It’s been quite a year for Dominique Wilkins – and he’s already in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Wilkins had his statue erected outside Philips Arena last March to celebrate his career with the Hawks. Now, the University of Georgia and Hawks great has been elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its 2016 class. Also a part of the class is Hugh Durham, Wilkins’ coach at Georgia and the school’s all-time winningest men’s coach.
“Huge,” Wilkins told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Huge. I’ve been out of college for 30-something years. Unless you know how big that is – you talk about the NBA and there are 30 teams and in the NCAA there are hundreds. To be selected out of such a large group of people, it’s mind-blowing. When I got the call (Tuesday) I was blown away. It’s such an honor. From the collegiate honor, that’s the biggest honor you can get. I’m thrilled. And I’m more thrilled to go in with my coach.”
The class was announced on Tuesday. Enshrinement ceremonies will be held on Nov. 18 in Kansas City, Missouri. Wilkins and Durham will be inducted with players Mark Aguirre (DePaul), Bob Boozer (Kansas State), Doug Collins (Illinois State), Lionel Simmons (La Salle) and Jamaal Wilkes (UCLA) and coach Mike Montgomery (Montana, Stanford and Cal).
Wilkins said he called Durham on Tuesday following the announcement and the two spoke for an hour.
“I said ‘Coach, I can’t tell you how I feel. It’s like going into the Hall of Fame with my father,’” Wilkins said. “Because that’s how he treated me, like a son. Some of the stuff he said to me, he said ‘You were a great player. You put up a lot of points. But the thing you had, everyone on your team loved you from the 14th man to the second guy as a teammate.’ That meant more to me than anything. It’s that atmosphere that Coach Durham created. It’s the love and respect that I got from the university that made me the person I am today. I could never discount anything from the University of Georgia. Great people.”
Wilkins played at Georgia for three seasons, 1979-82, before leaving for the NBA. He was drafted No. 3 overall by the Jazz before being traded to the Hawks several months later where he was start his storied career.
Durham led Georgia to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament the following year. They lost to eventual champion North Carolina State in the national semifinal.
“I look at it like this, I’m happy I was able to go to college and play for the three years,” Wilkins said. “That’s what a lot of young kids after us missed. They missed that college experience. When I left college, I didn’t want to leave. Hugh Durham said to me ‘Son, you’ve done all you can do. Time for you to go.’ I was going to stay my senior year and if I would’ve we probably would have won a national championship that next year.”
The Class of 2016 is the 11th for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Durham and Wilkins are Georgia’s first inductees.
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