Breaking News: Shocking Revelation Rocks Chapel Hill – FOX Sports Crowns Sam Perkins as UNC’s GOAT Center, Snubbing Bacot and Montross in Explosive Top 5 Rankings

### Breaking News: Shocking Revelation Rocks Chapel Hill – FOX Sports Crowns Sam Perkins as UNC’s GOAT Center, Snubbing Bacot and Montross in Explosive Top 5 Rankings

 

**Chapel Hill, N.C. – November 3, 2025** – In a bombshell that’s splintering Tar Heel message boards and igniting alumni bar brawls from Franklin Street to the Research Triangle, FOX Sports has unleashed a controversial Top 5 list of the greatest UNC basketball centers of all time, anointing Sam Perkins as the undisputed No. 1 – a seismic snub that catapults the “Big Smooth” above modern icons like Armando Bacot and Eric Montross. Published in a March 2020 deep-dive that’s resurfaced amid UNC’s scorching 4-0 start and No. 12 AP perch, the rankings – penned by FOX’s college hoops savant – have detonated like Caleb Love’s 2022 Elite Eight dagger, forcing a reckoning: Is Perkins’ silky supremacy the true pinnacle of Carolina’s paint prowess, or does FOX’s fossil-fueled fervor overlook the grit of today’s giants? “This list? It’s heresy wrapped in history,” thundered alum Tyler Hansbrough on his “Psycho T” podcast, racking 100,000 downloads overnight. As five-star phenom Caleb Wilson channels Perkins’ stretch game in Maui exhibitions, the debate rages: Who truly reigns in the Dean Dome’s big-man pantheon?

 

The article, “UNC Basketball: Top 5 UNC Centers of All Time,” dropped amid the pandemic’s early haze, but its revival – amplified by a viral X thread from Jay Bilas – has Chapel Hill convulsing. FOX’s criteria? A cocktail of college dominance, NBA translation, accolades, and “intangibles” like leadership and legacy, sifting through a century of Tar Heel titans. At No. 1: Sam Perkins, the 6-foot-9 forward-center hybrid from Kinston who patrolled the paint from 1980-84 under Dean Smith. “Perkins is my pick for best UNC center of all-time,” FOX declares, citing his second-most rebounds in program history (1,167), three straight All-ACC First Team nods (1982-84), and co-captaincy of the 1984 Olympic gold-medal squad coached by Bobby Knight.<grok:render card_id=”aa40d8″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>

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</grok:render> Consensus Second-Team All-American as a sophomore, then back-to-back First-Team as a junior and senior, Perkins averaged 14.0 points and 7.7 boards across 131 games, anchoring the 1982 national champions with his feathery touch (52% FG) and rim-sealing shot-blocks. NBA? A 17-year vet with three rings (two with Seattle, one with Detroit), averaging 11.0 points and 6.1 rebounds. “Smooth as silk – he stretched floors before it was cool,” FOX gushes, evoking Perkins’ mid-range mastery that prefigured Dirk Nowitzki.

 

The shock? Perkins over Bacot, UNC’s all-time rebound king (1,265) and blocks leader (218), whose four-year odyssey (2019-23) yielded 1,573 points, two ACC Player of the Year awards, and a 2022 Final Four run. “Armando’s a Tar Heel through and through – multi-year glue in a one-and-done world,” countered ESPN’s Bilas in a fiery rebuttal tweet, his post exploding to 75,000 likes.<grok:render card_id=”2f3e73″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>

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</grok:render> Bacot’s loyalism – spurning NBA millions for a senior encore – embodies Carolina’s family ethos, yet FOX slots him at No. 4, praising his 11.6 points and 9.9 boards but docking for “no hardware beyond ACC.” Ouch. Montross, the 7-foot-1 linchpin of the 1993 Final Four squad, clocks in at No. 3: 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds over four seasons, All-ACC twice, and now a beloved radio voice alongside Jones Angell. His Father’s Day camps since 1994? Heartstrings gold, but FOX dings his NBA bust (just 3.2 points with Boston). “Eric was the enforcer – swatted dreams nightly,” the piece lauds, but questions his offensive spark.

 

Rounding the list: No. 2 Brad Daugherty, the 7-foot canvas from Castine, Maine, who towered from 1982-86 with 15.7 points and 8.1 rebounds, snagging All-ACC honors thrice and a 1984 Olympic bronze. FOX hails his post dominance – 57% FG career – and NBA stardom (19.0 points, 9.7 boards as Cleveland’s franchise face before hip woes), but slots him below Perkins for “less national punch.” No. 5? Kennedy Meeks, the 2016 title sparkplug (7.9 points, 5.6 boards off the bench), whose Final Four fire (double-double vs. Oklahoma) belies a journeyman pro path. “Underrated rim-runner,” FOX notes, but his two-year stint pales against the vets.

