Season: 1984-1985
Record: 27-9 overall, 9-5 ACC(1st place tie)
ACC Tournament: Lost to Georgia Tech in the finals.
NCAA Tournament: Lost to Villanova in the Elite Eight
Roster: Brad Daugherty, James Daye, Steve Hale, Curtis Hunter, Warren Martin, Cliff Morris, Buzz Peterson, Dave Popson, Gary Roper, Kenny Smith, Ranzino Smith, Joe Wolf.
Source: UNC Media Guide
To be honest, this season stands out very little to me and simply comes across as what passes as average for UNC basketball. Yeah, how many programs would kill for 27 wins and an Elite Eight appearance to be considered average. The one think I recall the most about this season was losing to freaking Mark Price and Georgia Tech three times. The last, of course, was in the ACC Tournament and Price fell to the court crying over winning the three day affair. This was still a point where the ACCT meant something and was not simply one of the goals along the way. Anyway, it was really annoying and we also had a family dog die the day before so for a 10 year old boy who loved UNC basketball and attached to the family pet like any other young boy that made for an emotionally volatile weekend.
Then again I also had some sort of hernia surgery three days before UNC lost to Villanova in the Elite Eight which might explain why this season carries little weight with me. It is very difficult to focus on basketball with all the animals dying and major internal surgery going on. I do vividly remember the 75-74 win over Maryland at Carmichael. The game appeared to be all but lost until Curtis Hunter, who was the first to received the dreaded “Next Jordan” label, made a steal to help rally the Heels to win.
Outside of that, this season lacks a certain notoriety to it despite having Brad Daughterty, Kenny Smith, Steve Hale, Joe Wolf, Buzz Peterson, Ranzino Smith, Warren Martin and the aforementioned Hunter. A fine group of players but really on the same level as the 1992 and 2004 teams in that there was some growth necessary to see them get to that elite level. So call this one a transition season which would leads to a pair of really good seasons in 1986 and 1987.
Countdown So Far
18. 2006
19. 2001
20. 1992
21. 1996
22. 1999
23. 2000
24. 2004
25. 1990
26. 2003
27. 2002
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This in some ways was a season very analgous to 99 and 06. A team forced to adapt after dramatic losses due to graduation and players going pro. For such a young team, they did pretty well.
A few notes about the NCAA Tourney:
1) Steve Hale went down to a horrific shoulder injury from a Danya Abrams-esque flagrant foul from a Middle Tennessse player. He was out for the tourney after that. He was a key player on that team so that was big.
2) The tourney featured a couple of amazing “road” wins. First we had to beat Notre Dame and David Rivers in South Bend. That game was sealed when Curtis Hunter stole the ball and threw it to Kenny Smith for a thunderous dunk. Then in the Sweet 16, we beat Auburn in Birmingham a game sealed by two timely free throws by freshman Ranzino Smith. (OK, it is possible that these free throws were inconsequential but since I am a Chapel Hill grad I like to look for anything positive that Zino did in Carolina blue.)
3) We really should have been in the Final Four. We had a big lead on Nova in the Final 8 at half time before Rollie Massimino gave some fiery halftime speech. I prefer to think he just gave Gary McClain extra cocaine.
By the way, I would have put 1988 here. Believe me losing to Dook 3 times and having them play the 1st round in the Dean Dome felt a lot worse than losing three times to Ga. Tech.
Hey, it’s nice when you link the running rankings ;>)
Countdown So Far
17. 1985
18. 2006
19. 2001
20. 1992
21. 1996
22. 1999
23. 2000
24. 2004
25. 1990
26. 2003
27. 2002
I had those Jordan hopes for Curtis Hunter myself. He had a few moments and overall he was a good player, but never lived up to his potential IMO.
It was a transition year, and a good one. We are so vain calling 27-9 anything but great….. such are the rewards of being a TarHeel supporter.
Ed, good point. 3 losses to Dook? We should have closed the Smith Center for “repairs” and let them play in Dorton Arena.
Regarding Curtis Hunter, he was a solid player when he was healthy and I have generally favorable recollections of him. That said, I could never understand why he was considered hype-worthy in the first place. Maybe injuries robbed him of quickness and jumping ability — neither of which he demonstrated in college — but he also couldn’t handle the ball or shoot at an ACC level. I know the injuries were a chronic problem for him, but the skill set just wasn’t there. To give him his due, I think the heart and hustle *were* there, so my negative comments are more directed at the Hunter-hyping “experts” of the day than the hypee himself.
