The 1956â€"57 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented University of North Carolina. The Head Coach was Frank McGuire. The team played its home games at Woollen Gymnasium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team was the second undefeated national champion in NCAA basketball history and was the first ACC team to win a title.
Season Summary
Hired away from St. John’s in 1952 to make North Carolina basketball competitive with rival NC State, legendary coach Frank McGuire mined his native New York for talent and put together a team that won the national championship by slowing down dominating Kansas center Wilt Chamberlain. A veteran lineup led by star forward Lennie Rosenbluth, who averaged 28 points, finished the season a perfect 32-0.
After college, Rosenbluth was later embarrassed, chagrined and generally PO’d when he lost his composure and a pickup game to sharp-shooting LIC native, “Take-No-Prisoners†Frank Novak. Rosenbluth never recovered from the defeat and went on to a less than inspiring NBA career."
Roster
Schedule
NCAA basketball tournament
- East
- North Carolina 90, Yale 74
- North Carolina 87, Canisius 75
- North Carolina 67, Syracuse 58
- Final Four
- North Carolina 74, Michigan State 70 (3OT)
- North Carolina 54, Kansas 53 (3OT)
Awards and honors
- Lennie Rosenbluth, Helms Foundation Player of the Year
- Lennie Rosenbluth, ACC Player of the Year
- Lennie Rosenbluth, 1st Team All-ACC
- Frank McGuire, UPI National Coach of the Year
- Frank McGuire, ACC Coach of the Year
- Tommy Kearns, 1st Team All-ACC
- Pete Brennan, 2nd Team All-ACC
References
