One of the most prestigious individual records in North Carolina basketball history most likely will change hands Thursday.
And the man about to lose it, Phil Ford, said he won't be sad when he is no longer the Tar Heels' career scoring leader.
North Carolina will play Evansville at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill in a game that is no longer an ordinary December match-up. Center Tyler Hansbrough needs nine points to surpass Ford's mark of 2,290 points, set during the 1977-78 season.
Ford, now an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats, is expected to attend the game at the invitation of Coach Roy Williams.
"When I went to North Carolina, it was never a goal," said Ford, who played for Dean Smith. "As I've always said, I think the scoring record is probably one of the least important in Carolina history.
"We never cared who made the basket. It's the least important record for all of us who played there. Rebounding and drawing charges … there are a lot more important things than scoring points."
Ford said that so many years have passed since his last college game that he had almost forgotten he holds the record. He realized he still did last season, while watching the Tar Heels play on television and hearing a commentator note that Hansbrough could set the scoring record if he returned for his senior season.
If the record is to be broken, Ford said he's pleased to have a player of Hansbrough's ability and character do it. The two played years apart for different coaches, but Ford sees similarities in the way each reached the top of the points chart during their All-America careers.
"Our personalities are a lot different," Ford said. "He's not the most athletic guy in the world from what I've seen, and I wasn't the most athletic person in the world.
"I wouldn't outrun a whole lot of people in a foot race. I never dunked a basketball in my life. I always tried to do what Coach Smith said. I tried to play as hard as I possibly could. I think we share that in common."
Ford played on four talented teams and helped take North Carolina back to the top of the ACC after the David Thompson Era at N.C. State ended.
Ford never expected to hold the record as long as he has. He played four varsity seasons during a time of change in college basketball and during a time of freshman eligibility. Many of those who preceded him in the program played one season in the freshman program and three with the varsity, and only their varsity numbers count toward their career totals.
Ford said he believes he never would have held the record if some of his predecessors had played four years.
‘'Had Charlie Scott or Lennie Rosenbluth or Billy Cunningham or Bob Lewis played four years, I'm sure one of those guys would have the record,'' Ford said.
He also believes that his record would have fallen long ago if some of those who followed him had not left school early for the pros. ‘'It would be Michael Jordan or Antawn Jamison or somebody like that,'' Ford said, ‘'if they had stayed in school for four years instead of going pro.''
Ford set the record Jan. 28, 1978, in a 98-64 win over Clemson in Carmichael Auditorium. He was relieved that the attention he was receiving would stop and that he could return to playing basketball.
Rosenbluth held the record before Ford, setting it during the 1956-57 season and finishing with 2,045 career points.
Hansbrough agrees with Ford on one point: He will be pleased when the chase is over and he can concentrate on leading his team to an NCAA Tournament berth.
"It's one of those things that you're honored that it's happening, but there's a lot more important things," Ford said. "It was more important to win the (Clemson) game than to do that.
"I've spoken to Lennie many times. Lennie congratulated me. I told him then, and I tell him now, he played three years, and what he accomplished in three years is just unbelievable to me. I'm sure if they were to take into consideration his freshman year, he would probably be the leading scorer right now."
Ford spent 12 seasons at UNC as an assistant under Smith and Bill Guthridge. He left after the 1999-2000 season but has not strayed far from his Chapel Hill roots.
His daughter, Tyler, is a UNC freshman, and even Ford can laugh at the coincidence that the player who will break his record and his first child share the same name.
"I'm really proud of Tyler," Ford said. "I don't think he gets enough credit for rebounding. He's a tremendous young man. He epitomizes what I think a North Carolina basketball player is."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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