From UCLA:
The UCLA men’s basketball program made school history today when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that three Bruins are a part the Class of 2012.
Reggie Miller and Jamaal Wilkes were voted in as members of the 2012 class, joining Don Barksdale, who had been previously announced in February.
Combined, the UCLA women’s and men’s basketball programs now have a total of 12 Naismith Hall of Fame members; however, this marks the first time ever that three Bruins have been inducted individually into the same class.
“Heartfelt congratulations to Reggie, Jamaal and Don on achieving the pinnacle of individual achievement as basketball players. Being selected for the Hall of Fame only comes after an illustrious career, and, today, each of them joins the distinguished company of the finest men and women who have ever played the game of basketball,” said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. “They have once again made the entire Bruin family very proud, and we have already begun plans to retire each of their numbers in New Pauley Pavilion during the 2012-13 UCLA men’s basketball season.”
Each player will have his number proudly retired at a UCLA home men’s basketball game during the upcoming season. More details will be announced by the UCLA Athletic Department as they become available.
Barksdale was part of the first five members of the 2012 Naismith class (announced on Feb. 24), all of whom were directly elected by distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game of basketball. Joining Barksdale (from the Early African-American Pioneers Committee) as a direct elect were: Mel Daniels voted in from the American Basketball Association (ABA) Committee, Lidia Alekseev from the International Committee, Chet Walker from the Veterans Committee and Phil Knight from the Contributor Direct Election Committee. He will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball posthumously – he passed away in 1993.
The nine UCLA women and men who have already been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame are: John Wooden (the first person inducted as a player (1960) and coach (1973), Ann Meyers Dry dale (1993), Bill Walton (1993), Denny Crum (1994), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995), Gail Goodrich (1996), Denise Curry (1997), Billie Moore (1999) and Larry Brown (2002).
Barksdale, Miller and Wilkes are all also members of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, and all represent UCLA in the Pac-12 Conference Basketball Hall of Honor.
UCLA’s 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees
DON BARKSDALE # 11 [Contributor] – One of the true pioneers in the game of basketball, Barksdale broke the color barrier multiple times as the first African-American NCAA All-America (1947), the first to make the U.S. Olympic team (1948), and the first to play in a NBA All-Star game. Following his military service in World War II, Barksdale in 1946-47 earned All-America honors and led UCLA to the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division championship. He became the first African-American signed by an American Basketball League (ABL) team with the Oakland Bitters, where he set the ABL scoring record in his debut season. Part of the 1948 Olympic team in London, he became the first-ever African-American to also win a gold medal in basketball. In 1951, he became one of the top 10 highest paid athletes with the Baltimore Bullets and was eventually traded to the Boston Celtics in 1953, where he became the first African-American player ever to be selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game (1953). In 1983, he launched the Save High School Sports Foundation, which raised over 1 million dollars by the time he passed away in 1993 to save several Oakland school athletic programs from demise.
REGGIE MILLER #31 [Player] – Miller was one of the greatest clutch scorers in NBA history, playing his entire 17-season NBA career with the Indiana Pacers and finishing as the franchise’s all-time leader in points (25,279) and steals (1,505). He was a five-time NBA All-Star, three-time All-NBA third team selection and won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996. He guided UCLA as a sophomore to the 1985 NIT Championship, and as a senior (1986-87), he led the Bruins to an NCAA Tournament berth, the Pac-10 regular season championship and to the first-ever Pac-10 Tournament title, being named the Most Outstanding Player. A second-team All-American and two-time All-Pac-10 performer as a Bruin (1984-87), he ranks third on the school’s all-time scoring list (2,095/17.2 average), third in field goals scored (769), third in three-point field goal percentage (.439, 69-157, the three-point collegiate rule was only in affect during Miller’s senior season) and fourth in free throw percentage (.836, 488-584). His 750 points in 1986 rank No. 2 in school history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while his 25.9 average that year ranks third behind Abdul-Jabbar. Miller ranks second on the NBA all-time list for three-point field goals made (2,560) and attempted (6,486). He is ninth on the NBA career free-throw percentage list (.888) and seventh in career minutes played (47,619). In addition to some memorable NBA playoff performances, he has the most three-pointers made (320) in playoff history.
JAMAAL WILKES #52 [Player] – Wilkes, a California native, spent his entire high school, college and professional career in his home state, playing under Hall of Famer John Wooden at UCLA prior to a successful NBA career with the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. At UCLA, he won two NCAA Championships (1972, 1973), helped lead the Bruins to a record 88-game winning streak and received All-America and all-conference honors as a junior (1972-73) and senior (1973-74). During his three-year UCLA varsity career as a starting forward (1972-74), Wilkes, nicknamed `Silk’ for his beautiful jump shot, appeared in 90 games and shot .514 (580-1129) from the floor, .750 (189-252) from the foul line and averaged 15.0ppg and 7.4rpg. He was also a three-time (1972-74) collegiate GTE Academic All-America selection. In the NBA, he won four championships (1975 Golden State, 1980-82-85 LA Lakers) while reaching the NBA finals six times. He was a three-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA All-Defensive second team and received Rookie of the Year honors in 1975.