Michael Jordan is SIOC's top athlete to ever attend North Carolina. Who is your choice?
Jerry Wachter/SI
North Carolina may be a basketball hotbed, but don’t think the Tar Heels are a one trick pony. The school boasts the greatest female soccer player of all-time (Mia Hamm), the NFL's most notorious linebacker (Lawrence Taylor) and, of course, the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball, Michael Jeffrey Jordan. But just who is the school’s greatest all-time athlete? Here is our list of the Top 10:
10. Antawn Jamison
9. B.J. Surhoff
8. Charlotte Smith
7. Eddie Pope
6. Julius Peppers
5. Marion Jones
4. Phil Ford
3. Lawrence Taylor
2. Mia Hamm
1. Michael Jordan
That's our list – now tell us who we missed, who we overrated, underrated and anything else you want to say about the great Tar Heel legacy.
10. Corey Holliday 9. Sam Perkins 8. Marion Jones 7. James Worthy 6. Julius Peppers 5. Dre Bly 4. Vince Carter 3. Mia Hamm 2. Lawrence Taylor 1. Michael Jordan
Jordan was good but not great at UNC. If anything, Phil Ford should be ahead of Jordan. Of course, a lot of folks are blinded by Jordan's NBA success and Phil Ford's constant DUI's, so I understand. Of course, LT seemed to blow his way onto the list, so I guess it is somewhat credible. Where's Serge Zwikker or Dante Calebria?
Watching that Charlotte Smith 3-pointer to win the 94 National Championship was one of my favorite all-time Carolina memories. There are some awesome athletes from this university but I'm glad she and that moment are on this list.
How could you possibly leave James Worthy off of this list? Michael Jordan makes one game winning shot and everybody forgets that that NC team was Worthys. He was the MAN on that team, and then becomes an NBA 'Top 50' player, and gets left off of this list. Dean Smith should smack you upside the head!
We all know that UNC is a Basketball School but come on, why would you put Vince Carter as a number four? Pope is very worthy of his stature in the Top ten, Mia Hamm is an easy, #2, probably more well know than most of the Baketball players on any list. we have a wealth of great athletes but Si's list is dang acurate!
My mom went to Carolina so I know alot about the Carolina legacy and I have never even heard of Eddie Pope but other than that this is a pretty good lisht but where is VINCE CARTER, ED COTA, DRE BLY, JAMES WORTHY, SAM PERKINS, CHARLIE "CHOO CHOO" JUSTICE, WALTER DAVIS, JAWARSKI POLLOCK (RECEIVING LEADER), or how bout some current TAR HEELS, CONNOR BARTH (BEAT MIAMI ON 04 WITH THE LAST SECOND FG), or CHAD FLACK (BASEBALL).
10)Vince Carter 9)Antawn Jamison 8)Sam Perkins 7)James Worthy 6)Marion Jones 5)Julius Peppers 4)Phil Ford 3)Mia Hamm 2)Lawrence Taylor 1)Michael Jordan
10. Marion Jones 9. Brad Daughtery 8. Antwn Jameson 7. Julius Peppers 6. Choo- Choo Justice 5. James Worthy 4. Mia Hamm 3. Lawrence Taylor 2. Phil Ford 1. Michael Jordan
If this is UNC's Top 10 Athletes, not most recognized or most popular then you have to look at athletic ability and what someone can do with their body. I know everyone is caught up with the popular name guys but you have to consider Penny Blackwell. NCAA Triple Jump Champion and 3 Time Olympic Trial Athlete. All the people on the list are great but none of them with maybe the exception of Marion Jones and maybe MJ none you mention are a "better athlete" then Penny Blackwell. Do your research.
for you guys to select jamison over carter is a joke. he may have had the better stat line but he is no where near the athlete carter was or even walter davis or james worthy. you guys are way off.
