Eight Tar Heel Blog contributors participated in a Fantasy Basketball Draft composing teams of some of the best talent in UNC basketball history. This is our eighth entry in this series. To catch up on the rest of the series, visit the following links: Draft; 1st Round; 2nd Round; 3rd Round; Tiebreaker; 4th Round; 5th Round

Well, here we are. Finally at the championship round. Six teams have been eliminated. The final two vying for the top spot. Who will be victorious?

Semifinal Recap:

The squads of Tanya and Chad met for the second time. This match up, however, had a little more riding on it than their First Round duel. Chad had a chance to take revenge for that First Round loss and make a surprise appearance in the Championship Round. In the end, Tanya completed the sweep with a 33-32 squeaker to set up her second rematch in two weeks; this time with Al’s Jordan-lead team.

Championship Bracket:

Tanya Bondurant vs Al Hood

(Click links for complete team summaries)

I’ll keep this short and leave the petitioning to each captain. I only have one question: does a squad starting All-Time UNC players Ed Cota, Jerry Stackhouse, Justin Jackson, Tyler Hansbrough, and Eric Montross have enough firepower to outweigh a team with Michael Jordan as the focal point?

Our team captains give one final look into their squad:

Al - “First, before we go any further, thank you all. When I constructed this team I had no idea that you all would rush to vote so heavily for them. As I’ve mentioned before, this team isn’t great because Jordan is the GOAT. This team is constructed with a starting five who have no problem being second bananas, but will make you pay if you forget about them. As the #PassFir5t king has shown in the Summer League, any opening will be exploited. The ’93 Final Four MOP will thrive with the open looks he’d get, and the combo of explosiveness and New Jersey grit down low will eat up any missed shots.

Add in a bench of Hollywood talent with a flare for the dramatic, one of the most criminally underrated point guards in Carolina History, and one of the best football players who knew how to throw down a dunk, and you have a team that will stand up to anyone. Scott Cherry and Joel James? Will kill you in practice and make you laugh during the game. Seriously, when you can debate whether the ’93 MOP should sit over Rick Fox, the truth is you have a strong team. Whatcha got, Tanya?”

Tanya -

“It’s kind of impressive that the only squad my team has lost to features the greatest of all time. I’m very proud of that. It would be nice to avoid making it two losses to that team! Everyone loves an underdog, right? In this match up, this team is the underdog. This would be 2005 UNC knocking off undefeated Illinois. When you think of big man duos you’d least like to meet in a dark alley or on a basketball court, Tyler Hansbrough and Eric Montross have to be near the top of the list. Carolina’s all-time leading scorer and a guy who towers over most of his competition with a strong ability to score down low is a lot to handle.

Add in the Justin Jackson who led the Heels to their most recent championship on the back of one of the greatest three-point shooting seasons we’ve ever seen, Jerry Stackhouse, who was scoring nearly 20 points per game before he left Carolina, Ed Cota to make everything chug along smoothly, and some incredibly crafty defense off the bench. This team might be an underdog, but they also have plenty of bite. Jordan has to lose every once in a while, right?”

So, who wins this Championship match up?

Poll will close on Wednesday, August 9th at 8:00 pm. Our Champion will be announced on Friday, August 11th. Thank you to everyone who has voted throughout this process.