Barry Looks At ACC Nicknames

Buddy and Boopsie and Spud, oh my!

Player nicknames that demonstrate any imagination have grown rare, like two-tone cars. But now a player formerly known as Kevin has given the practice a tweak after transferring from Wake Forest to SMU. He previously transferred from Central Michigan to Wake.

Kevin Miller used to be plain Kevin, if you regard “Kevin”, a name of Irish origin meaning handsome, as a plain name. While at Wake Forest last season, Miller was second among the Demon Deacons in scoring (15.6-point average) and best among regulars with an .845 conversion rate at the foul line. The 6-0 guard had more steals than anyone at Wake (50 in 35 games) in 2024 and more turnovers too (88).

Then the Illinois native felt a renewed urge to start over somewhere else, trading the staid life of Winston-Salem, NC, for the more dynamic environs of Dallas. So far this year Miller leads Andy Enfield’s Mustangs in areas from minutes per game (26.9) to points (18.4) and assists (31 in four games).

Because the revitalized Miller doesn’t go by something simple and transparent like a Tom instead of a Thomas, or pretentious like “Black Falcon”, ACC fans may not realize they saw him compete last year. Now he goes by a pleasingly distinctive “Boopie”. As his family explains it, an uncle nicknamed a younger Kevin “Boobie,” which his mother mercifully altered to “Boopie.”

There used to be plenty of nicknames floating around the ACC, including Wake coach Horace (Bones) McKinney and Maryland’s Charles (Lefty) Driesell. Both previously played at ACC schools.

There was a Richard (Buzzy) Wilkinson, a two-time ACC scoring leader from Virginia in 1954 and 1955, and a Robert (Buzz) Peterson in UNC in the early 1980s. There was Jules (Skip) Harlicka from South Carolina and Hunter (Chip) Conner, another Cavalier. Clemson had its Wayne (Tree) Rollins and NC State its Walter (Dinky) Proctor.

And we can’f forget the diminutive ‘80s dervishes Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues of Wake and Anthony (Spud) Webb of NC State. I once tried to get Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano and Wake’s Bob Staak to let their little men jump center to tip off a game, but they demurred.

In this century the nickname pickings are slim, but maybe Miller can start a new trend.