Former North Carolina basketball player Larry Miller, one of the most decorated players in Tar Heel basketball history and a cornerstone of Dean Smith’s early success in Chapel Hill, died Sunday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the UNC athletic department announced on Monday evening. He was 79.
A native of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, Miller was a two-time ACC player of the year and ACC Tournament most valuable player who helped usher North Carolina basketball back into national prominence in the late 1960s. He led the Tar Heels to back-to-back Final Fours in 1967 and 1968, carving out a legacy as one of the program’s first true stars under Smith.
During his time in Chapel Hill, Miller captivated college basketball fans nationally and elevated the game locally. He carried the reputation as being charismatic and charming yet grounded and blue collar.
His on-court accomplishments took on a mythical quality in the minds of fans across the state and future Tar Heel legends like Roy Williams. Miller still holds the UNC record for most consecutive double-figure scoring games (64) and ranks fifth all-time in career scoring average (21.8 points per game). His 32-point performance on near-perfect shooting (13-of-14) in the 1967 ACC title game win against Duke remains one of the program’s most iconic performances.
Miller earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1968, sharing the spotlight with legends like UCLA’s Lew Alcindor and LSU’s Pete Maravich. That same year, he was named the ACC male athlete of the year. He is still the only Tar Heel to win ACC POY twice and back-to-back ACC Tournament MVPs.
Though his individual accolades — including being named one of the 50 greatest players in ACC history — speak volumes, Miller rarely spoke of them. His quiet humility added to his mystique. Miller rarely gave interviews and stepped out of the public eye in his later years.
In 2020, North Carolina fans were offered a new look into Miller’s life when he released a co-authored autobiography, “Larry Miller Time: The Story of the Lost Legend Who Sparked the Tar Heel Dynasty.”
After his storied college career, Miller went on to play seven seasons in the ABA, where he set the league’s single-game scoring record with 67 points.
Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022, Miller’s contributions to the sport are etched in history, establishing him as not just a great player, but a foundational figure in UNC basketball’s rise to national dominance.
