'57 Tar Heels No. 1; won 'em all played just for fun

North Carolina's 1957 Tar Heels had a Hall of Fame coach, a National Player of the Year and superb talent at every position.

That wasn't enough.

They had to have a champion's heart and a clutch touch to go 32-0 and win the NCAA title.

Led by National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth, coach Frank McGuire's Tar Heels secured four wins in overtime. That included triple-overtime victories over Michigan State in the NCAA semifinals and Kansas in the finals.

But first, the Tar Heels had to survive the pressure-packed ACC Tournament, when only the champion advanced to NCAA play.

In the semifinals against Wake Forest, Rosenbluth floated in a semi-hook shot with less than a minute left and added a free throw to give Carolina a nerve-shattering 61-59 win. On the play, there was contact between Rosenbluth and Deacons defender Wendell Carr.

"Wake Forest fans thought it was a charge and Carolina fans thought it was a foul," Wake guard Jack Murdock said.

There would be more riveting moments. In the national semifinals against Michigan State, All-America Pete Brennan hit a score-tying jump shot with four seconds left to force a second overtime.

In the championship game against Kansas, Carolina slowed the tempo and ganged up on imposing 7-foot-1 Wilt Chamberlain (six field goals, 11 free throws, 23 points) with a collapsing zone, outrebounded the Jayhawks and won 54-53 on Joe Quigg's two free throws with six seconds left.

That touched off a massive celebration on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, where more than 2,000 fans rocked into the morning.

1957

STARTERS

Forward - Lennie Rosenbluth

Two-time All-America; National Player of the Year in '57

Averaged UNC-record 28.0 points in '57

Forward - Pete Brennan

ACC Player of the Year in 1958

Averaged team high 10.4 rebounds and 14.7 points in '57

Center - Joe Quigg

Savvy, tough inside player

Averaged 10.3 points per game, 8.6 rebounds

Guard - Tommy Kearns

Hard-nosed, 5-foot-11 guard jumped center against Chamberlain

Second-team All-America in '57; averaged 12.8 points

Guard - Bob Cunningham

Tenacious defender, skillful passer, rebounder

Averaged 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds

Key reserves: Danny Lotz and Bob Young

Head coach: Frank McGuire, compiled a 164-58 record in nine seasons at North Carolina. His Tar Heels teams also won or shared the ACC regular-season title five times. His 30-year Hall-of-Fame college coaching record, including stops at St. John's and South Carolina, was 549-236.

If you want to know more: The book, "The Best Game Ever," by Adam Lucas, chronicles the 1957 team and is available through www.tarheelblue.com for $22.95.