ACC Basketball Book of Fame

No Chris Paul? No Walter Davis? What is this guy, blind? Brain-addled? Actually, he¿s neither. Dan Collins was already immersed in ACC basketball the day in 1971 he and the Carmichael Auditorium faithful lustily booed the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks, the conference villains of his student days. Since then, in his tenure at the Chapel Hill Newspaper and his 20-plus years as Wake Forest beat reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal, he has watched countless ACC games and interviewed...
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No Chris Paul? No Walter Davis? What is this guy, blind? Brain-addled? Actually, he¿s neither. Dan Collins was already immersed in ACC basketball the day in 1971 he and the Carmichael Auditorium faithful lustily booed the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks, the conference villains of his student days. Since then, in his tenure at the Chapel Hill Newspaper and his 20-plus years as Wake Forest beat reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal, he has watched countless ACC games and interviewed and written about greats from Juan Dixon to Christian Laettner to Ralph Sampson to Michael Jordan. Collins devoted two years to devising a system to fairly select an ACC Basketball Hall of Fame. Most of his inductees have universal appeal¿from latter-day greats including Tyler Hansbrough and J. J. Redick to old-timers including Len Chappell and Ronnie Shavlik. But others are nearly forgotten gems, like Lou Pucillo, the five-nine high-school benchwarmer discovered playing against the Philadelphia School for the Blind and Deaf. The 75-plus illustrated player profiles in this book will prove an anecdote- and trivia-filled delight even to fans who think they know ACC basketball. Remember Tim Duncan¿s comment after Randolph Childress beaned a Duke fan with a postgame full-court heave? Or David Thompson¿s legendary kindnesses to reporters, fans, and critics? Readers will especially enjoy the ¿Portico of Prominence¿ chapter, which recognizes players¿among them Paul and Davis¿who were undoubtedly great but didn¿t accumulate the credentials for admission to the Hall of Fame. Longtime ACC scribe Dan Collins¿s cards are on the table. Let the argument begin. ¿My Take on Wake,¿ Dan Collins¿s blog for the Winston-Salem Journal, has attracted 17 million hits. Collins is the author of Tales from the Wake Forest Hardwood. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.