Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and the dominance of the Tar Heels and Hoyas in the 1980s

Posted Jan 12, 2024
Dean Smith returned UNC to national prominence in the 1970s, regularly taking the Tar Heels on deep NCAA Tournament runs. But it was in 1982 that he took them to the mountaintop, with a little help from Michael Jordan. Before becoming one of the greatest NBA players in history, Jordan was a lanky freshman on a team led by James Worthy and Sam Perkins. (Associated Press)

Related: Basketball, Tar Heels in the NBA

Video: Seth Trimble on UNC’s Grit, Leadership, and the Virginia Comeback
North Carolina guard Seth Trimble joins ACC Insider to discuss UNC’s comeback win at Virginia, leadership inside the Tar Heels' locker room, what the victory...
Tue Jan 27, 2026

Tar Heels Have Found Something After Halftime Lately
Ever since North Carolina got its formal wake-up call at halftime of its loss at California, the Tar Heels have decidedly outperformed its opponents after...
Tue Jan 27, 2026

Video: Locked On Tar Heels - UNC Basketball's Top 5 Regular-Season Wins Under Hubert Davis
How does UNC Basketball's road upset of Virginia stack up? Isaac Schade ranks the top five regular-season wins of the Hubert Davis era, spotlighting iconic...
Tue Jan 27, 2026

UNC Basketball finally finds scoring help as role players emerge in ACC play
One of the biggest things UNC Basketball has struggled with is finding players other than Seth Trimble, Henri Veesaar, and Caleb Wilson who can consistently...
Tue Jan 27, 2026