6/28/2016 basketball Edit

No. 2: Phil Ford

Perhaps the most loved player in Carolina history, no other Tar Heels was an extension of Dean Smith quite like Phil Ford.

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: Phil Ford

Position: PG

Jersey #: 12

Years: 1974-78

Honors: 1978 National Player of the Year; 3-time All-America, 3-time 1st-team All-America; 1978 ACC Player of the Year; 3-time 1st-team All-ACC; 1975 ACC Tournament MVP; Jersey No. 12 is retired by UNC; 2012 Inductee College Basketball Hall of Fame; No. 12 is retired by UNC.

Notable Stats: Graduated as UNC’s all-time leading scorer (since broken by Tyler Hansbrough) with 2,290 points; Averaged 18.6 points in 123 games at UNC; 753 career assists; 6.1 average assists per game.

In Closing: Considered by many as the greatest Tar Heel ever. ford is best remembered for running Dean Smith’s Four Corners offense to near perfection. He was a terrific scorer, distributor and maybe the best floor general ever to play at Carolina. He is still 3rd all-time at UNC with 112 game scoring in double figures; had 15 double-doubles (points & assists); shot 52.7 percent from the floor for his career; and was the only player in ACC history with 2,000 points and at least 600 assists until the mid-1990s, still only three players have achieved this. If only the 3-point shot existed during Ford’s career, he might still be UNC’s all-time leading scorer. Ford led the Tar Heels to two ACC Tournament championships and the 1977 national championship game. Ford didn't win a national title, but him choosing UNC at a time when NC State was in its best run ever and dominating the ACC was instrumental in Dean Smith and Carolina regaining supremacy of the ACC and triggering Smith's greatest run in his legendary career. The value in that decision and the career he had resonated for decades after. If Smith ever would have acknowledged he had a favorite Tar Heel that played for him, it likely would have been Phil Ford.

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