They called Amos Lawrence "famous" but apparently not famous enough for this list. No Kevin Bryant? No Ethan Horton? How about a few from the old school, "Cho Cho" Justice and Bob McAdoo? McAdoo and James Worthy make the NBA's greatest 50 but cant make a top 10 list? X the soccer star, whom I learned of today and I'm an alum.... and add Worthy or McAdoo or Justice or Vince Carter or at least the greatest one/two punch in running back history..Lawrence and Bryant.
You have to remember that these lists are based on how they did while they were in school, not based on what they did after they left, which leaves some great athletes like Vince Carter or Dre' Bly off. I think SI nailed the list perfectly.
i have to agree with j masikat. These all stars such as Worthy and Carter and Perkins, and perhaps Wlater Davis. What about Bob Macadoo? He won scoring titles in the NBA surely he is worthy of replacing Charlotte Smith. At the very least James Worthy should be onr of the top 3. At UNC he won a chamopionship and was the MVP of that team. A travesty indeed.
Anonymous said... 10. Corey Holliday 9. Sam Perkins 8. Marion Jones 7. James Worthy 6. Julius Peppers 5. Dre Bly 4. Vince Carter 3. Mia Hamm 2. Lawrence Taylor 1. Michael Jordan
Vince Carter above James Worthy?? And you don't even mention Phil Ford? My first guess is your eleven years old, but regardless. Love Vince, but if we're talking about what they did at UNC you have to put the following above Vince and Dre Bly: -Worthy -Antawn Jamison -May/Felton -Ed Cota (3 Final Fours, only player in NCAA history with 1000 points, 1000 assists, and 500 rebounds) -Charlie Scott -Joe Forte (its close) -Tyler Hansbroughs alreadys higher on that list.
After swishing the winning jumper in the 1982 national championship game as a precocious freshman role player, Jordan won the Naismith and Wooden National Player of the Year Awards during his final year as a junior in 1983. Text: Greg Beaton
well, you fixed half of greg's errors. keep trying.
hard to pick ten! Amos Lawrence, charlie justice, james worthy, Lennie Rosenbluth, walter davis, dre bly, and at this point you may consider Darian Durant, Felton or Hansbrough? the list is hard to narrow.
I might move Pep up a notch or two b/c of the 2-sport athlete thing; OTOH, while it is hard to see Worthy left off the list, it is a pretty darned solid list. Honorable mention for Sue Walsh (swimming).
I just think that you need to move up Julius Peppers and Marion Jones. At one point, Peppers was arguably the best player on the basketball team but quit because he was also the best player on the football team and football was obviously his best sport. Jones is about as athletic as a person can be. She was unreal and so all-around. They should both be in the top 3.
Replace Eddie Pope with Allen Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Johnson) and that's a better list...though you really need a top 20 list for the heels, to cover Kristine Lilly, Vince Carter, James Worthy, Amos Lawrence, Charlie Justice, Davis Love III, Walt Weiss, etc.)
Football: Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice, the man on whom the book & movie "Everybody's All-American" is based.
Track & Field: Allen Johnson, world's best 110 hurdler over the last 10 years. Olympic Gold Medal winner, 4-time World Champ, and still sprinting at the highest of levels well into his 30's.
Golf: Davis Love III, PGA Champ winner, popular Tour regular, and the person said to be responsible for getting Jordan interested in golf to begin with.
Women's Soccer: Being roughly the same age, Kristine Lilly shares as many of the career wins Mia Hamm enjoyed as "Lil" followed Mia through college, National and International stages. The all-time caps appearance leader may even end up passing Mia in points, as she's having one of her best season this year, at 36.
10. Dre Bly 9. James Worthy 8. Charlotte Smith 7. Vince Carter 6. Antwan Jamison 5. Eddie Pope 4. Charlie Justice 3. Lawerence Taylor 2. Mia Hamm 1. Michael Jordan
I was hoping for more basketball players but I can't rightly remove anyone else. I couldn't settle on 10 so I had to do 15. My name is Sinister by the way.
