No. 27: Mike O'Koren

27

Name: Mike O’Koren

Position: Forward

Jersey #: 31

Years: 1976-80

Honors: 3-time, 1st-team All-America; 3-time All-ACC, twice first-team; All-ACC Rookie team in 1977; 1st-team All-ACC Tournament in 1977 and 1979; 1977 NCAA All-Tournament team; Jersey honored in the Dean Dome.

Notable Stats: 14th all-time scorer at UNC with 1,765 points; 18th all-time with 815 career rebounds; 10th all-time with 183 career steals; 15th all-time with 57.2 career FG%; 7th most FTs made for career with 479; 348 career assists; 183 career steals; career per-game averages of 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals.

In Closing: Nicknamed “Dr. OK,” O’Koren was really good around the basket and using the baseline, and he made enough reverse layups that it was sort of a signature move for him. Still the only player to record at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in his UNC career. O’Koren had one of the most consistent careers in Carolina history. He was very good as a freshman averaging 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds and as a senior was at 14.7 and 7.4. His sophomore season may have been his best, as he averaged 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, earning him first-team All-America and a reputation that stayed with him throughout his Carolina career. Part of his grand reputation came from the fact that O’Koren usually was at his best in some of UNC’s biggest games. He scored 31 points in a Final Four win over UNLV in 1977, and had 18 points and 11 rebounds, scoring UNC’s final 10 points in a 71-63 win over Duke in the 1979 ACC Championship game. The Tar Heels won two ACC Tournament titles during his career.

Prior Ranked Heels

30 - Brice Johnson

29 - Ed Cota

28 - Pete Brennan