Most of us who watched Phil Ford run the UNC Tar Heels' offense during the 1970s have a favorite play etched in our memory, perhaps a shot or assist to Walter Davis or Mitch Kupchak streaking to the basket.

Of course, the dude had nearly 800 assists, so it might be hard to pick just one that stood out.

Not for me. My favorite assist from Ford didn't go to Davis or Kupchak. It went to Ronald McNeill.

McNeill? What was his uniform number?

McNeill didn't play for the Heels; he is director of operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/ Edgecombe Counties, and Ford, who grew up in Rocky Mount, is sponsoring a golf tournament this weekend to raise money to help the clubs.

"One of our board members approached him last year, and he agreed to participate and bring some of his friends," McNeill said.

Ford, an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats, told me Monday, "Teresa Shaw, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, called and asked if I'd be involved. I told her anything I could do to help out, I'd be glad to do. I wouldn't have wanted to grow up anywhere in the world besides Rocky Mount. There was no way I could turn her down."

That's no surprise to Dwayne Ballen, an analyst for ESPN and a friend of Ford's and mine. "I don't know if he's ever turned anybody down," Ballen said. "For someone who's lived such a celebrated life, that boy who grew up in Rocky Mount is still there. He's one of the most cared-about and beloved players. Whenever I'm interviewing other former players like Johnny Dawkins of Duke or having lunch with them, they always ask, 'How's Phil?' "

Among those at Rocky Mount's Gateway Convention Center on Friday night and on the course Saturday will be former teammate Davis, former Tar Heel coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge and current coach Roy Williams.

The event won't just be a Tar Heel reunion, though. Ford said Wolfpackers, Demon Deacons, even Blue Devils will assist in his effort to help the more than 3,000 children the club serves in Nash and Edgecombe counties.

"Larry Harris, Corch will be there" That's the Pack assistant coach and point guard extraordinaire Chris Corchiani, respectively.) So will Rusty Larue of Wake Forest and David Henderson of Duke.

LeVelle Moton, one of N.C. Central University's greatest hoopsters, is sponsoring his golf tournament for the Durham Boys & Girls Club next week, but he'll be at Ford's this weekend.

When I was a kid, the Boys Club, as it was then known, was a haven where children could play shuffleboard, bumper pool, basketball and other games, and then get a pimento cheese sandwich.

The world has changed a lot since then, and McNeill said the Boys & Girls Club has adapted its mission to confront the realities children today face.

"We haven't taken the fun out, but we're looking at what we can do to help them help themselves after the games are over," he said.

"We use the word impact a lot," he said, as in measuring "what we can do to make them a positive influence on their communities and keep them out of harm's way."

Tickets for the dinner Friday night are $100, and the proceeds will go toward the nonprofit agency's $1 million annual budget.

Few of us can hit the open man on the give-and-go the way Ford could, but we all can give an assist to needy kids.

For information on tickets or how to help, call (252) 977-9924 or go to www.bgcnec.org.

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