15. Rasheed Wallace 14. Sean May 13. Marion Jones 12. Vince Carter 11. Phil Ford 10. Julius Peppers 9. Dre Bly 8. Tyler Hansbrough 7. Antawn Jamison 6. B.J. Surhoff 5. James Worthy (won titles collegiately and professionally like MJ)
4. Ivory Latta (in place of Charlotte Smith [Ivory won 0 National Championships but she means more to the Lady Tarheels program])
NO vince Carter!!!!!!!! that is the stupiest descision ever made he is 1 of the nba's top 5 dunkers of all time and can't crack his school's top 10 and julius peppers should be reted higher
Waiting for PITT; 1 Dan Marino 2 Tony Dorsett 3 Mike Ditka 4 Joe Schmidt 5 Roger Kingdom 6 Curtis Martin 7 Marshall Goldberg 8 Bill Fralic 9 Hugh Green 10 Jock Sutherland
Also....Mark May, Charles Smith, Jimbo Covert, Billy Knight, Sam Clancy, Larry Fitzgerald
Ronald Curry should be mentioned. He played football and basketball on the same teams as Peppers, then went to the NFL at a different position. Doesn't that speak to his superior athletic ability.
If you are talking about the best "athletes", i cannot understand how you could leave the greatest "athlete" ever to wear baby blue off the list in Vince Carter. Who is Charlotte Smith. BJ Surhoff? There must have been a baseball quota.
I'm stunned there is no mention of Oscar Davenport and Natrone Means, the two best offensive players from the golden era of Tarheel football.
JR Reid embodies UNC basketball more than any other player, and he was left off the list. Eric Montross had one of the most gutsy March performances I have ever seen in leading them to a title...something Jamison, Ford, and Carter never did.
Anson Dorrance built American soccer. Kristine Lilly should be added with serious consideration to: Cindy Parlow, April Heinrichs, Cat Reddick, Carla Overbeck, Heather O'Reilly, Lori Chalupny, & Lorrie Fair. It's not about political correctness; it's about the best athletes in the WORLD much less NC.
it's pretty easy to fill the top 10 with all basketball players. I think SI was trying to diversify it. However, I do think James Worthy should be on the list
How do you leave James Worthy off the list? I know you must diversify the list but Worthy, Perkins, Stackhouse, Carter, and Rasheed all deserve a look.
10. Antawn Jamison 9. B.J. Surhoff 8. Julius Peppers 7. Eddie Pope 6. Lawrence Taylor 5. Marion Jones 4. Phil Ford 3. Charlotte Smith the most decorated women's basketball player in school history and she hit THE SHOT 2. Michael Jordan #2 simply because you can debate if he is THE best at what he does, don't forget he tried baseball 1. Mia Hamm has to be #1 she IS the BEST at what she does
ARE YOU SERIOUS?????? Mia Hamm is a better athlete than the best defensive player in the history of football. That's disgraceful. Stop trying to hype up girl athletes who aren't even in the same category as L.T. when it comes to sheer athleticism.
James Worthy not being picked is a crying shame! Worthy was the leader of those Championship teams and was a great Hall of Fame Pro. Needless to say sombody messed that up!
Allen Johnson, Eddie Pope, Mia Hamm, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Choo Choo Justice, Amos Lawrence, Lawrence Taylor, Dre Bly, Julius Peppers. This group represents the greatest athletes based on their performance and leadership solely within the UNC career. Everyone else seems to be selected based on their cumulative body of work.
Never heard of hamm until she ripped her shirt off. marion jones shold be ranked higher. check your stats worthy was a better player during his unc years than mj. ford was one of the best point guard to ever come out of unc, sorry kenny smith
How can you list UNC's top 10 athletes and not list Larry Miller? He turned around a dying basketball program under Dean Smith in the 60's and single handedly took the team to the NCAA Finals twice before any of these modern basketball "superstars". He won ACC Player of the Year in 1966 and '67. Although his pro career wasn't very auspicious, he chose the ABA over the NBA and paid the price for it. Still his pro numbers were decent.
