Kent Bazemore got an interesting call – via FaceTime – on his way to the golf course during an off day last week.
You can excuse the not-so-up-to-par score that followed.
Bazemore was informed that he would have his jersey retired by Old Dominion University in December. On the call were Darius Jones, who played point guard at Old Dominion with Bazemore, then-coach John Richardson, current coach Jeff Jones and athletic director Wood Selig.
“Very emotional,” Bazemore said of the honor. “I have so memories there. That was probably the best five years of my life – having no real responsibility, being a college student, I was in a fraternity, student-athlete. I did it all. It’s good to see that when you leave and you are still working hard that people appreciate it.”
Bazemore will be honored in a ceremony on Dec. 10.
Bazemore graduated from Old Dominion in 2012 as a double major, with Bachelor of Science degrees in Human Services and Criminal Justice. Bazemore was named the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. He was named to the All-CAA Team and Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012 and All-Defensive Team in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Bazemore helped lead Old Dominion to back-to-back CAA Championships in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
There figures to be tears during the ceremony. Bazemore choked up at his press conference after signing a four-year, $70 million contract to remain with the Hawks this summer.
“It’s just an honor to be up there in the rafters with some of the greats – Mark West, Joel Copeland, a ton of guys,” Bazemore said. “When you went there you heard a lot about and now you are mentioned in the same breath. And women’s basketball – Nancy Lieberman, Anne Donovan, Ticha Penicheiro, all those names are up there in the rafters. To see my name go up there on Dec. 10, I’ll probably lose it.”
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