The North Carolina Tar Heels compete in NCAA Men’s Basketball as a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Some notable opponent teams from the conference are Duke, Florida State, Louisville, and Virginia. Founded in 1910, the Tar Heels have adopted the name which is a term used to refer to natives of North Carolina.
Their current logo comprises the letters N and C. It is a refined version of the first logo they had. From 1954 to 2004, they had multiple versions of the logo, which included their mascot, Rameses. But in 2005, they changed it back to their classic logo.
| Founded | 1910 |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Athletic Director | Bubba Cunningham |
| Head Coach | Roy Williams |
| Arena | Dean Smith Center |
| Championships (6) | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| Conference Tournament Titles (26) | 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1945, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2016 |
| Conference Regular Season Titles (41) | 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Website | https://goheels.com/sports/mens-basketball |
Their current coach is Hall of Famer Roy Williams. He started his college coaching career as an assistant back in 1978 under legendary coach Dean Smith. After a head coaching stint with Kansas, he returned to his alma mater in 2003 and has been the Tar Heels head coach since then.
He was a recipient of the Naismith College Coach of the Year award in 1997 and has also won the AP Coach of the Year award twice.
Williams has led the Tar Heels to three titles so far, the most recent one being in 2017. He will now enter his 18th season as the head coach of the team.
The current Athletic Director for the Tar Heels is Bubba Cunningham. He signed in 2011, succeeding Dick Baddour.
In April, he was named into the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee by the NCAA, becoming the first member of UNC to serve on the committee. In 2017, he signed a six-year extension with UNC, with a $740k base salary.
The UNC Tar Heels Wildcats basketball program has the third-best winning record of all-time in NCAA Division 1 history. They currently hold the best record in their own division for all-time wins and all-time winning percentage.
With 50 appearances, the UNC Tar Heels rank second in all-time NCAA Tournament appearances and also in all-time wins with 126 victories.
UNC holds the record for most #1 seeds of all-time, with 17 number one rankings, the most recent one coming in 2019. They also rank first in most weeks in the Top 25 of the AP Poll, with 922 weeks straight.
They have won six NCAA Division 1 titles so far, with victories in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, and 2017.
UNC basketball has nurtured some of the best players to have played the game. Without a doubt, the best player to have come through their ranks is Michael Jordan. He led the team to the title back in 1982 and played for three seasons at UNC. Playing alongside him was another NBA great in James Worthy, who was later drafted #1 overall in 1982.
In the following decade, Vince Carter came through the UNC recruiting and ended up being the 1997 #5 overall pick. He played for three seasons with the Tar Heels.
Antawn Jamison, Bob McAdoo, and Walter Davis are some other NBA legends who have played for the Tar Heels
The mascot of the UNC Tar Heels basketball team is Rameses the Dorset Ram. The origin of the name dates back to 1924 when students cheered for Jack “The Battering Ram” Merritt, wearing a Ram costume. The first official Rameses mascot arrived over half a decade later, during the 1987-88 season.
Over the years, Rameses has had many changes to his costume. While he is supposed to look fierce, in October 2015, Rameses Jr, a friendlier cousin of Rameses, was added to the mascot team.
The Tar Heels jerseys are white and Carolina blue. Due to their Michael Jordan connection, their jerseys are sponsored by the Jordan brand.
The Tar Heels roster for the 2020-21 season has 17 players.
| Position | Jersey Number | Name | Height | Weight |
| G | 0 | Anthony Harris | 6-4 | 196 |
| G/F | 1 | Leaky Black | 6-8 | 195 |
| G | 2 | Caleb Love | 6-4 | 195 |
| G | 3 | Andrew Platek | 6-4 | 205 |
| G | 4 | RJ Davis | 6-0 | 160 |
| F/C | 5 | Armando Bacot | 6-10 | 240 |
| F/C | 11 | Day’Ron Sharpe | 6-11 | 265 |
| F/C | 13 | Walker Kessler | 7-1 | 245 |
| G | 14 | Puff Johnson | 6-8 | 190 |
| F | 15 | Garrison Brooks | 6-10 | 240 |
| F/C | 21 | Sterling Manley | 6-11 | 250 |
| F/C | 22 | Walker Miller | 6-11 | 235 |
| G | 24 | Kerwin Walton | 6-5 | 205 |
| G | 25 | Creighton Lebo | 6-1 | 160 |
| G | 30 | K.J. Smith | 6-2 | 170 |
| F | 34 | Duwe Farris | 6-6 | 205 |
| F | 35 | Ryan McAdoo | 6-5 | 200 |
The Tar Heels begin their 2020-21 season with a home game against the College of Charleston on November 25. They have 27 games in their season, and their regular season ends with a big clash against archrivals Duke on March 6, 2021.
The full schedule is available on the college website.