University of North Carolina Athletics
Ford Named To College Basketball HOF
March 7, 2012 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2012
KANSAS CITY -- North Carolina's star guard Phil Ford, Georgetown's dominating center Patrick Ewing and Kansas legend Clyde Lovellette headline the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction class of 2012. Joining them for enshrinement will be coaches Joe B. Hall and Dave Robbins, players Kenny Sailors, Earl Monroe and Willis Reed and contributors Jim Host and Joe Dean.
The Class of 2012 will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Sunday, November 18, 2012, at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City as part of a three-day celebration of college basketball. The hall of fame is located in the College Basketball Experience, a world-class entertainment facility that provides a multi-faceted interactive experience for fans of the game. On November 19-20, Kansas, Saint Louis, Texas A&M and Washington State will compete at Sprint Center in the CBE Classic.
The first freshman to start the first game of his North Carolina career under Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith, Ford had an immediate impact upon arriving in Chapel Hill. He not only led UNC to the 1975 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship but became the first freshman in ACC history to win the Everett Case Award as the most valuable player in the ACC Tournament.
Ford charged hard throughout his four seasons helping his team win 99 of 124 games, reach the NCAA tournament every year and advance to the NCAA championship game in 1977. The backcourt star from Rocky Mount, N.C., who scored 2,290 career points, was a first team All-ACC and All-America selection for his final three seasons and, as a senior, won the Wooden Award and was the consensus National Player of the Year. In addition to being honored as the ACC player of the Year, Ford was also the recipient of the Anthony J. McKevlin Awarded as the ACC Athlete of the year, earning a B.S. degree in business administration.
He was the second pick in the 1978 NBA draft by Kansas City and earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1979. Ford played eight seasons in the NBA before returning to Carolina as an assistant coach for 11 seasons. Overall, he has been a part of five Final Four appearances, five NCAA Regional titles and five ACC Tournament championships.
