Jimmy Black's Tales from the Tar Heels

Jimmy Black's Tales from the Tar Heels by Jimmy Black. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781582619828.

In 2006, ESPN Classic held an interactive contest to determine the greatest college basketball team of all time. The field was narrowed from 64 original teams by more than 1.25 million fan votes -- —all cast on ESPN.com— -- until only one team remained. That squad -- —revealed at the end of a three-hour television special— -- was the 1982 North Carolina Tar Heels. Until now, the entire story of that star-studded 1982 UNC team has never been revealed. Jimmy Black’s Tales from the Tar Heels traces the behind-the-scenes story of a club that featured James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Matt Doherty, Black, and a freshman named Michael Jordan as its starting five. Black, the senior point guard on that team, has combined with noted sports author Scott Fowler to write the definitive book on the team that many believe was the best college team ever. The 1981-82 Tar Heels earned head coach Dean Smith his first national championship by winning one of the most well known NCAA title games ever. North Carolina edged Georgetown, 63-62, following two incredible plays in the last 32 seconds— -- Jordan’s jumper from the left wing off Black’s assist and a Worthy steal that still ranks as one of the strangest in NCAA history. Exclusive interviews with men like Coach Smith, Jordan, Worthy, Perkins, Doherty, Bill Guthridge, Woody Durham, and Roy Williams are interwoven with Black’s own memories of the season to create a fitting tribute to the 1982 Tar Heel team on its 25th anniversary. "I’m going to tell you about that season and those young men," Black promises in his introduction. "I’m going to tell you things you never knew -- —and help you remember things you once did." After you finish Jimmy Black’s Tales from the Tar Heels, you will understand who these stars were in 1982 and why they’re still considered college basketball’s all-time champions.