UNC basketball’s Larry Miller, one of the all-time greats for the Tar Heels and a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, died May 11 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Miller, 79, was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP across his three seasons at UNC from 1966-68 under head coach Dean Smith. Miller’s No. 44 jersey hangs from the rafters at the Smith Center.
“Larry was, really, our first major recruit that Duke wanted. They were going so great in the 60s with (head coach) Vic Bubas in recruiting all around the country. For Larry to come here (to UNC), maybe he wanted to start something – and he did,” the late Smith said in UNC’s “Jersey In the Rafters: Carolina’s Greatest Stars” video, which was released in 2001.
In the portion of the video dedicated to Miller, former UNC assistant coach Eddie Fogler said he thinks Miller was “the breakthrough for Coach Smith to get a great player over Bubas” and Duke.
“Larry broke that trend and set a stage, really, for others to say, ‘Wow, if he went to Chapel Hill over Duke, there must be more I need to look at,’ ” Fogler said.
A native of Catasauqua, Pa., Miller was a standout on the wing for Smith’s first two ACC championship and Final Four teams in 1967-68, securing All-America honors in both seasons. As a senior in 1968, Miller joined a five-man squad of All-Americans that included UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, Houston’s Elvin Hayes, LSU’s Pete Maravich and Louisville’s Wes Unseld.
Smith described Miller as a “tremendous leader” who “competed so hard” at “full force” on the court. One of three players to win ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP honors in consecutive seasons, Miller is the lone Tar Heel hooper to twice be named ACC Player of the Year. He was also ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 1968.
In UNC’s “Jerseys in the Rafters” video, the late Bill Guthridge said Miller “did some tremendous things,” making “clutch shot after clutch shot” during the 1967-68 season, which was Guthridge’s first as an assistant on Smith’s coaching staff.
Miller had 64 straight games with double-digit points, which remains a UNC record. He scored 1,982 points across three seasons, averaging 21.8 points per game for the fifth-highest average by a Tar Heel.
“When the lights came on, he was incredible. I’ve never been around an athlete that can push himself harder to get the most out of his ability when the game was on the line,” Fogler said.
Miller helped UNC log a 70-21 record, including a 32-10 mark in the ACC. He went on to play seven years in the ABA, scoring 67 points to set the league’s all-time single-game record.
