Dean Smith, Rick Robey and the moment UNC and Kentucky became real rivals

Posted Dec 13, 2014
It came in the 1977 NCAA Tournament. There were 22 seconds left in the NCAA East Regional championship game when Dean Smith charged all the way down the basketball floor of the University of Maryland's Cole Field House. The North Carolina coach had watched Kentucky power forward Rick Robey knock down Carolina guard John Kuester with a forearm. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

Related: Basketball, Basketball Recruiting

Carolina Basketball Odds & Ends: Trimble's Voice, Contact, the Braids, Freebies, and More
North Carolina heads to Dallas this weekend for its first ACC road game of the season, and the No. 12 Tar Heels will take a...
Thu Jan 1, 2026

Tar Heels eye Quad 1 boost at SMU after FSU win drops NET ranking
UNC Men's Basketball's third Quad 3 win of the season Tuesday against Florida State didn’t help its NCAA resume, but the Tar Heels will get...
Thu Jan 1, 2026

UNC Basketball Seeking to Play Faster Across ACC Play - 'It's Something We've Got To Get Better At'
Adjusted tempo measures a team’s possessions per 40 minutes, and this season's North Carolina team is the Tar Heels' slowest since 1999 under Bill Guthridge,...
Thu Jan 1, 2026

Henri Veesaar Pushes Through Scoreless First Half, Comes Up Big in Second
UNC's second-leading scorer, Henri Veesaar, couldn't find the bottom of the net for the entire first half Tuesday against Florida State. That is, until 11...
Thu Jan 1, 2026