)

Related: Basketball, Tar Heels in the NBA

Video: IC Podcast - UNC Basketball Scrapes Past Western Carolina
Michael Malone's first regular-season game as UNC Basketball coach played out in similar fashion as the three exhibition games - some good, some bad, and...
Tue Nov 3, 2026

North Carolina vs. Western Carolina Postgame Notes
North Carolina's first points of the Malone era were a pair of free throws by Terrence Brown 1:07 into the game. The first field goal...
Tue Nov 3, 2026

Lucas: Begin Again
Starting over was different then. Roy Williams had a boatload of returning players, including Raymond Felton, Jawad Williams, and Sean May. Jackie had a posse...
Tue Nov 3, 2026

Michael Malone gets win No. 1 at blueblood North Carolina. It wasn’t an easy night
Michael Malone walked into a room of reporters after a tougher-than-expected win in his coaching debut at UNC, then offered a quip that captured the...
Tue Nov 3, 2026