Phil Ford was surpassed by Tyler Hansbrough for the North Carolina basketball career scoring record on Thursday at The Dean Smith Center and Ford was on hand to witness the feat.
The Tar Heels had no worries about defeating the visiting Purple Aces of the University of Evansville. The question of the night was when, not if, Hansbrough would score his 9th point of the game to eclipse the standard Ford set in 1978 by ending his college basketball career with 2,990 points.
Ford's story led the way, the Carolina Way that is. After Ford's junior season in 1977, the legendary Dean Smith told Ford where he would be picked in the National Basketball Association draft. Ford didn't even think about "The Association", Carolina was his association.
Ford stayed for his senior year without a second thought which takes us to last Saturday's game against Oral Roberts. Head coach Roy Williams believes in the Carolina Way. Williams could have left Hansbrough in that game but Williams benched Hansbrough after scoring 26 points, just eight shy of Ford's mark.
Surely Hansbrough could have scored nine more against the relatively weak Golden Eagles to pass Ford?
Hand it to Roy Williams for giving recognition to Ford's accomplishment. Ford could not make the December 13th game and Williams, although not publicly, wanted Ford to be on hand when the 30 year old record fell.
7:41 to go in the first half. The record fell. Ford was there.
The reigning National Player of the Year from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, had surpassed the legendary Ford's mark but did it the Carolina Way.
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