Six Players, Two Coaches Enshrined in National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Six Players, Two Coaches ENSHRINED IN

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

On November 21, 2021, two coaches and six players were enshrined at the 2021 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration presented by Nike in Kansas City, Missouri . The event at the College Basketball Experience honored the 16th Class to be inducted and was part of Kansas City’s Hall of Fame Weekend, which also included the Hall of Fame Classic Tournament . The ceremonies were hosted by national college basketball analyst Andy Katz and Stephanie Ready of the NBA Network .

The 2021 Class includes players David Greenwood of UCLA, Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins, Jim Jackson of Ohio State, North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison, Paul Pierce of Kansas and the late Len Bias of Maryland along with coaches Rick Byrd and Tom Penders .

THE COACHES

RICK BYRD – Belmont, Maryville, Lincoln Memorial

Byrd began his career coaching in the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NAIA) at Maryville, Lincoln Memorial and Belmont . In 33 seasons at Belmont, he guided the Bruins to 17 conference regular season and tournament championships and eight NCAA Tournaments . Belmont was often called the team no high-seeded team wanted to face in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament . Byrd was named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 1995 and won Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in five seasons with the Bruins in NCAA Division I . He is the 12th winningest coach in NCAA history with 805 wins . Byrd, who played an active role as chairman of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, was the recipient of the 2021 John R . Wooden Legend of Coaching Award . Comments from Byrd on coaching at Belmont – “I believe the success we had was due to making good choices with the staff, the culture of the university academically and socially and the character of the players we recruited . We had a very high retention rate .

Six Players, Two Coaches ENSHRINED IN

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

TOM PENDERS – Tufts, Columbia, Fordham, Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington and Houston

Over four decades as a head coach, Penders coached seven different teams to a total of 649 wins . He guided four of those teams – Rhode Island, Texas, George Washington and Houston to the NCAA Tournament . He resurrected a struggling Rhode Island program, taking the Rams to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in just his second season, winning 28 games, and earned honors as the Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year in 1987 . That performance led Penders to Texas for 10 seasons where his Runnin’ Horns reached the NCAA Tournament in all but two seasons and advanced to an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen. His teams finished no lower than third in the Southwest Conference only twice and won one conference crown and tied for two others . Penders’ next stop was at George Washington and the Colonials reached the NCAA Tournament in his first season with a 20-9 record. He closed out his peripatetic career at Houston, leading the Cougars to three 20-win seasons and the NCAA Tournament in 2009-10, his final season. Comments from Tom Penders on coaching – “I had fun everywhere I coached . My Dad was a long-time high school basketball and baseball coach and I learned from him . We had three boys in the family, and he told us to treat the players like he treated us .

THE PLAYERS

LEN BIAS – Maryland

Few players have ever dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference like Maryland’s Len Bias did from 1982-86 . Scoring an incredible 2,149 career points – the third most in program history, he also averaged 5 .7 rebounds per game for Coach Lefty Driesell’s Terps . The 6-8 forward was a two-time AllAmerica selection and was named ACC Player of the Year twice . The overall number two pick by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft, Bias tragically passed away shortly after . Note: Dr. Lonise Bias accepted the award on behalf of her late son.

Paul Pierce David Greenwood Hersey Hawkins

DAVID GREENWOOD – UCLA

David Greenwood helped carry on UCLA’s great winning tradition in the post-John Wooden era, helping lead the Bruins to the Final Four in his freshman year . He ranks third on the Bruins’ all-time rebounding list with 1,022 and scored 1,721 points, 13th alltime at UCLA . A three-time All-Conference selection and a two-time All-America, the Bruins had a 102-17 record, a winning percentage of 85% with Greenwood on the court . The hometown product was the second overall selection in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls . He played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Bulls, Spurs, Nuggets and Pistons . Greenwood on playing at UCLA – “Everyone wanted to beat UCLA . The game was over when those teams walked into Pauley Pavilion .

HERSEY HAWKINS – Bradley

The consensus national player of the year as a senior, Hersey Hawkins is considered one of college basketball’s all-time scorers . From 1984-88 at Bradley, the 6-3 guard dominated, starting all 125 games in his career . He ranks 10th in NCAA scoring with 3,008 points and Braves’ records for scoring, field goals and free throws attempted, and free throws made among his 14 records at Bradley . The two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Hawkins was a two-time All-America selection . Hawkins was a member of the last collegiate men’s basketball team to play in the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, in 1988 for Coach John Thompson . The sixth overall selection by the Clippers in the 1988 NBA Draft, Hawkins played for 13 seasons in the NBA and scored more than 14,000 points . Hawkins on memorable moments at Bradley – “There are very few games that I regret, but one I do is when I scored 60 points . I could have easily had 70 but decided to pass to my teammates .

JIM JACKSON – Ohio State

In just three seasons at Ohio State, Jackson scored 1,785 points, the seventh best total in Ohio State history . From 1989-92, the 6-6 shooting guard averaged 5 .9 rebounds and four assists and connected on more

than 50% of his field goal attempts. Jackson led the Buckeyes to back-to-back Big Ten championships, was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a two-time consensus All-America selection . The fourth overall selection in the 1992 NBA Draft, Jackson played for 14 seasons in the NBA . Jackson comments on playing at Ohio State – “I loved the Big East games in my younger years but wanted to play in the Big Ten . It’s a very competitive league and had great coaches like Bob Knight, Gene Keady and Jud Heathcote .

ANTAWN JAMISON – North Carolina

A two-time National Player of the Year, Antawn Jamison is regarded as one of North Carolina’s all-time greatest players . The 6-9 forward scored 1,974 points from 1995-98, the eighth best mark at UNC . He helped the Tar Heels to Final Four appearances in 1997 and 1998, was a three-time All-ACC section and two-time All-America . The ACC and National Player of the Year in 1998, he was drafted fourth overall by the Raptors in the 1998 NBA Draft .

Jamison comments on playing at UNC – “I’m a Tar Heel until the day I die . I was a skinny kid going to college and trusted Coach Smith and his staff . Eventually I went back to Carolina and earned my degree. I was the first in my family to get that and Coach Smith had promised that to me and my family .

PAUL PIERCE

Playing for coach Roy Williams at Kansas, Paul Pierce averaged double figure scoring in each of three seasons from 1995-98 . Pierce scored 1,798 points, including 777 in his junior season, earning consensus AllAmerica honors . He helped the Jayhawks to 98 wins, three conference titles, a pair of conference tournament championships and was the conference most valuable player in two seasons . Pierce comments on playing at Kansas – “Growing up in California, I was recruited by USC and UCLA along with Kansas . When I went to visit KU and watched a game in Allen Fieldhouse, it was amazing . The crowd started chanting my name and I knew then that was where I wanted to play . It was the right choice because Coach Williams taught me to get to the next level .

Pierce was a first round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 1998 and played 19 seasons in the NBA, the first 15 with Boston . He was the NBA Finals MVP in 2008 .