photo of the unc’s dean dome: peterkrogh.com
The North Carolina Tar Heels. The legacy of this esteemed college basketball program conjures up words like prestige, championships, class and dominance, along with Hall of Fame names like Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Dean Smith. They’ve won 27 ACC regular season titles, 17 ACC tourney titles, competed in 18 Final Fours and captured five National Championships.
The question that begs to be answered is how did the program ascend to such rarefied heights.
How did the program elevate to that penthouse level? How did the hoops program create the intense fanaticism and enthusiasm that spread, like the H1N1, throughout the state and the entire country?
The University of North Carolina started playing ball in 1910. From 1921 through the early 1950’s, they dominated the Southern Conference. In ‘53, UNC became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
brooklyn’s sam perkins aka “sleepy” aka “big smooth, 1982 ncaa champion
During and prior to the ’50s, though, the quality of the game in the south was considered inferior to the brand being played up north. North Carolina may have been dominating in the Southern Conference, but other programs had no true respect for their accomplishments. In ‘53, Carolina hired the coach of New York City’s St. John’s University, Mr. Frank McGuire, and all of that quickly changed.
Highly respected, McGuire led St. John’s to both the College Baseball World Series in 1949 and the hoops Final Four in 1952.
He didn’t make the move to UNC – like many coaches today – because of endorsement revenue, an astronomical signing bonus and salary. His son Frankie suffered from cerebral palsy and caring for him in the Big Apple was becoming increasingly difficult.
photo of brooklyn’s ed cota: ghostsofwaynefontes.com
Once settled in Chapel Hill, McGuire, a New Yorker to the core of his essence, did what he’d always done. He hit the pavement to stock his roster. His first game, only 1,200 fans showed up. His office was a shabby old bathroom that had been reconstituted.
But McGuire scoured the playgrounds and NYC hoops culture to transplant the city game down to his new home. And soon, the pipeline would be established, delivering players that would propel the Tar Heels on its current trajectory.
The Bronx’s Lenny Rosenbluth, Brooklyn’s Joe Quigg and Pete Brennan, Harlem’s Bob Cunningham and Jersey’s Tommy Kearns, who played his high school ball for Lou Carnesecca at St. Ann’s in Manhattan, were among the first city transplants.
photo of coach frank mcguire and the ‘57 all nyc starting five: hoopedia.nba.com
Rosenbluth was a mysterious, 6′ 5″ scorer whose prep career consisted of a mere seven games. He did his damage on the playgrounds of the city and made his way to UNC on the recommendation of a street scout.
In 1957, the Tar Heels defeated Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas Jayhawks in triple overtime to win the NCAA title. It was one of the great upsets and most exciting championship games ever, as no one thought Carolina, or anyone for that matter, could handle Wilt the Stilt. The championship game was televised throughout the state and was a pivotal impetus in the local interest that the sport seemed to instantly generate.
In 1961, McGuire’s assistant Dean Smith took over the reigns. He maintained the connection to the NYC playgrounds and high school hoops infrastructure. Smith recruited the phenomenal Charlie Scott from New York, who became the school’s first African-American scholarship basketball player. Another of his early recruits was Brooklyn’s Billy “The Kangaroo Kid” Cunningham out of Erasmus Hall.
photo of dean smith with mj, long island’s matt doherty and brooklyn’s sam perkins: chicagotribune.com
Throughout the years, Carolina kept that NYC playground flavor on their roster. From Sam Perkins to Ed Cota, from Larry Brown to Kenny “The Jet” Smith, from Derrick Phelps, Brian Reese and beyond; if there was a significant player in the New York area, Carolina was always in the recruiting mix.
Roy Williams, the current Tar Heels coach, was a disciple of Dean Smith who carries on the tradition instituted by coach McGuire. The Up North connection will continue this year with freshman guard Dexter Strickland, a Jersey native who attended St. Patrick’s.
the bronx’s brian reese, ‘93 national champion
Without Frank McGuire, none of what you see today would have been put in motion. It was the playgrounds of New York City that produced McGuire, who went back to the well again and again to establish the UNC tradition. They used the city game to forge the Tar Heel legacy, simultaneously taking college hoops from a regional to national phenomenon.
It is a tradition that Dean Smith enhanced, and it lives on today through Roy Williams, a tradition of excellence that few can compete with.
Peep the asphalt funk that Queens native, NBA Champ and current TNT analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith brought down to Chapel Hill
The Playgrounds of New York City were responsible for what you see today, the pomp, circumstance and excitement that takes place in the Dean Dome. So, the next time you watch UNC and Dick Vitale is going crazy in the powder blue heaven of Chapel Hill, know the role that the Up North aspalt played in giving birth to the Tar Heel legend and legacy.
