Former North Carolina Great Phil Ford To Speak at RU Hall of Fame Banquet

RADFORD, Va.--Former University of North Carolina player and assistant coach Phil Ford will be Radford University’s guest speaker for its annual Hall of Fame banquet, Aug. 19.

The banquet, which honors former RU student-athletes and athletic personnel, will be held in the Muse Hall Banquet Room on Radford’s campus. This year’s inductees will be announced next week.

Ford earned First-Team All-America honors three times and was the 1978 National Player of the Year. In his 11-year stint as a UNC assistant coach, Ford was a tireless instructor, motivator and recruiter. He was a part of five Final Four appearances, five NCAA Regional titles and five ACC Tournament titles. He has coached 10 first-round draft picks, including 1998 National Player of the Year Antawn Jamison.

Ford, Jamison and Michael Jordan are the only Tar Heel players to win the John Wooden Award as the nation’s top player. Carolina is the only school to have three different players win the Wooden Award.

Ford is Carolina’s all-time leading scorer with 2,290 points. Ford he earned First Team All-ACC accolades in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He also was named First Team All-ACC Tournament in 1975, 1976 and 1977 and Second Team in 1978. He was listed on multiple All-America teams in earning first-team status in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He was also a First Team Freshman All-America in 1975. In his senior season, Ford was voted the ACC Player of the Year, and in both 1977 and 1978 he was given the Anthony J. McKevlin Award as the ACC Athlete of the Year. In May 1978, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

Taken as the second player in the 1978 NBA draft by the Kansas City King, Ford won the 1979 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He also was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and to the All-NBA second team. Ford’s tenure with the Kings lasted four seasons, and he finished his NBA career by playing one year with the New Jersey Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks and two seasons with the Houston Rockets.

Ford, who recently accepted a position as Assistant Coach of the Detroit Pistons, was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in May 1991.