2017 Men's Basketball Class
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Brandon2017 D. Williams Men’s Basketball Class Davidson College (1992-96) Williams, the most electrifying basketball player Davidson College had during the 1990s, helped lead the Wildcats to a pair of postseason berths in the NIT in 1994 and 1996, earning first-team all-conference and all-tournament honors both years. Nicknamed “Ozone” due to his phenomenal jumping ability, Williams averaged 13.4 points per game in his career and is currently 14th all-time on the Wildcat scoring list with 1,505 points. He scored in double figures 75 times in his career, topping 20 points on 18 occasions and 30 three times with a career high of 38. Williams elevated his game in his senior campaign, leading Davidson in scoring (18.2 points per game) while shooting 49.6 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent on threes. illiamsW spent nearly a decade playing professionally, including stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, the latter with which he won an NBA championship. In September 2013, he was named the general manager of the Delaware 87ers. On February 4, 2016 he was promoted to Chief of Staff for the Philadelphia 76ers. Arlen “Bucky” Bockhorn University of Dayton (1955-58) A member of the UD Athletic Hall of Fame and the University’s All-Century Team, Bucky Bockhorn played from 1955-58 on Flyer teams that were a combined 69-17, won the 1955 UKIT and played in three NIT’s. As a senior, he was co-captain on a 25-4 team that reached the NIT finals. Of all of the attributes a great basketball player has to have, without a doubt the trait that elevated Bockhorn in Dayton basketball history was his toughness. Bockhorn routinely guarded the opponents’ top offensive player, whether he was a forward or a guard. One of the best rebounding guards of his time, he could be counted on for the toughest rebounds at the end of the game. His toughness suited him well in his seven-year NBA career. After his professional career, Bockhorn moved behind the microphone. He has broadcast University of Dayton basketball games on WHIO Radio since 1969. His was named the winner of the Atlantic 10’s Bob Vetrone Media Award in 2010. Norm Nixon Duquesne University (1973-77) Nixon led Duquesne to the first Atlantic 10 (then Eastern 8) Championship on his way to being named the league’s first player of the year in 1977. Nixon handed out a school record 577 assists while averaging 17.4 points per game. For his career, he was one of seven Dukes to average in double- digits (scoring) for four seasons. Nixon joined Dick Ricketts and Sihugo Green as Duquesne first round draft picks when he was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1977. He had the most-successful NBA career of any DU player and earned a spot on the 1977-78 NBA All-Rookie Team. His .497 first-year field goal percentage was the best in the 33-year history of NBA rookies at the time and was the second player in Laker history (Jerry West was the first) to score 1,000 points as a rookie. Nixon played for two World Champion Los Angeles Lakers teams during his 10 NBA seasons and also played for the L.A. Clippers. He appeared in two NBA All-Star Games and finished his NBA career with 12,065 points and 6,386 assists. Norm Nixon had his jersey #10 retired in 2001. Darryl Brown 2017 Men’s Basketball Class Fordham University (1971-75) Brown, a four-year starter and All-American for the Rams from 1971-75, graduated as the seventh leading scorer in Fordham University men’s basketball history with 1,233 points. He also graduated fifth on the school’s career rebounding list with 807 and had the top career field goal percentage (.540). Brown was the team’s leading scorer in his junior and senior year and was the Rams’ top rebounder for three seasons. His finest moment as a Ram came in one of Fordham’s greatest basketball victories ever, an 83-66 win over fifth ranked USC in the 1974 MSG Holiday Festival. Brown’s performance earned him Holiday Festival MVP honors. Brown was named All-American following his senior season in 1974-75 when he averaged 20.0 points per game and 12.2 rebounds per game. A fine defensive player, Darryl was known for his outstanding shot blocking ability, blocking 116 shots as a junior which would be a school record but blocked shots was not an NCAA recognized stat at the time, and showed his overall prowess against such great players as John Shumate, Maurice Lucas, and Len Elmore. He was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Erik Herring George Mason University (1997-2001) George Mason alum Erik Herring was a sharp-shooting guard, playing for the Patriots around the turn of the century (1997-2001). The Chicago native ranks among the top performers in Mason history in several categories including top five in 3-point field goal percentage (.394) and among the top 20 in scoring (1,315 points). He averaged 12.3 points per game in 107 games, but a career-high 16.0 his senior season. He earned All-Conference honors in 2000 (second team) and in 2001 and helped lead the Patriots to two Conference Championships and NCAA tournament berths (1999 and 2001) during his tenure. The 6-5 guard was named Conference Tournament MVP in 2001. Following college, he played semi-professional ball in the United States Basketball League (USBL), American Basketball Association (ABA) as well as professionally overseas. Bob Tallent George Washington University (1968-69); (1975-81) Tallent played only one season at GW, but it was one of the most dominant single seasons for any player in program history. Tallent totaled 723 points and averaged 28.9 points for the Colonials in 1968-69, still the best single-season scoring totals in school history and the ninth-best single-season average in Southern Conference history just ahead of current NBA star Stephen Curry’s 28.6 points in 2008-09. He earned First Team All-Conference honors that season, helping the Colonials to their first winning record (14-11) in nine seasons, a third-place finish in the league standings and a trip to the conference tournament semifinals. Tallent reached double figures in all 25 games, including 23 games of 20-or-more points, 11 games with 30-or-more, and a pair of 40-plus point outings. His 46 points in a victory over Pittsburgh on Jan. 11, 1969 are the second- most in one game in school history. He was drafted by the Denver Rockets in the 1969 ABA Draft, but returned to Foggy Bottom as a coach and eventually spent seven seasons as head coach, helping the Colonials to 102 victories from 1975-81, the fourth-most wins of any coach in program history. Bob was inducted into the GW Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 and was a member of the All-Century Team in 2001. Kenny Durrett 2017 Men’s Basketball Class La Salle University (1968-71) - Posthumously Honored Durrett averaged 23.6 points per game during his three seasons with the Explorers. During his sophomore campaign (1969), he helped lead La Salle to a 23-1 season, a No. 2 national ranking and was named Co-MVP in the Big 5. He went on to earn Big 5 Player of the Year honors in 1970 and 1971, and is one of only four players in history to win the award three times. As a senior in 1971, he was a consensus All-American as the Explorers earned a bid into the postseason NIT. The 6-7 forward graduated as the second leading scorer and rebounder in La Salle’s program history. Durrett was a fourth overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft and went on to have a four-year NBA career (1971-75) with Cincinnati, Kansas City-Omaha and Philadelphia. Jim McCoy University of Massachusetts (1988-92) The all-time leading scorer in the history of the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball program – produced four of the most successful individual seasons from 1988- 89 through 1991-92. McCoy ended his time in Amherst with 2,374 points, nearly 200 more than the next player in the team record book. McCoy, who led UMass in scoring during each of his four years, won four Atlantic 10 All-Conference awards, including first team as a sophomore, junior and senior, when he was also an NABC All-District selection. McCoy was a catalyst in then-head coach John Calipari turning the Minutemen into a national contender, as the squad improved from an eighth-place finish in the A-10 his freshman season to first as a senior when UMass reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and won 30 games. In addition to ranking tops in program history for points, McCoy is also the all-time leader in field goals made (876) and field goals attempted (2,013) while he is still second in free throws made (575), free throws attempted (810), games started (121) and minutes played (4180), and third in scoring average (18.8). Following his tenure in Western Massachusetts, McCoy went on to play internationally in Sweden and Spain. Tom Garrick University of Rhode Island (1984-88) One of the most beloved figures in program history, Garrick finished his career with 1,573 points – which currently ranks as 11th all-time in the URI record book.