CHAPEL HILL – Three-time All-America Sam Perkins, a standout on some of Dean Smith’s greatest teams at the University of North Carolina, is one of six players and two coaches elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony is November 18th in Kansas City, Mo.
Perkins is joined by Houston's Otis Birdsong, Arizona's Sean Elliott, Arkansas' Sidney Moncrief, Morgan State's Marvin Webster and Southern California's Paul Westphal, College of Charleston coach John Kresse and Oregon Tech coach Danny Miles in the Class of 2018.
Perkins came to Carolina from Latham, N.Y., and graduated after four outstanding seasons as the Tar Heels’ all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker and the second-leading scorer behind only Phil Ford.
He was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1981, ACC Tournament MVP as a freshman, earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1983 and 1984, and was a three-time All-ACC first-team pick. As a sophomore in 1982, he was part of a famed starting five with senior Jimmy Black, junior James Worthy, sophomore Matt Doherty and freshman Michael Jordan that won the NCAA championship. In 1984, as a senior, Perkins led UNC to a 14-0 regular-season record in conference play, just the second unbeaten ACC record in school history. He was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team in 2002.
He is one of six Tar Heels to start in two national championship games, earned NCAA all-regional honors in 1981 and 1982 and was an All-Final Four selection in New Orleans in 1982 after going head-to-head in the semifinals and finals with Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, respectively.
Perkins co-captained the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team in 1984. The Dallas Mavericks chose him with the No. 4 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, and he played 17 seasons in the NBA, scoring more than 15,000 points. He played in the NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Sonics and Indiana Pacers.
Thirty-four years after playing his final collegiate game, Perkins is still second in UNC history in rebounds (1,167), third in scoring (2,145), third in blocked shots (245) and fourth in double-doubles (47). He played in 56 ACC wins, the school record prior to league expansion and subsequent 16- and 18-game league schedules.
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located inside the College Basketball Experience (CBE), a world-class experiential entertainment facility adjacent to Kansas City's Sprint Center.
