Alabama Crimson Tide basketball star Jack Kubiszyn was named as part of the 2012 Allstate SEC Basketball Legends class. The official release from the SEC follows below with one selection from each of the SEC members. There are a few recognizable names including Arkansas’ Nolan Richardson.
Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends Announced
Featuring former greats from all 12 Southeastern Conference member institutions, the 2012 Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends will be honored at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament March 8-11 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La.
“The Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends Program allows us to honor our past and show everyone why the SEC is one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.
The 2012 class includes Jack Kubiszyn, Alabama; Nolan Richardson, Arkansas; Chris Morris, Auburn; Mike Miller, Florida; Willie Anderson, Georgia; Adrian “Odie” Smith, Kentucky; Jack Waters, Ole Miss; Chuck Evans, Mississippi State; Henry Martin, South Carolina; Gene Tormohlen, Tennessee; Drew Maddux, Vanderbilt.
Each SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution’s first game at the tournament.
Highlighting the schedule of events at the Sunkist Soda SEC FanFare will be appearances by selected legends. FanFare will be open Thursday-Saturday, March 8-10.
This marks the 14th year of the SEC Basketball Legends program.
Last year’s group included Robert Horry, Alabama; George Kok, Arkansas; Jimmy Fibbe, Auburn; Craig Brown, Florida; Walter Daniels, Georgia; Kevin Grevey, Kentucky; Howard Carter, LSU; Bob Weltlich, Ole Miss; Darryl Wilson, Mississippi State; BJ McKie, South Carolina; Jimmy England, Tennessee and Jeff Turner, Vanderbilt.
2012 Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends
ALABAMA – Jack Kubiszyn, Guard, 1956-58
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Jack Kubiszyn was a Second-Team All-America at guard in 1958 when he earned First-Team All-SEC honors from the SEC Coaches and the Associated Press. Kubiszyn was a Second-Team All-SEC selection as a junior in 1957. He is one of a select group of Alabama basketball players to score more than 1,000 points in his career, ranking 32nd on the UA career scoring list with 1,224 points accrued in just three seasons of varsity play. A member of Alabama’s historic “Rocket 8” teams, he averaged 24.6 points per game in 1957 and 24.2 points per game in 1958. For his career, Kubiszyn averaged 18.3 points per game, scoring more than 40 points three times led by a 47-point effort against Mississippi College in 1957. The outstanding athlete for UA in 1958, he also was an outstanding baseball player that earned All-SEC honors three times and earned a spot on Alabama’s All-Century Baseball Team. He played six seasons of professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians.
ARKANSAS – Nolan Richardson, Head Coach, 1985-2002
In 17 years as the Razorback Head Basketball Coach, Richardson won a school record 389 games and compiled a .697 winning percentage. He led Arkansas to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances including six Sweet 16s (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996), four Elite Eights (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995), three Final Fours (1990, 1994, 1995) a national runner-up finish (1995) and the 1994 National Championship. In 22 years as a head coach at the NCAA level, five at Tulsa and 17 at Arkansas, Richardson compiled an impressive 508-206 (.711) record. He remains to this day the only head coach to have won a National Junior College Championship, NIT Championship and NCAA Championship. Richardson was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1996.
AUBURN – Chris Morris, Forward, 1984-85; 1987-88
Two-time All-SEC selection (1987 and 1988) Chris Morris was a First-Team All-SEC pick in 1988 by the AP, UPI and SEC Coaches. He ranks seventh on Auburn’s all-time scoring chart with 1,717 career points (13.4 ppg) and sixth on the Tigers’ career rebounding list with 860 (6.7 rpg). Morris averaged 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds as a senior in 1987-88 and left as Auburn’s all-time steals chart leader with 189. His 36 points in Auburn’s 90-86 victory over Bradley in the first round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament are a school record in NCAA Tournament games. Morris played in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Elite Eight in 1986 and the Sweet Sixteen in 1985. Following his collegiate career he was drafted fourth overall in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets and went on to play 12 NBA seasons for the Nets, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns.
FLORIDA – Mike Miller, Forward, 1998-2000
Florida’s leading scorer in both of his seasons with the Gators, Miller averaged 13.3 points per game over his career and helped Florida reach its first national championship game in 2000. He hit one of the most memorable shots in Gator history with a buzzer-beater to defeat Butler in overtime in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. A unanimous selection to the Coaches All-SEC first team in 1999-2000, Miller was also named AP second-team All-SEC that season. He was a Coaches third-team All-SEC honoree and a member of the SEC All-Freshman team, as well as earning Sports Illustrated Freshman All-American honors in 1998-99.