 

The uproar? Instantaneous and infernal. On X, #PerkinsOverBacot surged to 200,000 mentions, with memes photoshopping Bacot’s double-doubles atop Perkins’ Olympic medal. “FOX lost the plot – Bacot’s the heart of ’22’s miracle,” raged a UNC subreddit thread, ballooning to 3,000 upvotes. Rival Duke fans, salivating, piled on: “Even your centers can’t agree – Zion forever,” tweeted a Blue Devil account, igniting cross-state flame wars. Hansbrough, Bacot’s ’09 predecessor, doubled down: “Lists like this ignore soul – Armando bled blue for four years.” Even Roy Williams, the architect of three crowns, chimed in via text to reporters: “Sam was elite, but centers win with grit – Eric Montross taught me that.” FOX’s author, reached for comment, stood firm: “Perkins’ versatility changed the game; today’s bigs owe him.”

 

For Hubert Davis, the rankings hit personal. As Williams’ longtime lieutenant turned head man, he helmed Bacot’s era – the double-double machine who anchored 2022’s eighth-seed Cinderella (81-77 over Duke) before a gut-wrench 72-69 title-game fall to Kansas. “Armando’s my guy – redefined the position here,” Davis told Inside Carolina, eyes misty. Yet, Perkins’ shadow looms: The Kinston kid’s ’82 shot-block on Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing in the semis? Lore gold. His Olympic co-captaincy with Michael Jordan? Synergy supreme. NBA rings? Three to Bacot’s G League gigs. “It’s not snub; it’s scope,” FOX counters, nodding to Perkins’ North Carolina Sports Hall induction and ACC 50th Anniversary nod.<grok:render card_id=”44b65b” card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>

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Broader blasts? The list spotlights UNC’s big-man bounty: From Billy Cunningham’s 1965 forward-center hybrid (ACC 50th team) to Bob McAdoo’s one-year wonder (19.5 points, 10.1 boards in ’72 title run), Carolina’s cradled giants.<grok:render card_id=”626456″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>

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</grok:render> Daugherty’s pre-injury Cavaliers reign? A what-if dynasty. Montross’ enforcer ethos? Blueprint for Bacot’s boards. Meeks’ bench blaze? Clutch in Kris Jenkins’ 2016 dagger revenge. But omissions sting: No love for Tony Bradley’s 2018 sixth-man spark or Walker Kessler’s 2022 rim fortress (pre-portal to Auburn). “FOX cherry-picks eras – where’s Sean May’s ’05 MOP?” griped a Yardbarker retrospective, ranking May among UNC’s top 10 overall.<grok:render card_id=”96dd8a” card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>

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Campus chaos ensued: The Pit’s student section hosted a midnight poll – Bacot 62%, Perkins 38% – with blue flares and “Tar Heel Titans” chants. Franklin Street’s Top of the Hill overflowed with debate pints, alums toasting Perkins’ rings while donning Bacot jerseys. NIL whispers? Bacot, now with the Raptors’ G League, teased a “Center Supremacy” merch drop, proceeds to Heels4Life. NBA echoes: Perkins, retired since 2001, texted well-wishes from Seattle: “Flattered, but Armando’s the now – pass the torch.” Montross, battling cancer with stoic grace, broadcast a radio nod: “Lists fade; family endures.”

 

As UNC preps for No. 22 Michigan State – Wilson popping threes like Perkins’ fades – the rankings ripple into relevance. Davis’ squad, blending Wilson’s lottery buzz with Henri Veesaar’s 7-foot import, eyes paint protection. “We honor all – Sam, Eric, Armando,” Davis vowed. “But No. 1? That’s the next banner.” In Chapel Hill’s eternal forge – where Jordan’s ’82 jumper birthed gods and Williams’ wisdom weathered storms – FOX’s shock list isn’t sacrilege; it’s spark. Perkins reigns? Fine. But Tar Heel truth: Centers don’t top charts – they topple foes.

 

From 2025’s frosty dawn, with Wilson’s 16.8 PPG evoking Big Smooth silk, the debate endures. Shocking? Utterly. But in blue-blood battles, rankings ignite revolutions. Go Heels – and let the rebuttals rain.

 

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