Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel Legend Larry Miller Passes Away at Age 79

University of North Carolina Athletics

Earlier this afternoon, the Tar Heel basketball program announced the passing of program legend Larry Miller. He was 79 years old.

When you think about the dynasty that Coach Dean Smith was able to establish at UNC, you have to point to Larry Miller as a big reason why, as Miller was a two-time ACC Player of the Year, and helped guide the Tar Heels to back-to-back Final Four appearances in the late 1960s. For his career, Miller averaged 21.8 points, and 9.8 rebounds, playing alongside the “Kangaroo Kid” Billy Cunningham.

As a sophomore in 1965-66, Miller played in 27 games and averaged 20.9 points and 10.3 rebounds. The next year, as a junior, he played in all 32 games and averaged 21.9 points and 9.3 rebounds on the way to being named ACC Player of the Year and a second team All-American on the way to the Final Four. He close out his career in 1967-68 when he averaged 22.4 points and 8.1 rebounds on the way to ACC Player of the Year and first team All-American honors. The Tar Heels would finish the season 28-4 as they fell in the National Final to UCLA. Miller is the one of nine players in ACC history to win ACC Player of the Year and the lone Tar Heel to accomplish the feat.

Miller was selected with the 62nd pick in the 1968 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He would spend the entirety of his seven year professional career, however, in the ABA, playing for the Los Angeles Stars, the Carolina Cougars, the San Diego Conquistadors, the Virginia Squires and the Utah Stars.

Back in 2022, Miller became the 13th Tar Heel to be inducted into the NABC which includes the likes of Coach Smith, Coach Roy Williams, Coach Frank McGuire, the aforementioned Billy Cunningham, Phil Ford, and Charlie Scott to name a few.