(from UNC Comminications)
CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina will honor a trio of former standout student-athletes Saturday at the men’s basketball game vs. Virginia (8:20 p.m.).
Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige, seniors on the 2015-16 men’s basketball team that won the ACC regular-season and Tournament championships and led UNC to the Final Four and national championship game, will officially have their jersey numbers honored at a halftime ceremony.
Paige and Kristen Brown, Carolina softball’s all-time home run leader, will receive the Patterson Medal, the most prestigious career achievement award given to a Tar Heel student-athlete, at the 16:00 media timeout in the second half.
Johnson and Paige will be the 50th and 51st Tar Heel players whose jersey numbers hang in the rafters of the Dean E. Smith Center. Eight have been retired; Johnson and Paige are among the 43 that are honored, Johnson for earning consensus first-team All-America honors in 2016, and Paige for earning second-team All-America honors as a sophomore in 2014.
The Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association named Johnson a first-team All-America last year after he averaged 17.0 points and 10.4 rebounds. He was a unanimous first-team All-ACC selection and set single-season records UNC with 416 rebounds and 23 double-doubles. The Orangeburg, S.C., native led the ACC in field goal percentage at .614 and was KenPom.com’s National Player of the Year. He earned All-Tournament honors at the ACC Tournament, NCAA East Regional and Final Four.
Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the NCAA regional final vs. Notre Dame and was named the MVP of the regional. He became the first Tar Heel with three consecutive 20-point/10-rebound games in NCAA Tournament play. Johnson finished his college career with 1,716 points (17th at UNC) and 1,035 rebounds (fifth). He and Sam Perkins are the only Tar Heels with 1,700 points, 1,000 rebounds, 150 blocks, 100 assists and 100 steals.
Paige is Carolina’s all-time leader in three-pointers (299), three-pointers in NCAA Tournament play (39) and consecutive games with a three-pointer (41). A three-time Academic All-America (first-team selection in 2016), he won the Skip Prosser Award twice as the ACC’s top scholar-athlete in men’s basketball. As a sophomore in 2014, Paige was a first-team All-ACC and second-team All-America, a season highlighted by a 35-point performance in an overtime win at NC State.
The Marion, Iowa, native joins Duke’s Jason Williams as the only players in ACC history with 1,800 points, 500 assists, 350 rebounds, 275 three-pointers and 200 steals. Paige finished his college career 11th in scoring, fourth in free throw percentage (.844), eighth in assists (602) and third in steals (203) at Carolina. He shot a remarkable 46 percent from three-point range in NCAA Tournament play, including 20 of 41 (.488) as a senior. Paige was the first Tar Heel to be team captain three times and the first to win the team’s defensive player of the year award four times.
Brown set the all-time ACC home run record with her 66th round-tripper in walk-off fashion in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The only Tar Heel with 10 or more home runs in each of her four seasons, Brown earned first-team All-America honors as a senior after earning third-team honors in 2015.
An exercise and sports science major, Brown was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and two-time all-region honoree. After breaking the UNC home run record in just her junior season, she went on to set eight career school records, including home runs (66), total bases (469), RBIs (204), runs (181), slugging percentage (.714), walks (106), sacrifice flies (11) and intentional walks (14). She ranks second at Carolina in on base percentage (.452) and fourth in batting average (.356).
An All-ACC Academic team selection and team captain, Brown also holds five UNC single-season records, including the highest two marks in RBIs and home runs, as well as runs, walks and sacrifice flies, and is third all-time in the ACC in career RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage and total bases and ninth in runs scored.
The Patterson Medal is based primarily on career athletic accomplishments. The recipients must have played at least three seasons for the Tar Heels. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Three-time All-America Emily Wold (field hockey) shared the 2016 Patterson Medal with Brown and Paige. Wold received her medal at a football game last fall.
CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina will honor a trio of former standout student-athletes Saturday at the men’s basketball game vs. Virginia (8:20 p.m.).
Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige, seniors on the 2015-16 men’s basketball team that won the ACC regular-season and Tournament championships and led UNC to the Final Four and national championship game, will officially have their jersey numbers honored at a halftime ceremony.
Paige and Kristen Brown, Carolina softball’s all-time home run leader, will receive the Patterson Medal, the most prestigious career achievement award given to a Tar Heel student-athlete, at the 16:00 media timeout in the second half.
Johnson and Paige will be the 50th and 51st Tar Heel players whose jersey numbers hang in the rafters of the Dean E. Smith Center. Eight have been retired; Johnson and Paige are among the 43 that are honored, Johnson for earning consensus first-team All-America honors in 2016, and Paige for earning second-team All-America honors as a sophomore in 2014.
The Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association named Johnson a first-team All-America last year after he averaged 17.0 points and 10.4 rebounds. He was a unanimous first-team All-ACC selection and set single-season records UNC with 416 rebounds and 23 double-doubles. The Orangeburg, S.C., native led the ACC in field goal percentage at .614 and was KenPom.com’s National Player of the Year. He earned All-Tournament honors at the ACC Tournament, NCAA East Regional and Final Four.
Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the NCAA regional final vs. Notre Dame and was named the MVP of the regional. He became the first Tar Heel with three consecutive 20-point/10-rebound games in NCAA Tournament play. Johnson finished his college career with 1,716 points (17th at UNC) and 1,035 rebounds (fifth). He and Sam Perkins are the only Tar Heels with 1,700 points, 1,000 rebounds, 150 blocks, 100 assists and 100 steals.
Paige is Carolina’s all-time leader in three-pointers (299), three-pointers in NCAA Tournament play (39) and consecutive games with a three-pointer (41). A three-time Academic All-America (first-team selection in 2016), he won the Skip Prosser Award twice as the ACC’s top scholar-athlete in men’s basketball. As a sophomore in 2014, Paige was a first-team All-ACC and second-team All-America, a season highlighted by a 35-point performance in an overtime win at NC State.
The Marion, Iowa, native joins Duke’s Jason Williams as the only players in ACC history with 1,800 points, 500 assists, 350 rebounds, 275 three-pointers and 200 steals. Paige finished his college career 11th in scoring, fourth in free throw percentage (.844), eighth in assists (602) and third in steals (203) at Carolina. He shot a remarkable 46 percent from three-point range in NCAA Tournament play, including 20 of 41 (.488) as a senior. Paige was the first Tar Heel to be team captain three times and the first to win the team’s defensive player of the year award four times.
Brown set the all-time ACC home run record with her 66th round-tripper in walk-off fashion in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The only Tar Heel with 10 or more home runs in each of her four seasons, Brown earned first-team All-America honors as a senior after earning third-team honors in 2015.
An exercise and sports science major, Brown was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and two-time all-region honoree. After breaking the UNC home run record in just her junior season, she went on to set eight career school records, including home runs (66), total bases (469), RBIs (204), runs (181), slugging percentage (.714), walks (106), sacrifice flies (11) and intentional walks (14). She ranks second at Carolina in on base percentage (.452) and fourth in batting average (.356).
An All-ACC Academic team selection and team captain, Brown also holds five UNC single-season records, including the highest two marks in RBIs and home runs, as well as runs, walks and sacrifice flies, and is third all-time in the ACC in career RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage and total bases and ninth in runs scored.
The Patterson Medal is based primarily on career athletic accomplishments. The recipients must have played at least three seasons for the Tar Heels. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Three-time All-America Emily Wold (field hockey) shared the 2016 Patterson Medal with Brown and Paige. Wold received her medal at a football game last fall.
