North Carolina has been known as one of the biggest blue blood programs in college sports.
While that is factual, it wasn’t always true. In the advent of the creation of the Atlantic Coast Conference, it was created because of football, not basketball. The headquarters of the ACC was and still is located in North Carolina.
However, due to several figures, including NC State’s Everett Case, led to the ACC becoming the premier basketball conference. While Case gets a lot of credit for that, Frank McGuire and North Carolina’s national championship team put the conference on the map.
𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲:
Hall of Fame head coach Frank McGuire of the undefeated 1957 NCAA champion Tar Heels was born on Nov. 8, 1914.#GoHeels #CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/LqFRIV8oS6— Carolina Basketball Stats & Info (@UNCMBBStats) November 8, 2024
McGuire, whose Irish Catholic roots in Manhattan made him an outsider in the South’s basketball circles, realized he needed to build his team by turning to a place he knew best: New York.
He also believed New York players were superior to those from the South, convinced that city kids were the toughest and best in the country.
McGuire launched what became known as the “Underground Railroad”, recruiting top talent from city Catholic prep schools. He brought in Pete Brennan from St. Augustine in Brooklyn, Bob Cunningham from All Hallows in the Bronx, Tommy Kearns from St. Ann’s—now Archbishop Molloy High—in Manhattan, Joe Quigg from St. Francis in Queens, and Bob Young, the team’s lone Protestant, from Adelphi in Brooklyn.
However, the local priests told the Catholic players that if they went to the Protestant Bible Belt, they would lose their souls, the documentary stated. But McGuire promised their parents they would be missionaries for the Catholic church, and that he would make sure they attended mass.
In the documentary “The Tournament: A History of ACC Men’s Basketball,” author Barry Jacobs explains the popularity of the Catholic players in North Carolina, a state that is predominantly Baptist.
The biggest name of the New Yorkers was Lennie Rosenbluth. Rosenbluth, who is Jewish, was one of the first big-time Jewish athletes in the South.
Because of the anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism, McGuire used the bigotry and hatred as motivation
In the documentary “The Tournament: A History of ACC Men’s Basketball,” author and North Carolina sports historian Jim Sumner explains that Frank McGuire turned anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic attitudes into motivation for his players.
During that season, he averaged 28.0 points per game — still an ACC record — and 8.8 rebounds. His most notable performances that season were when he set a then-UNC scoring record of 47 points while also grabbing 17 boards in a 94-66 win over Furman in the season opener, and his 40-point game against Duke in the regular season finale that gave UNC an undefeated ACC record and finished the regular season without a loss.
Even more impressive, he won the National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season. Only Christian Laettner and Antwan Jamison have accomplished the feat.
Back in the old days of the ACC Tournament, it was an absolute pressure cooker. Why was the case? Because only the winner of the ACC Tournament could go to the NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t until 1975 that the conference changed the rule.
The Tar Heels went by with ease against Clemson with a thunderous 81-61 win over the Tigers. However, the semifinals were a little more daunting.
The Tar Heels had a barnburner of a game against in-state rival Wake Forest, a game in which they won 61-59 after Rosenbluth nailed a three-point play in the waning seconds.
They then smothered South Carolina in the ACC Tournament Championship game 95-75.
In the 1957 NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four after defeating Yale, Canisius and Syracuse by an average score of 12.3 points per game.
The Final Four, which took place at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., had North Carolina matched up against Michigan State and its two star players, “Jumpin'” Johnny Green and Jack Quiggle.
The Tar Heels battled through three intense overtimes, ultimately edging Michigan State 104-100 to secure their place in the national championship game. In one of the game’s defining moments, Brennan—typically the team’s power forward—grabbed a crucial rebound, sprinted the length of the court like a guard, and finished the play with a soft-touch jump shot.
After its close call against Michigan State, UNC would take on Kansas in the national title game.
Kansas entered the national championship game with just two losses, both blamed on the Jayhawks’ struggles with ball control. Energized by sophomore sensation and first-team All-American Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas was widely favored to top North Carolina. The towering Chamberlain, already a household name in college basketball, gave the Jayhawks an undeniable edge—or so it seemed before tipoff.
Moreover, the Jayhawks had homecourt advantage due to the proximity of Kansas City to Lawrence.
The game drew heavy media coverage, with more than 10 TV stations and 63 reporters in attendance. North Carolina opened with a 19-7 lead, but Kansas cut it to 29-22 by halftime. The Jayhawks took the lead in the second half before the Tar Heels tied it in the final minute, forcing overtime. Each team scored once in the first overtime, while the second overtime was scoreless. More action followed in the third overtime.
The Tar Heels won the game 54–53 after Quigg sank two free throws in the closing seconds, securing their first NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship.
The successful broadcast of the national championship game in North Carolina sparked a dramatic surge in televised Atlantic Coast Conference basketball, rapidly increasing the sport’s visibility and popularity throughout the region.
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