University of North Carolina Athletics
Brewer: Miller One Of Carolina's Greatest Players
February 20, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2008
CAROLINES
By Rick Brewer, Sports Information Emeritus
Tyler Hansbrough will certainly be ranked among Carolina's greatest players when he ends his career in Chapel Hill.
Fans usually say that list already includes players like Phil Ford, Michael Jordan, Lennie Rosenbluth, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Billy Cunningham, Charlie Scott, Brad Daugherty, Antawn Jamison and Kenny Smith, among others.
I've always wondered why Larry Miller isn't among that initial group that people name. He was one of those rare players who could take over a game when his team needed it and always seemed to be at his best in tight situations.
In his three varsity seasons from 1966 to 1968 the Miller averaged 20.9, 21.9 and 22.4 points a game for a career mark of 21.8. His 1,968 points still rank as the sixth most in school history and three of the players ahead of him played four years. He set a school record by scoring in double figures in 64 consecutive games. That mark still stands today.
Miller was one of the key figures when Dean Smith rebuilt the program here in the 1960's. In Catasauqua, Pa. he was one of the top high school players in the country. Even in those days when recruiting news had not become such a staple of newspaper reporting, his decision to attend Carolina was stripped across all eight columns of the Durham Morning Herald in a banner headline.
Miller and Bob Lewis helped carry the Tar Heels to a 16-11 record in 1966. Then with help from an outstanding sophomore class in 1967, Carolina went 26-6 and won the ACC regular-season and tournament championships. The Tar Heels accomplished the same feat the next two years and reached the Final Four on all three occasions.
In those days a team had to win the ACC Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament. So those teams played under the greatest pressure a team could know. Even after proving themselves the league's best team over the course of three rugged regular-season races, they still had to win three games each March just to earn the title "champion." One had to be there to understand the type of pressure in which those players had to perform. But, those were the type settings in which Miller excelled.
In addition to his 20.9 points as a sophomore, Miller also averaged 10.3 rebounds. He shot 54.2 percent from the floor as Carolina led the nation in field goal percentage.
Miller was unique as a player. Although he was rarely as tall as frontcourt opponents, he averaged 9.2 rebounds over his three varsity seasons. He was an incredible competitor who probably scored more off-balance shots than anyone this league has ever seen. He seemingly "willed" shots home. A lefthander, he was at his best driving to the basket with a player or two hanging on him.
He developed into an outstanding defender and ball handler. He was a key in Smith's pressure defenses and was adept in the four corners offense Carolina used in the latter stages of some games. His driving ability made him difficult to stop when he faced just a single defender in that attack with no traffic under the basket.
The 1967 team finished with a 26-6 record, going 12-2 in ACC play.
Strangely, many writers picked defending champion Duke to win the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. The feeling was it would just be too difficult for the Tar Heels to beat a team as talented as the Blue Devils three times in one year. Carolina had defeated them 59-56 in Durham and 92-79 in Chapel Hill.
Miller, with his competitive makeup, was incensed. But, his team barely got by eighth-seeded N.C. State, 56-53, in the first round. Wake Forest was next and this was a team that Carolina had beaten by only two in both Winston-Salem (on a steal and layup by Miller at the buzzer) and Chapel Hill.
The Deacons had a 38-34 halftime lead and Miller had just two points. But, he had 29 in the second half as the Tar Heels rallied for an 89-79 victory.
In the finals Miller was dynamic, hitting an amazing 13 of 14 shots from the floor and scoring 32 points. With Lewis adding 26, Duke fell for a third time, 82-73. For the first time since the 1957 national title season, Carolina was the ACC champion. Miller was an easy choice as the Tournament's MVP.
Unfortunately, the 1967-68-69 Carolina teams played in the same three seasons that John Wooden had Lew Alcindor at UCLA. The three trips to the Final Four did not result in any national titles.
But, that could not overshadow what Miller and his teammates accomplished.
In his senior year Miller led his team to a 28-4 record and another 12-2 mark in league play. But when the Tar Heels dropped their final two regular-season games to South Carolina and Duke, some felt they might be vulnerable in the ACC Tournament at Charlotte.
Miller promptly scored 22 points in the first half of the quarter-finals against Wake Forest and finished with 31 in an 83-70 victory. South Carolina took the Tar Heels into overtime the following night. But, Dick Grubar and Gerald Tuttle hit clutch free throws in the extra period for an 82-79 win. Rusty Clark had 16 rebounds, while Miller added 24 points and 11 rebounds.
N.C. State, which had stunned Duke 12-10 in the other semi-final, was the opponent in the finals. Up only 31-26 at the half, Carolina exploded in the final 20 minutes for an 87-50 victory. The 37-point triumph is still the largest winning margin in a Tournament title game. Miller had 21 points and again was the Tournament MVP.
In the semi-finals of the East Regional, Miller had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Tar Heels rolled past previously unbeaten St. Bonaventure and its star center Bob Lanier, 91-72. Eighth-ranked Davidson was beaten in the finals.
A two-time All-America, Miller was also the ACC Athlete of the Year as a senior.
After graduation Miller played in the old ABA for six years. As a member of the Carolina Cougars, he set the league single-game scoring record with 67 points against Memphis.
But, basketball fans will always remember him for his career at Carolina. That's a career that easily makes him one not only one of the best players in school history, but in ACC history as well. Few players have ever made more big plays when they were needed the most.
