Ford has a wealth of experience as a player and coach on both the collegiate and professional ranks, most recently as an assistant with the New York Knicks. He made his NBA coaching debut with the Detroit Pistons during the 2004-05 season and spent the last two in New York. Overall, his coaching experience spans over 15 years, including a 12-year period as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina under Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith.
The 1979 NBA Rookie of the Year, Ford averaged 11.6 points in 482 games over his seven-year career with the Kansas City Kings, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets. The second overall pick in the 1978 draft, he also earned All-Rookie and All-NBA Second Team honors that season. During his third year in the league, he led the Kings to the 1981 Western Conference Finals.
No stranger to the North Carolina region, Ford was a standout player for the Tar Heels, where he earned All-ACC First Team honors (1976, 1977, 1978) and All-ACC Tournament First Team honors (1975, 1976, 1977). In addition, he was also named First Team All-American (1976, 1977, 1978) and was the winner of the John Wooden Award during his senior season, as well as ACC Player of the Year in 1977 and 1978. Ford was also a member of the gold medal-winning United States team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where he averaged 11.3 points during competition.
Ford was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and was voted on the ACC’s Top 50 All-Time Male Athletes during the conference’s Golden Anniversary celebration in 2003. Rose joins the Bobcats after a successful and extensive coaching career that spans over 40 years on the collegiate and professional level. He enjoyed a 15-year run in the NBA as a coach and front office executive with Milwaukee, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs and the Charlotte Hornets.