My sister found a small college in North Carolina that she loved from the first time she saw it. She went there, and I followed a few years later. I can remember sitting with my roommate in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center watching the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb College. I was a baseball player living in a dorm with mostly football players and a stones throw from the aforementioned center. So basketball was a must see, and we sat in the rafter seats. I'll admit it - we were lazy. No stairs!
As we sat watching the first game of my freshman year, I remember looking at the banners of retired jerseys. There were just a couple, but one jumped off the page, so to speak. #53 GILMORE was one of them. Artis Gilmore went to Gardner-Webb Junior College from 1967 to 1969 and from there he went to Jacksonville University. In 1970, he led the Dolphins to the NCAA Championship game. In 1971, he went as the first draft pick to the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA. In 1988 (my freshman fall semester), he returned to the Chicago Bulls playing with a young upstart named Micheal Jeffery Jordan. Needless to say it was a big thing for our small Division II school.
As we sat watching the first game of my freshman year, I remember looking at the banners of retired jerseys. There were just a couple, but one jumped off the page, so to speak. #53 GILMORE was one of them. Artis Gilmore went to Gardner-Webb Junior College from 1967 to 1969 and from there he went to Jacksonville University. In 1970, he led the Dolphins to the NCAA Championship game. In 1971, he went as the first draft pick to the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA. In 1988 (my freshman fall semester), he returned to the Chicago Bulls playing with a young upstart named Micheal Jeffery Jordan. Needless to say it was a big thing for our small Division II school.
Fast forward to 2007 and the Gardner-Webb University Runnin' Bulldogs have gone to University of Kentucky and beat the number 22 ranked team in the land. The greatest thing in sporting history at Gardner-Webb. Nothing compares to this. Coming from a Junior College to a University in less than 35 years is pretty special. I got a call this morning from a buddy when he saw it on the headlines. Gardner-Webb upsets Kentucky! Wow, I never thought I would be able to say those words, and to a friend that is a Kentucky nut and booster!
Back to Gilmore. Why is he not in the Basketball Hall of Fame? From 1972 - 1976 he played in the defunct ABA. He was drafted by the Bulls in the dispersal draft where he played with various teams until retiring in 1989. Despite an ABA career in which he averaged 22.3 points and 17.1 rebounds per game and NBA career averages of 17.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, Gilmore has yet to be elected to the Hall of Fame. He is one of several former ABA MVP's who have not received the honor. In addition to being pro basketball's all-time most successful field goal percentage shooter, Gilmore ranks among the top 25 all-time point scorers, as well as in the top ten in rebounds, blocked shots, games and minutes played. No other players with comparable statistical accomplishments have been omitted from the Hall of Fame.
Gilmore is currently ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration until 2012. For the past three years he failed to receive a single vote of support from a panel of nine basketball experts (! or ??) serving on the North American screening committee. This committee is anonymous. I for one, as a Runnin' Bulldog, would like to see this changed. Hopefully this media blitz will bring a little attention to Artis and his dominance that gave him the nickname "A -Train".
See you in Madison Square Garden for the Coaches vs. Cancer 2K Tourney. The few Bulldogs that were in Kentucky for the game bought alot of tickets from the Wildcat faithful who had purchased them before the game tipped off. Here is a little tidbit for the office trivia: Artis Gilmore holds what NCAA record? His career average of 22.7 rebounds per game is still the highest in NCAA Division I history.
Gilmore is currently ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration until 2012. For the past three years he failed to receive a single vote of support from a panel of nine basketball experts (! or ??) serving on the North American screening committee. This committee is anonymous. I for one, as a Runnin' Bulldog, would like to see this changed. Hopefully this media blitz will bring a little attention to Artis and his dominance that gave him the nickname "A -Train".
See you in Madison Square Garden for the Coaches vs. Cancer 2K Tourney. The few Bulldogs that were in Kentucky for the game bought alot of tickets from the Wildcat faithful who had purchased them before the game tipped off. Here is a little tidbit for the office trivia: Artis Gilmore holds what NCAA record? His career average of 22.7 rebounds per game is still the highest in NCAA Division I history.
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