The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men's basketball program honors fifty-one former players by hanging their jerseys in the rafters of the Dean E. Smith Center, the home to the men's basketball team on the university's campus. Of these, eight are both honored and retired. However, only seven jersey numbers are retired, as honoree Jack Cobb played before jersey numbers were the norm, meaning he had no number to retire. Justin Jackson and Joel Berry are the most recent players to be honored, following the 2016–17 season. Jackson qualified by being named the ACC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. Berry was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 Final Four.[1] [2]
North Carolina requires that players must be recognized for excellence for their performance during the regular season, in post-season play, or in the Olympics. Specifically, a player's jersey qualifies for honoring if he receives one or more of the following five awards: first- or second-team All-America on one of the major All-American teams that qualify a player for a consensus All-American designation, an ACC Player of the Year, the Most Valuable Player of a National Championship-winning team (as voted by coaches and teammates), the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player of a Final Four team, or a gold medal in basketball at the Olympics.[3]
Additionally, a player can also achieve the even greater honor of having his jersey (along with his uniform number) permanently retired by the University of North Carolina. To attain jersey retirement, a Tar Heel must win one or more of the following six national player of the year awards: Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Sporting News, John R. Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, or the Naismith College Player of the Year. The (now defunct) Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year award formerly served as a seventh option. The most recent player to merit bestowal of this honor is Tyler Hansbrough, who won all six of the national player of the year awards in his 2007–08 season.[4]
Players whose numbers are retired are shown with a blue background.[5]
| No. | Name | Years | Criteria met | - | NC | Cartwright Carmichael | 1921–24 | First-team All-America | -style="background:#99BADD;" | NC | Jack Cobb | 1923–26 | National Player of the Year | -style="background:#99BADD;" | 20 | George Glamack | 1938–41 | National Player of the Year, First-team All-America | - | 8 | Jim Jordan | 1944–46 | Second-team All-America | - | 13 | John "Hook" Dillon | 1945–48 | First-team All-America | -style="background:#99BADD;" | 10 | Lennie Rosenbluth | 1954–57 | National Player of the Year, First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 35 | Pete Brennan | 1955–58 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 40 | Tommy Kearns | 1955–58 | Second-team All-America | - | 12 | Lee Shaffer | 1957–60 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 22 | York Larese | 1958–61 | Second-team All-America | - | 35 | Doug Moe | 1958–61 | First-team All-America | - | 11 | Larry Brown | 1960–63 | Olympic gold medal | - | 32 | Billy Cunningham | 1962–65 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 22 | Bob Lewis | 1964–67 | First-team All-America | - | 44 | Larry Miller | 1965–68 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 33 | Charlie Scott | 1967–70 | Olympic gold medal, First-team All-America | - | 31 | Bill Chamberlain | 1969–72 | Second-team All-America | - | 44 | Dennis Wuycik | 1969–72 | First-team All-America | - | 35 | Bob McAdoo | 1971–72 | First-team All-America | - | 34 | Bobby Jones | 1971–74 | First-team All-America | - | 21 | Mitch Kupchak | 1972–76 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, Olympic gold medal | - | 24 | Walter Davis | 1973–77 | Olympic gold medal | - | 45 | Tommy LaGarde | 1973–77 | Olympic gold medal, Second-team All-America | - style="background:#99BADD;" | 12 | Phil Ford | 1974–78 | National Player of the Year, First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, Olympic gold medal | - | 31 | Mike O'Koren | 1976–80 | First-team All-America | - | 30 | Al Wood | 1977–81 | Second-team All-America | - style="background:#99BADD;" | 52 | James Worthy | 1979–82 | National Player of the Year, First Team All-America, MVP of NCAA champions, NCAA Tournament MOP | - | 41 | Sam Perkins | 1980–84 | Olympic gold medal, First-team All-America | - style="background:#99BADD;" | 23 | Michael Jordan | 1981–84 | National Player of the Year, First Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, Olympic gold medal | - | 42 | Brad Daugherty | 1982–86 | First-team All-America | - | 30 | Kenny Smith | 1983–87 | First-team All-America | - | 34 | J.R. Reid | 1986–89 | First-team All-America | - | 34 | George Lynch | 1989–93 | MVP of NCAA Champions | - | 00 | Eric Montross | 1990–94 | Second-team All-America | - | 21 | Donald Williams | 1991–95 | NCAA Tournament MOP | - | 42 | Jerry Stackhouse | 1993–95 | First-team All-America | - | 30 | Rasheed Wallace | 1993–95 | Second-team All-America | - | 15 | Vince Carter | 1995–98 | Second-team All-America, Olympic gold medal | -style="background:#99BADD;" | 33 | Antawn Jamison | 1995–98 | National Player of the Year, First Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 00 | Brendan Haywood | 1997–2001 | Second-team All-America | - | 40 | Joseph Forte | 1999–2001 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 2 | Raymond Felton | 2002–05 | MVP of NCAA Champions | - | 42 | Sean May | 2002–05 | First-team All-America, MVP of NCAA Champions, NCAA Tournament MOP | - | 32 | Rashad McCants | 2002–05 | Second-team All-America | -style="background:#99BADD;" | 50 | Tyler Hansbrough | 2005–09 | National Player of the Year, First Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, MVP of NCAA Champions | - | 5 | Ty Lawson | 2006–09 | Second-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, MVP of NCAA Champions | - | 22 | Wayne Ellington | 2006–09 | NCAA Tournament MOP | - | 44 | Tyler Zeller | 2008–12 | Second-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - | 40 | Harrison Barnes | 2010–12 | Second-team All-America, Olympic gold medal | - | 5 | Marcus Paige | 2012–16 | Second-team All-America | - | 11 | Brice Johnson | 2012–16 | First-team All-America | - | 44 | Justin Jackson | 2014–17 | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, MVP of NCAA Champions | - | 2 | Joel Berry | 2014–18 | NCAA Tournament MOP | - | 4 | R. J. Davis | 2020–present | First-team All-America, ACC Player of the Year | - |
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