UNC basketball legend Larry Miller, one of the greatest players in Tar Heels history and a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, passed away on May 11 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was 79 years old.
Miller played under head coach Dean Smith from 1966 to 1968 and earned ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP honors twice during his three-year career. His No. 44 jersey is honored in the rafters of the Smith Center.
“Larry was truly our first major recruit that Duke also heavily pursued,” the late Dean Smith said in the 2001 video Jersey In the Rafters: Carolina’s Greatest Stars. “Duke was dominating recruiting in the ‘60s under Vic Bubas, pulling talent from across the country. For Larry to choose UNC — maybe he wanted to start something. And he did.”
In the segment of the Jerseys in the Rafters video honoring Larry Miller, former UNC assistant coach Eddie Fogler described Miller as a pivotal figure in Coach Dean Smith’s recruiting success, saying he was “the breakthrough for Coach Smith to land a top player over Bubas” and Duke.
“Larry changed the narrative and really opened the door,” Fogler said. “It made others think, ‘If he chose Chapel Hill over Duke, there must be something special there.’”
Hailing from Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, Miller was a dynamic wing player for Dean Smith’s first two ACC championship and Final Four teams in 1967 and 1968, earning All-America honors both years. As a senior, he joined an elite All-American lineup that featured UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, Houston’s Elvin Hayes, LSU’s Pete Maravich, and Louisville’s Wes Unseld.
Smith praised Miller as a “tremendous leader” who gave his all every time he stepped on the court, competing with unmatched intensity. Miller remains the only Tar Heel ever to be named ACC Player of the Year twice and is one of just three players in league history to win both ACC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in consecutive seasons. He was also named ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 1968.
In the same tribute video, the late Bill Guthridge recalled Miller’s clutch performances during the 1967–68 season—his first year as a Smith assistant—saying Miller made “clutch shot after clutch shot” and accomplished “tremendous things.”
Miller holds the UNC record for consecutive double-digit scoring games at 64 and totaled 1,982 points over three seasons, averaging 21.8 points per game—the fifth-highest in program history.
“When the pressure was on, he was unbelievable,” Fogler added. “I’ve never seen an athlete push himself harder to maximize his ability when the game was on the line.”
During his college career, Miller helped lead UNC to a 70-21 overall record, including 32-10 in ACC play. He went on to play seven seasons in the ABA, where he once scored 67 points in a game—still the league’s single-game scoring record.
No Comment! Be the first one.