Some former players are fixtures at the Smith Center. Lennie Rosenbluth is a regular. Phil Ford makes routine visits.
Sam Perkins, however, is an unusual guest. The 1982 national champion who is the owner of one of the best nicknames in Tar Heel history—The Big Smooth—made a point to visit Chapel Hill on Wednesday night for the Carolina-Clemson game. Perkins is just the right mix of a big enough star—he played 17 years in the NBA, won an NCAA title and a gold medal, and played in three different NBA Finals—and a rarely enough seen face that he received a huge standing ovation from the Carolina crowd when he was shown on the video board during a timeout.