THE PLAYGROUND IS NOT THE PROBLEM. IT IS THE SOLUTION!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:06 am
ali says:
yo trevor,
you were wondering about the relevance of your earlier post as it relates to the playground. well, here you go bruh. your instincts in posting your experience at the midnight madness were very well in tune with the playground foundation that the tar heel legacy stands on.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Kenny Patt says:
Reese use to dunk on dudes like Dominique Wilkins while at Tolentine. Nice post Ali.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:16 am
ali says:
reese was jumping out the gym when he was 13 years old. my cousin played with him for the riverside church program and i remember him telling me about a trip to pheonix they took when they were young. he said he’d toss ooops to reese on the regular and he would just sky however high he needed to to catch it and throw it down.
he was a phenomenal high school player.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Trevor Kapp says:
ali- i’m seeing it now. thanks, man. have you had this post ready for a while or did you write it after you saw mine yesterday? either way, great piece.
and come down here whenever. i don’t know if i can get duke or nc state tickets, but i’m pretty sure i could manage anything else. you don’t even have to get a hotel, i got a single here man haha.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
ali says:
trevor,it had been formulating in my mind for quite some time, but your post made me sit down yesterday and put it down on paper. thanks for the motivational push. and i’d love to get down there to peep a big game, it’s definitely on my bucket list. i appreciate your offer of hospitality. i just might take you up on it. keep bangin’ my man. and cherish these experiences. college days swiftly pass.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:59 am
funkalot says:
Ali,
Frank McGuire never merits enough credit,as the architect of the UNC program. He did the same thing at USC – University of South Carolina- where he had pros like Tom Boswell, Alex English mixed with New Yorkers – Mike Dunleavy, Kevin Joyce, John Roche and Brian Winters.
Side note – Frank coached the Philly Warriors in 1961, after leaving UNC and that was the season Wilt averaged 50ppg and scored over 4000pts for the season.
Oh, he is not related to Al and Dick McGuire, whom he coached at St. John’s.
Ali, The “Redmen” or “Johnnies” deserve a Playground gave us piece.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
ali says:
as usual my man, always funky fresh. word, mcguire had south carolina hummin’ as well. and don’t forget about about a kid from new york that he recruited at south carolina named bobby cremins, who later established his own nyc pipeline at georgia tech w/ the likes of bruce dalrymple, john sally, kenny anderson and steph, among others.
and your mention of wilt, no matter how many times serious scholars like us cite his stats, conjures up awe. 50ppg. cats just don’t realize. the man was light years ahead of the game.
and the johnnies joint has been marinating in the recesses of my mind as well. great minds think alike. soon come, but when you least expect it. you know i like to keep ‘em guessing funk.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
illest says:
whats even sicker about wilt is that he averaged 45 the next year.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
funkalot says:
Originally hailing from North Carolina, I have never been a big Tarheel fan. I gravitated more to NC State and David T, as I came of basketball age. Mike Jordan referenced similarly, as a kid growing up in Carolina, during his Hall of Fame speech.
UNC identified as preppy and State as gully. So, my anti-social affect drifted to the darkside. PLus, I went to G’Town, so there was no way I could rep those dudes, even being a homie. Matter of fact, I transferred to NC A&T and wore my G’town gear, while socializing at UNC, just to irk dudes. The dudes were icy, but the women were cool!
Oh,Mike was born in Brooklyn, so the NYC to UNC connection is cemented by birth, I guess.
Mad respect for them and Duke, but I could never “fake the funk”!
October 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
funkalot says:
Illest and Ali,
As you like say, “marinate on this for a while” the following statistical achievement, it has never been duplicated by any of the greats and probably never will: The year Wilt averaged 50ppg, he scored “more points” than “minutes played”.
4000pts to 3880 minutes played, think about that, not Jordan, Big “O”, Jerry, Bird, Jabbar, have come close. That is truly Awesome, with a capital “A”.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:05 am
ali says:
w/ a capital “A” baby!
October 21st, 2009 at 11:47 am
illest says:
funk….jordan did come close in 86-87 to scoring more points than minutes played. he played 3281 minutes scoring 3041 points.
October 21st, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Blk Caesar says:
I wonder if John Mclendon should get a little love in this piece too. Dean Smith was a great coach but his “four corners” offense was birthed by Mclendon..
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:08 am
ali says:
john mclendon, who apprenticed under dr. naismith at kansas and considered by many to be the man to structurally implement and teach the fast break offense, is one of the most important forces in the development of today’s game. smith did co-opt the four corners from mclendon’s great tennessee state teams. and that frenetic running style that roy williams institutes traces its lineage back to mclendon, a true pioneer. he deserves mad love for his contributions to the sport and is worthy of his own piece that speaks to what he accomplished. excellent point Blk Caesar.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Well said my friend… Its crazy to me how Kansas and UNC has so many ties..
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
ali says:
off the subject, but just heard that kyrie erving made his committment official to duke. johnny dawkins and jay williams are somewhere smilin’ right now. it’s ’bout to be on like hot buttered popcorn.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Blk Caesar says:
You know I was going to write that to you last night when I found out.. Its official!! I have to make the pilgrimmage to Cameron Indoor next season for that Carolina game for sure!!!!
October 24th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
ali says:
yo blk caesar,
i need to be up in there for that one as well. gonna be some crazy, top notch guard play. in terms of carolina this year, i can’t wait to see that silky smooth big man, ed davis come into his own. his game is proper!
October 25th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Yo Ed Davis is serious man.. He impressed me the most in detroit during the final four… In the chip game he played really well and I could not help but feel if he stays another year maybe two.. He will be the #1 pick hands down. Ty Lawson looked real good the other night against the Lakers..
October 26th, 2009 at 9:37 am
ali says:
yo cease,
lawson looked incredible against the lakers the other night. word up cease! people have not been talking about him in terms of an impact rookie, but after what i saw, he adds a whole new dynamic to that offense. as an effective change of pace to mr big shot, the nuggets got a steal with that young fella.