North Carolina Basketball: 12 Best True Point Guards in Tar Heels History

Tar Heels basketball has produced some of the greatest backcourt players in the history of the sport, but UNC point guards have tended to get lost in the shuffle.

However, just because they haven’t attracted the same attention as luminaries like Michael Jordan and Vince Carter doesn’t mean that the floor leaders at North Carolina deserve to be overlooked.

Whether they’re NBA standouts like rising star Raymond Felton or campus legends like Ed Cota, an impressive roll call of point guards have worn Carolina blue.

And, of course, the ultimate measure of success in Chapel Hill is the national championship, a distinction only a few of the school’s best point men have earned.

Read on for a look at the top 12 point guards in the history of this storied program.

12. Kendall Marshall, 2010-Present

Though he’s only played one season in Chapel Hill, Kendall Marshall has the makings of an all-time great. His 230 assists as a freshman are tied for the eighth-best season total in school history.

Even if Marshall plays only one more season as a Tar Heel, he’s got an outside shot at cracking the school’s top 10 in career assists. Considering the wealth of talent around him this year—UNC returns all five starters—he could make a serious mark in the record books before he’s done.

11. Larry Brown, 1960-63

Long before his legendary coaching career began, Larry Brown was an impressive player in his own right. The 5’9” Brown doesn’t make a dent in the school’s career assist charts anymore, but his average of 5.2 assists a game ranks sixth all-time at UNC.

Brown’s size prompted NBA teams to pass him over, but the ABA gave him a shot, starting with the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967.

By the time he was done, Brown had set ABA records for assists in a career (later broken, though he did finish 7th all-time for that league) and a game (23, an impressive total in any league).

10. King Rice, 1987-91

One of the most efficient PGs North Carolina has ever had, King Rice set a school mark (since broken) with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.36. Averaging 4.5 assists a contest, Rice finished with 629 career dimes, sixth on the school’s all-time list.

Like so many of the best Tar Heel point guards, Rice didn’t have the scoring ability or the raw quickness to catch the eyes of pro scouts. He never played in the NBA, though he's been a college assistant coach for many years and was recently named the head coach at Monmouth.

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9. Jeff McInnis, 1993-96

Although he played just three seasons in Chapel Hill, Jeff McInnis still ranks 12th on the school’s all-time assist charts. He averaged 5.4 assists a game over his two seasons as the starter for the Tar Heels.

After (perhaps unwisely) jumping early to the NBA, McInnis shuttled between the starting lineup and the bench for several teams over an 11-year career. His best seasons came as a Clipper, where he averaged as many as 6.2 assists per game.

8. Jeff Lebo, 1985-89

Jeff Lebo set a North Carolina record (since broken) with 17 assists in a game, and finished his career with 580 assists, eighth in program history. As a scorer, his career .428 shooting percentage from three-point land is second only to the great Hubert Davis as a Tar Heel.

Lebo lasted just four games in the NBA, but has found more success in coaching. He's currently the head coach at East Carolina.

7. Jimmy Black, 1978-82

While Jimmy Black amassed 525 career assists—ninth in Tar Heel history—he’s most notable for being in the right place at the right time.

The point guard on the loaded 1981-82 team of James Worthy and Michael Jordan, Black helped Dean Smith win his first NCAA championship with his assist on Jordan’s game-winner in the title game against Georgetown.

As successful as he was in college, Black never had top-tier athleticism, a situation that likely contributed to his never having played in the NBA.

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6. Derrick Phelps, 1990-94

As impressive as he was on offense—637 career assists, fifth-best among Tar Heels—Derrick Phelps was unmatched as a defender. Phelps holds the Carolina record with 247 steals in his college career.

As a sophomore, Phelps also helped bring Dean Smith his second national title in 1993.

Never much of a scoring threat in college (7.3 points a game for his career), Phelps went undrafted out of UNC. He was signed by the Kings, but lasted just three games in the NBA.

5. Ty Lawson, 2006-09

Always a threat to put points on the board, Ty Lawson was a terrific three-point shooter (40.3 percent for his career) who also dished out 608 assists. Both marks are seventh-best in UNC history.

Lawson also proved a more-than-capable floor leader who helped keep the offense flowing for the Tyler Hansbrough-led national championship team of 2009.

In two years with the Nuggets, Lawson has served largely as a reserve, but he’s still averaged a solid 4.0 assists per game for his young career.

4. Raymond Felton, 2002-05

A near-ideal point guard for Roy Williams’ offense thanks to his blinding speed with the ball, Raymond Felton racked up 698 career assists (fourth-best in UNC history). Felton capped his career by teaming with Sean May to lead the Tar Heels to the 2005 national title.

Felton set new career highs in scoring (15.5 points), assists (8.3) and steals (1.7) per game last season, split between New York and—after the Carmelo Anthony trade—Denver. His career average of 6.7 assists per game is 10th among active players.

3. Ed Cota, 1996-2000

Dangerous enough as a defender, where he amassed 192 career steals (fifth all-time for UNC), Ed Cota was even better passing the ball.

Cota, whose numbers benfited from sharing the floor with Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter, has the top three single-season assist averages in Tar Heel history. His 1,030 career assists shattered Kenny Smith’s school record by more than 200.

At 6’0”, Cota was considered too small and too poor of a three-point shooter to make it as a pro. He never played in the NBA.

2. Kenny Smith, 1983-87

Dean Smith—pioneer of the slowdown, Four Corners offense—seems an odd pairing with a point guard nicknamed The Jet. Nevertheless, Kenny Smith did just fine for himself in his UNC career, breaking Phil Ford’s record with 768 assists and averaging 6.1 a game for his college career.

In the NBA, Smith averaged as many as 7.7 assists over a full season. He’s best remembered for his days as a Rocket, when he became the only Tar Heel to start at point guard for an NBA champion (in both 1994 and 1995).

1. Phil Ford, 1974-78

Not only the best but the earliest of the top-flight point guards in Chapel Hill, Phil Ford’s 753 career assists were nearly twice as many as the next-highest total in school history when he graduated. He still places third all-time in that category, while his 2,290 points are second only to Tyler Hansbrough.

Ford also narrowly missed bringing Dean Smith his first national title when he was out-dueled by tournament MOP Butch Lee in a 1977 championship-game loss to Marquette.

Drafted second overall by the Kings, Ford placed in the top five in the NBA in assists in each of his first three seasons. His effectiveness dropped off sharply after that, however, and he retired after seven years in the league.