North Carolina Tar Heels Guard passed away at the at age of 28…See more
READ MORE;
North Carolina basketball great Eric Montross dies at 52
The University of North Carolina announced Monday that former Tar Heels basketball player Eric Montross died Sunday at 52. In March, the school announced that Montross was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Montross, a 7-foot native of Indianapolis, helped the Tar Heels to the 1993 national title along with another Final Four berth in 1991. He averaged 11.7 points and 6.8 rebounds over his four-year NCAA career and was selected with the ninth pick of the 1994 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Montross played with six NBA teams before retiring because of foot injuries after the 2001-02 season.
Montross, who later did radio color commentary for Tar Heels men’s basketball games, was named a second-team all-American by the Associated Press in 1993 and 1994. He’s perhaps most fondly remembered by Tar Heels fans for a February 1992 game against top-ranked rival Duke when he made key free throws with blood streaming down his face.
Ahead of the 1993 national title game against Michigan, members of North Carolina’s pep band honored Montross by getting haircuts that resembled his flat-top style.
“Carolina Athletics, the Tar Heel basketball family and the entire University community are profoundly saddened and stunned by the loss of Eric Montross, one of our most beloved former student-athletes, at far too young an age,” the school said in a statement. “Eric was a great player and accomplished student, but the impacts he made on our community went way beyond the basketball court. He was a man of faith, a tremendous father, husband and son, and one of the most recognizable ambassadors of the University and Chapel Hill.”
