Twenty names have been nominated as of Friday for Georgia State’s sports hall of fame.

The athletics department announced in July that it was going to start a hall of fame, with its inaugural class being inducted on Oct. 3

The names nominated range from those that seem like slam dunks (former men’s basketball coach Lefty Driesell) to the curious (former football player Malcolm Smith).

An election committee was formed in the spring and will select the first class. Fans can nominate candidates by Sept. 1 by filling out a form on www.georgiastatesports.com.

As many as 10 people will be honored in each of the first two years. After that, the number of inductees won’t exceed five.

The Hall of Fame will be housed within the Sports Arena.

Here are some of the names that will likely be slam dunks:

  • Bob Heck, softball: founded the team and coached it for 24 seasons. He posted a career record of 700-584-2. The team's complex is named after him.
  • Joel Sjoholm, golf: won two titles and was named third-team All-American in 2007.
  • Mark Steeds, men's cross country: All-American and holder of school records.
  • Lefty Driesell, men's basketball: Led the team to five consecutive winning seasons and the program's first win in the NCAA tournament.

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