6/21/2016 basketball Edit

No. 10: Sam Perkins

Sam Perkins was never the singular star on the UNC teams he played on, but he's still a Tar Heel legend.

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

Name: Sam Perkins

Position: Center

Jersey #: 41

Years: 1980-84

Honors: 3-time, 1st-team All-America; 3-time, 1st-team All-ACC; 1981 acc Tournament MVP; 1981 ACC Rookie of the Year; Jersey No. 41 is honored in the Smith Center.

Notable Stats: UNC’s 3rd all-time leading scorer with 2,145 points; UNC’s 2nd all-time leading rebounder with 1,167; UNC’s 3rd all-time leader in blocked shots with 245; Averaged 15.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for his career; Also averaged 1.2 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game for his career; Shot 57.6 percent from the floor for his career;

In Closing: Left-handed and long-armed, Perkins helped lead the Tar Heels to three regular season ACC championships, two ACC Tournament titles, and two appearances in the national championship game. Deceptively athletic, Perkins could score inside and outside. The Tar Heels lost the title game to Indiana in 1981 and beat Georgetown to win it all in 1982. Also advanced to the Elite 8 and a regional final with Perkins. The Tar Heels’ ACC record during Perkins’ career was 48-8, including a 14-0 mark in his senior season. He never won any major awards because he always shared the court with Al Wood or James Worthy or Michael Jordan. But had Perkins played at almost any other time he would have snagged a bunch of honors. A great team player. Named one of the ACC’s 50 greatest players ever in 2003.

Prior Ranked Heels

30 - Brice Johnson

29 - Ed Cota

28 - Pete Brennan

27 - Mike O'Koren

26 - John "Hook" Dillon

25 - J.R. Reid

24 - Bobby Jones

23 - Brad Daugherty

22 - Raymond Felton

21 - Jerry Stackhouse

20 - Sean May