Sam Perkins, former UNC great, elected to collegiate basketball hall of fame

By Sam Newkirk

Updated March 29, 2018 4:59 PM

UNC center Sam Perkins celebrates with teammates on the floor of the Super Dome after the Tar Heels defeated Georgetown to win the 1982 National Championship. Mike Sargent News & Observer file photo

Sam Perkins, who was a three-time All-American and started on North Carolina's 1982 NCAA championship team, has been elected to the National Collegiate Hall of Fame, UNC announced on Wednesday.

Perkins, from Latham, N.Y., played for the Tar Heels from 1981 to 1984 and left UNC as the program's all-time leading rebounder and shot-blocker and second on the scoring list to Phil Ford.

Perkins was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1981 and was the ACC tournament MVP as a freshman. He starred along with James Worthy and Michael Jordan on UNC's 1982 team that defeated Georgetown to give coach Dean Smith his first NCAA title.

North Carolina's Sam Perkins and James Worthy jump in the air after they defeated Georgetown 63-62 to win the NCAA championship played at the Superdome in New Orleans in this March 30, 1982 photo. Ellis Lucia AP Photo/Times-Picayune

Perkins was drafted No. 4 overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1984 NBA draft. He played 17 seasons in the NBA.

The induction ceremony is Nov. 18 in Kansas City, Mo.

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 will also be inducted.

1982 NCAA champions (L-R): Sam Perkins, Jimmy Black, Michael Jordan, Matt Doherty, James Worthy. UNC Athletics

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Sam Perkins, former UNC great, elected to collegiate basketball hall of fame."

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