GEORGIA – Willie Anderson, Guard, 1985-88
Willie Anderson arrived at Georgia in 1984 as a skinny, 6-foot-7 kid with no true position to play. Head coach Hugh Durham eventually tried him at point guard, where he blossomed into every opponent’s worst nightmare. Twice Anderson made the All-SEC first team (1987 and 1988) leading the 1987 team to an improbable NCAA Tournament berth. Despite hardly playing as a freshman, he finished his career with 1,350 points, which currently ranks 16th on Georgia’s list of all-time scorers. Anderson brought the international spotlight to Georgia when he made the 1988 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He later went on to score nearly 7,000 points during an NBA career that spanned 11 seasons.
KENTUCKY – Adrian “Odie” Smith, Guard, 1957, 1958
Adrian Smith became only the third junior college player to receive a scholarship to play at the University of Kentucky. After averaging 10.1 ppg in two years at UK, Smith joined the Army where he won gold medals for the U.S. in the 1959 Pan-American Games in Chicago and the 1960 Rome Olympics. Following his stint in the military, he returned home to play in the NBA for 10 years with the Cincinnati Royals and the San Francisco Warriors. He was MVP of the 1966 NBA All-Star Game held in Cincinnati, playing with and against players including Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Rick Barry to win the honors. He was recently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1960 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic basketball team.
LSU – Kenny Higgs, Guard, 1975-78
A three-time All-SEC selection, Kenny Higgs was known early in his career at LSU as a great scorer but he finished it known as one of the best playmakers around. He is LSU’s all-time assist leader with 645 (6.1 per game) and he ranks 10th in school history with a scoring average of 17.9 points per game. His 1,896 career points rank seventh in school history and his 522 free throws made are second on the LSU charts. Following his playing days in Baton Rouge, Higgs was a third round pick of Cleveland Cavaliers in 1978 and he went on to play three seasons in NBA. In 2011 Higgs was elected to the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
OLE MISS – Jack Waters, Forward/Guard, 1959-61
A second-team All-America pick and three-time first-team All-SEC selection, Jack Waters scored 1,384 points in three years with the Ole Miss Rebels, while averaging 19.5 points, including 20.4 points his senior season. At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Waters ranked first in career scoring average and second in career points at Ole Miss. He set three Ole Miss sophomore scoring records with 446 points in 24 games, averaging 18.6 points and ranking third in the SEC in scoring that season. Inducted into the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990, Waters was selected to the Ole Miss All-Century team in 2009. Waters, who played one season with the NBA Cincinnati Royals, enjoyed a 45-year coaching career, which saw him work at almost every level, including head coaching positions at Georgia State and Delta State.
MISSISSIPPI STATE – Chuck Evans, Guard, 1991-93
A honorable-mention All-American, Chuck Evans finished his Mississippi State career second in steals (165) and assists (454) despite playing just two years for the Bulldogs. He could also score, as evident of his 729 points. A two-time All-SEC pick who started all 85 games he played, he also recorded 14 double-doubles, including 10 his senior season. In addition, 19 times he dished out 10 or more assists in a single game. In 1992, he set the MSU single-season standard with 83 steals.
SOUTH CAROLINA – Henry Martin, Forward, 1943; 1947-49
Henry Martin played basketball at Carolina during the 1943 season and again from 1947-49. He was the first Carolina basketball player to score 1,000 career points, finishing his career with 1,082 points, an average of 12.2 points per game. He scored at a clip of 16.0 points per game during his senior season. He capped off his career with a 32-point performance as the Gamecocks defeated archrival Clemson in 1949. Martin was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
TENNESSEE – Gene Tormohlen, Center, 1956-59
Gene Tormohlen was a 1959 Converse first-team All-America performer and a two-time consensus first-team All-Southeastern Conference honoree. Considered Tennessee’s first accomplished big man, he holds virtually all Tennessee’s career (1,113 rebounds; 16.9 rpg) and single-season (384 rebounds in 1957-58; 17.7 rpg in 1958-59) rebounding records. Tormohlen led UT in scoring two seasons and finished his Big Orange career with 1,020 points. He was drafted by Syracuse in the second round of the 1959 NBA Draft. After playing nine season professionally, he spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA and was an NBA scout for several years after that (most recently for the Los Angeles Lakers). A native of Holland, Ind., Tormohlen is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
VANDERBILT – Drew Maddux, Guard, 1995-98
Drew Maddux was a third generation Commodore basketball player who finished his outstanding career ranked among the school’s all-time leading scorers. He still ranks seventh among the all-time Vanderbilt scorers with 1,689 points. Drew was a first-team all-SEC guard in 1998, the same year he earned SEC all-academic honors. Maddux also ranks among the school’s Top 10 in assists, three-point field goals and field goal percentage. He is now a highly successful high school coach in the Nashville area.