In Memoriam: Miller, Chamberlain, Wiel

By Adam Lucas

It is impossible to picture them in anything but Carolina blue.

A new Tar Heel basketball season begins this week, but it will do so without three loyal basketball lettermen who have passed away since we last gathered in the Smith Center: Larry Miller died on May 11 at the age of 79, 75-year-old Bill Chamberlain died on July 13 and Randy Wiel died on October 14 at 74.

All three left indelible marks on the program they cherished. The sharp-shooting Miller was one of the most important recruits of the early Dean Smith era, choosing the Tar Heels over Duke and leading Smith to his first two Final Fours in 1967 and 1968. He is the only player in the history of Carolina Basketball to win ACC Player of the Year twice.

But in addition to his tangible achievements, it was Miller's swagger that remains vivid to those who watched him torch the nets in Carmichael Auditorium. He was fond of roaming campus in a black leather motorcycle jacket.

"I brought some personality with me," Miller chuckled when he appeared on the Carolina Insider podcast in 2020. "I didn't walk the same path as everyone else."

Miller, a native of Catasauqua, Penn., was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Chamberlain was a key part of the Carolina Basketball story both on and off the court. He came to Chapel Hill from New York, continuing a pipeline that was a key part of numerous successful Tar Heel teams. In fact, while growing up he lived just a few blocks from Charlie Scott. The duo eventually became the first and second Black scholarship basketball players at Carolina.

Being a pioneer enabled Chamberlain to see an important part of Dean Smith's character. "Race was sometimes a factor when we traveled," Chamberlain said. "And if anyone tried to deny us service, Coach Smith would cancel the reservation right away. That kind of commitment to racial equality doesn't just happen overnight. Coach Smith and all the Tar Heel coaches were men of honor, from the time I was recruited through my entire experience with them."

That experience included winning the MVP of the 1971 NIT and playing in the 1972 Final Four. But it was the off-court experiences that remained an integral part of the rest of his life, which included being a frequent guest in Tar Heel practices and even addressing the team on occasion during those visits.

"There is nowhere," Chamberlain said during one stop in Chapel Hill, "that has the family atmosphere of Carolina Basketball."

Wiel was an important part of building that family environment during his seven-year stint as an assistant coach, which included being on the bench for the 1993 national championship. He went on to become the head coach at UNC-Asheville and Middle Tennessee State, in addition to the Netherlands National Team.

A decorated athlete, Wiel was not just a four-year Tar Heel letterman, he was also a participant in the 1968 Olympics as a sprinter and as a swimmer in the 1967 Pan American Games. Friends knew him as much more than an athlete, though. He spoke at least six languages and could play multiple musical instruments.

Wiel frequently returned to Chapel Hill to be part of various summer camps and loved spending time with his former teammates and players.

"Losing guys that were part of that team is losing someone who was part of your family," said 1993 point guard Derrick Phelps. "It's a reminder to all of us that we talk about wanting to get together every five years. That's not good enough. We need to make sure we see each other every year so we can tell everybody what they mean to us."

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