I guess you meant to say "UNC's Top 10 Modern Athletes". If you'd list Penn State's you'd probably leave off Rosey Grier.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?????? Mia Hamm is a better athlete than the best defensive player in the history of football. That's disgraceful. Stop trying to hype up girl athletes who aren't even in the same category as L.T. when it comes to sheer athleticism.
come on i know we have to be pc but mia hamm #2? watching soccer is like watching cement melt in iraqi heat. and womens soccer? might as well bang my head against a wall for fun.
CARLA OVERBECK: 4-time National Champion. 3-Time All-American. 2-Time World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, and Captain of the Women's National Soccer Team until her retirement. Enshrined in the US Soccer Hall of Fame. The achievements of Eddie Pope, Antwan Jamison, and the women's basketball player on your list do not compare.
If we are talking about purely in college, then MJ should not be at the top of the list by any means. He was in no way the best athlete they had at the college level.
Comments and ratings are skewed towards recent years. We need Choo Choo Justice and Charlie Scott on the list. I believe Vince Carter's current game is affecting people's thoughts. When you look back at UNC basketball, Carter might not be in the Top 10 in basketball alone. Worthy would make it.
If this is based on college performance then Davis Love III should be included.
Three-time all-American; Three-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference; Won six tournament titles during his collegiate career, including the ACC tournament championship.
Dre Bly Brad Dougherty VINCE CARTER Ekuban (football) RASHID WALLACE Sam Perkins David Thornton (football red-shirt under Mac Brown and now is Pro-Bowler) DRE BLY (Please re-do the list!)
How can you have a list of best athletes from UNC without Vince Carter??? Why are Charlotte Smith, Mia Hamm and BJ Surhoff on the list. You don't have to be athletic to play baseball.
Jordon Justice Marion Jones Taylor Allen Johnson Worthy Sheed Wallace Bob Macadoo Mia Ham Phil Ford Alternates: Larry Miller, Charlie Scott, Tony Waldrop,Carter, Perkins, Stackhouse,Jamison,Jim Beatty, Pope, Walt Davis
Charlie Justice, James Worthy, Allen Johnson, Kristine Lilly and Amos Lawrence deserve consideration. The problem is UNC has had so many great athletes, a list of only 10 leaves out some superstars.
if this is based on athletic ability it is beyond me why Ronald curry is not on this list he was and still is one of the best athletes just plain ever im sorry but to be a high school all-american in football win the high school slam dunk contest in '98 led the legendary UNC basketball team at point and play quarterback on a team that a year before he got there went 11-1 and he won the las vegas bowl in 98... and today he is a first string wide receiver with the raiders thats just amazing he deserves to be on this list and any other best athlete list
Best pure athlete at Carolina - Julius Peppers. He could have played in the NBA. James Worthy should be on there. Choo Choo and even the distance runner Shalene Flanagan should be considered.
There has to be a separate list for the genders, because to say that Mia Hamm is a better athlete than Julius Peppers, for instance, is crazy. I do think Mia Hamm and Marion Jones belong on the list of best athletic careers at UNC. IS that what this is? As far as athletes, I totally agree that you MUST include Worthy, Vinsanity, and Dre Bly, who led the nation in INTs as a Freshman. Also, Charlie Choo-Choo Justice. Those who doubt Jordan must not lie in NC nor followed college basketball in his day. The guy singlehandedly affected basketball culture in this state with his every move.
My list: 1. M Jordan 2. C. Justice 3. L. Taylor 4. J. Peppers 5. V. Carter 6. J. Worthy 7. D. Bly 7. S. Perkins 9. P. Ford 10. R. Wallace
WOMEN 1. Mia Hamm 2. Marion Jones 3. Ivory Latta 4. Charlotte Smith 5. Kristine Lilly
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