On Saturday, North Carolina basketball shared that former national champion Tar heel great Eric Montross has been diagnosed with cancer.
The program shared a family-issued statement concerning the health of the 51-year-old Montross, saying that he is beginning treatments and thanking fans for their support.
“We are all touched by the responses our entire family has received since the news became public," the statement read. “Your support is more than appreciated; it is welcomed as a necessary part of beating cancer one day at a time. Our family is dealing with Eric’s diagnosis head-on - the only way we know how. And we are all in this fight together.”
Montross, who played for the Tar Heels from 1990 to ’94, helped the program appear in two Final Fours and was part of the national championship-winning squad in 1993.
Following his career at Chapel Hill, the versatile big was drafted by the Celtics with the ninth pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. Montross enjoyed 10 years in the NBA playing two seasons with Boston, followed by time with Detroit, Toronto, Dallas, Philadelphia and the New Jersey Nets. He now serves as a radio analyst for UNC basketball.
