Building the ultimate UNC–Duke combined starting five

North Carolina and Duke will play its first of two meetings on Saturday at the Dean Smiith Center. The rivalry between North Carolina and Duke has featured some of the greatest basketball players the sport has ever seen.

Both programs have produced numerous All-Americans and multiple Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers. From Michael Jordan at North Carolina to Grant Hill at Duke, the list of legends is long.

For fun, I put together a combined starting five from the two programs. With so many great players to choose from, narrowing it down to five was nearly impossible — which only underscores how dominant these bluebloods have been.

Point Guard: Phil Ford, North Carolina

Phil Ford, arguably the greatest point guard in North Carolina history, was the face of Tar Heel basketball in the 1970s.

He made an immediate impact as a freshman, leading North Carolina to the 1975 ACC Tournament title and earning most outstanding player honors. Over four years in Chapel Hill, Ford guided the Tar Heels to a 99-24 record, three ACC regular-season championships, two ACC Tournament titles and a national runner-up finish in 1977. He led the ACC in assists in three of his four seasons and finished second as a freshman.

Individually, Ford put together one of the most decorated careers in program history. He was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection, a two-time first-team All-American and the 1978 ACC Player of the Year and Wooden Award winner. He graduated with 2,290 points and 753 assists, both school records at the time.

Duke has had elite point guards of its own in Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley, but Ford gets the edge. His sustained four-year excellence and overall production give him the nod at the position.

Honorable Mention: Jay Williams (Duke), Bobby Hurley (Duke), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Raymond Felton (North Carolina)

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan, North Carolina

Settling on a shooting guard might be the toughest choice in this entire exercise. North Carolina has rolled out one elite No. 2 after another, and Duke counters with J.J. Redick, one of the most explosive perimeter scorers the college game has seen, who twice won ACC Player of the Year and earned two All-America nods. Even so, the spot belongs to the greatest ever to wear Carolina blue.

Michael Jordan announced himself on the biggest stage. As a freshman in 1982, he buried the go-ahead jumper against Georgetown in the national championship game, lifting Dean Smith to his first NCAA title and etching his name into Tar Heel lore.

That moment was only the beginning. Jordan followed it up by becoming a two-time first-team All-ACC pick, a two-time All-American and the dominant force in the college game. He swept nearly every major national honor, including ACC Player of the Year, the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award, laying the foundation for a career that would redefine basketball at every level.

Honorable Mention: JJ Redick (Duke), Johnny Dawkins (Duke), Charles Scott (North Carolina), Walter Davis (North Carolina)

Small Forward: Grant Hill, Duke

Another tough one, because both programs have had some outstanding small forwards. For me, the top small forward for both schools is Carolina’s James Worthy and Duke’s Grant Hill. While Worthy is considered to be a top-five Tar Heel all time, Hill gets the nod here.

Hill was an instrumental part of Duke’s 1991 and 1992 national championship teams and, most notably, threw the inbounds pass to Christian Laettner in Duke’s famous buzzer-beating win over Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight, which is considered the greatest shot in college basketball history. Even after Hurley and Laettner left, Hill led the Blue Devils back to the national championship game his senior season in 1994, losing to Arkansas.

Hill averaged 15 points, six rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He was named an All-American in 1993 and 1994 and was a three-time All-ACC selection. In his junior season, 1992-93, he averaged 18 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He also had 2.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, which was a huge reason he won the NABC Defensive Player of the Year. 

His best statistical year was his senior season, when he averaged 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.2 blocks. For his efforts, he was named the 1994 ACC Player of the Year.

Hill is also the only player from Duke to be in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mention: Jayson Tatum (Duke), Lennie Rosenbluth (North Carolina), James Worthy (North Carolina)

Power Forward: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Leaving North Carolina’s most decorated player out of this lineup was never really an option.

Tyler Hansbrough was the heartbeat of the Tar Heels during one of the program’s most dominant stretches. He led North Carolina to three straight Elite Eight appearances from 2007 to 2009, back-to-back Final Four trips in 2008 and 2009, and capped his career with a national championship in 2009.

Hansbrough’s résumé is almost unmatched in ACC history. He was a three-time first-team All-American and the ACC and national player of the year in 2008. He is also the only player ever named to the All-ACC first team in each of his four seasons.

Production backed up those accolades. Hansbrough shot 53.8% from the field for his career while averaging 20.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. His peak came in 2007-08, when he put up 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and swept every major national player of the year award, including the Naismith and Wooden awards.

Honorable Mention: Zion Williamson (Duke), Shanne Battier (Duke), Antawn Jamison (North Carolina)

Center: Christian Laettner, Duke

Laettner is one of the first players who comes to mind when people think of Duke basketball other than Coach K. It also helps when you hit one of the most famous game-winning shots in college basketball history and it’s shown in almost every commercial whenever March Madness begins.

Laettner helped lead the Blue Devils to three straight Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992. He was also a two-time All-American, two-time ACC Athlete of the Year and three-time All-ACC selection.

His best season came in his final one in 1991-92. He averaged 21.5 points on 57.5% shooting from the field while tallying 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists. For his efforts, he was the ACC Player of the Year and the consensus national player of the year.

Honorable Mention: Sam Perkins (North Carolina), Brad Daughtery (North Carolina), Danny Ferry (Duke), Elton Brand (Duke)

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC–Duke combined all-time starting five