Tar Heel Firsts: UNC’s first basketball Olympian

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images The Olympics would have been this summer, but they’ve wisely been pushed back to 2021 due to that whole worldwide pandemic thing. That means we’ll have to watch any Tar Heels from various sports compete on the world stage.

There will undoubtedly be plenty in Tokyo, as history tells us that many, many UNC athletes have taken part over the years. One of the sports that has produced the most Tar Heel Olympians is, unsurprisingly, men’s basketball.

School legends like Charlie Scott, Phil Ford, and Michael Jordan have all competed and won gold medals, while Dean Smith coached the 1976 school to one as well. However, the first UNC athlete to be a men’s basketball…