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North Carolina Tar Heels: 1993 vs 1995, Bracket Challenge

By John Woodcock

Dec 21, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace in watches the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace in watches the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 21, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace in watches the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace in watches the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

The North Carolina Tar Heels Final Four Bracket Challenge Continues with 1993 taking on 1995. Should be good.

There is a good story behind the next game in the North Carolina Tar Heels Bracket Challenge. It starts innocently enough with the 1993 National Champion Tar Heels taking on the 1995 Tar Heels for the right to play the 2005 Tar Heels in the next round. It allows us to use the simulator to decide the game, so good for us.

No, the story is based on the team in between the two teams. Much of the 1993 team came back for the 1994 season, with the exception of George Lynch. The 1994 team saw the arrival of super freshmen Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace (and their buddy Jeff McInnis). By all rights, the 1994 team should have been a super team with a mix of senior leadership and youth infusion that dominated the rest of the ACC if not the country. Yet the 1994 team is conspicuously missing from this tournament because it lost to Boston College in round two.

The team could not get the young guns and the old guard to mesh. Not enough basketballs and too much attitude. So now they get to take on each other, just with the 1994 seniors getting George Lynch. There is still overlap between these two teams, sophomore Final Four MVP Donald Williams taking on senior Donald Williams. Dante Calabria plays against his freshman self. The Pearce Landry who played noticing the Landry firmly planted on the bench.

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The 1993 squad was known as the blue collar team for Coach Dean Smith. They were not well considered (among top contenders) going into the season, but they could play team ball. They were anchored by Eric Montross and George Lynch, with infusions of shooting from Williams. Derrick Phelps brought the defensive intensity. It was a team where most of the pieces had been on the 1991 bench and had seen what it took to make a Final Four. They were much the opposite of the hype machine Michigan Wolverines that they beat in the title game. The 77-71 score was the result of key free throws and a famous timeout call.

The 1995 squad turned out to be the last team featuring Stackhouse and Wallace going into the NBA. Here they joined forces with McInnis, Serge Zwikker, Williams, and Calabria to feature a smaller lineup up front where Stackhouse manned the four spot. Stackhouse would earn Player of the Year honors from Sports Illustrated for his performance that year (not one of the recognized POYs that gets a blue banner). They were part of the year of Pete Gaudet at Duke where a stubborn but undermanned Duke team took them to overtimes behind big dunks and miracle shots. They lost to Arkansas in the Final Four.

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