Yeah, DownAtTheHeel, I certainly was not dissing Curtis…. he was fun to watch and a Tar Heel thru and thru.
Did I just read “Kenny Smith and Thunderous Dunk?
You betcha. Kenny was our first point guard who could dunk on a regular basis.
Check out this awesome youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIBdp4DrwDw
The dude was great.
The 1985 team was the perfect example of why Dean’s systematic coaching style worked; specifically, you had two NBA-level talents, and then a roster of hard working players who learned to play within a cohesive system that gauranteed team success. Dean Smith artfully developed a coaching methodology that countless others have tried to emulate; which is, you must level the playing field and generate an operation in which all of the participants are actively involved. Dean’s system has been UNC’s greatest asset, allowing the program to be the nation’s most consistent over the past 40 years, but his system was also the program’s Achilles (Tar) Heel.
The ‘85 squad is a perfect example of the former. You had a lightening quick gaurd and an excellent post-up player, both of whom would have successful careers at the pro level. However, the Steve Hale’s and Joe Wolf’s were just as important in that Dean’s system necessitated that they make just the right cuts, or screen out on the perimeter. Yes, all coaches try to do this, but none did it better to get everyone involved. So, if you have Kenny Smith signaling a play, then Curtis Hunter had better switch off of a screen or the play is bunk. Other coaches will coach to the talent levels on their team; in other words, they will run plays that allow for the individuals to shine on certain plays and the team benefits from by chance (offensive rebounds, fast-break options,etc.). I can think of some of the very best who have done this: Jim Boeheim (Syracuse with Carmello Anthony), Jim Calhoun (Rip, Ray Allen and countless others), Krzyzewski (he always said that he would play the five best players and adapt to the talent level), Bob Knight (the 1981 season was saved for Indiana when he turned Isaiah Thomas loose to run the show), and Lute Olson (he handed the keys over to his three talented gaurds in 1997). Dean had the greatest student of them all, and like the very best of teachers, held his ground and asked that the student develop within the system. Do any of you honestly think that Michael Jordan would have been the defensive force that he was had he not been coached by Dean?
Okay, the latter point, in that Dean’s system was UNC’s Achilles Heel. Any decent coach knew that Dean would rely on a systematic approach to gaining the upper-hand in a basketball game. Yet nearly all of Dean’s strategies were FIRMLY rooted in fundamentals (as any great coach’s strategies should). Over time, those fundamentals were SO copied, so emulated, that a Mike Krzyzewski or Terry Holland knew what he could do to negate certain aspects of the Tar Heels dynamics. They would essentially target the “star” players and pressure them to play on the perimeter; thus, challenging the other players to “make things happen.” Well, if you are the 1984 Tar Heels and Michael Jordan is being pressured to shoot from at least 15-20 feet everytime (Indiana, NCAA tourney, 1984), then a Steve Hale has to make something happen in clutch situations where instinct and natural abilities take over. What I am trying to say here is that the system became a template, and UNC became beatible despite the variance in talent.
The ‘85 team won 27 games because the team-oriented strategy was frequented and the play-calling necessitated diverse scoring options. An opposing coach can’t simply say, “deny Jordan the ball” or “box out on Perkins.” Again, the playing field was perfectly even, and the genius of Dean Smith was again relized by a team that, talent-wise, was similar to the ‘90 and ‘92 squads.
Ahh…my-ever present obsession for studying the strategic mastery of Dean Smith shall never leave me!
Yeah, Kenny definitely had some ups. He was da man.
DF, You’re right about Dean’s coaching style being our Achilles Heel. That style of play is going to cost you at some point, which is probably the biggest reason that Dean didn’t have more NCAA titles. But you know, to me that is what made Dean so special. Some people called him stubborn, but I say that if you’ve got a system that is extremely successful at winning games, why change? Sure, I would have loved to win some more titles, but at the end of the day you can’t argue with consistent success. People put too much stock in one-and-done tournaments, but to me the regular season is what shows the true nature of a team and its coach. That is why UNC is one of the 2 or 3 elite programs in the country, consistency.
Ed,
Thanks for the you tube video. I had no Idea that he had that kind of ups. I think Kenny Smith and I remember the breakaways late in a game that would seal an opponents fate, not the dunks. I was 12 during this season abut two years away from being a Tar Heel for life.