The Nebraska Men's Basketball Hall of Fame was the brainchild of longtime Husker athletic supporter Jerry Solomon, who first approached the University about the project in the fall of 1988. Solomon, along with Jack Bock, Dale Herman and Dale Jensen, provided financial support for the Hall of Fame.
The Hall is now co-sponsored by the Nebraska Athletic Department and the Rebounders Club with inductions held in conjunction with Legends Weekend. The first class was inducted in 1989 with 11 members. Since then, 58 players and five coaches have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, including 10 classes with at least three members.
Tyronn Lue joined this exclusive list in February of 2013. One of the most electrifying players in school history, Lue led the Huskers to 59 wins and postseason appearances in all three of his seasons at Nebraska, including an NCAA Tournament bid in 1997-98. Lue's name is all over the Husker record book, as the 6-foot guard from Mexico, Mo., finished his career in the top 10 in 13 categories and still ranks among Nebraska career leaders in 10 categories, including assists (432, fourth), scoring average (15.9, seventh), steals (154, seventh), points scored (1,577, eighth), 3-pointers (145, eighth), free throw percentage (.788, eighth) and games started (96, 10th).
As a junior in 1997-98, Lue earned first-team All-Big 12 honors, averaging 21.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, as the Huskers went 20-12 and reached the NCAA Tournament. His 678 points that season ranked second on Nebraska's single-season chart while his 152 assists that season was fifth on NU's single-season list. He had four of his school-record seven career 30-point efforts in 1997-98, including a career-high 36-point performance against Virginia in the Rainbow Classic. He was at his best in leading the Huskers back to the NCAAs after a four-year absence. With the Huskers sitting at 4-6 in the Big 12, Lue carried the Huskers down the stretch, averaging 24.3 points and 4.5 assists per game in leading the Huskers to six consecutive conference wins and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12.
He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors during a record-setting sophomore campaign in leading the Huskers to the NIT. Lue led the Huskers in both scoring (18.8 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg), while ranking sixth in the Big 12 in scoring. Lue became an immediate contributor to the Huskers as a true freshman, starting 34 games on Nebraska's NIT Championship Team, as he averaged 8.5 points per game and set a school freshman mark with 144 assists. A member of the Big Eight All-Freshman team, Lue became the first Husker freshman to score 30 points in a game when he accomplished the feat against Oregon in just his second game as a Husker.
Following his Husker career, he was the No. 23 overall pick of the Denver Nuggets before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly after the 1998 NBA Draft. Lue won two NBA titles with the Lakers, as part of an 11-year professional career. He played for seven teams during his NBA career, appearing in 554 career games and averaging 8.5 points and 3.1 assists per game. Following his retirement at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season, Lue joined the Boston Celtics as the organization's Director of Player Development in 2009 and was named an assistant coach in 2011. He is currently the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading the organization to its first NBA title in 2016.
A total of 22 people who have played supporting roles in shaping the Nebraska basketball program have also been enshrined by earning the Bud Cuca Special Merit Award. The award was renamed in honor of Cuca in 2003 after he passed away following a battle with cancer.
In 2003, the first Distinguished Hall of Fame Alumni Award was given, honoring a former player and Hall of Fame member who has been a positive force in the state and local community since his playing days ended. The award was named after Bus Whitehead, who passed away in 2010, to recognize his contributions to the Nebraska basketball program.
Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame Members
1989 (11) |
|
Player |
Years Lettered or Coached |
James Buchanan |
1950-51-52 |
Sam Carrier |
1911-12-13 |
Steve Hokuf |
1930-31-33 |
Chuck Jura |
1970-71-72 |
Stuart Lantz |
1966-67-68 |
Don Maclay |
1929-30-31 |
Robert Parsons |
1936-37-38 |
Claude Retherford |
1947-48-49 |
Mathias "Mutt" Volz |
1923-24-25 |
George Wahlquist |
1933-35-36 |
Coach Harry Good |
1947-54 |
1990 (3) |
|
Herschell Turner |
1958-59-60 |
Milton "Bus" Whitehead |
1948-49-50 |
Coach Joe Cipriano |
1964-80 |
1991 (3) |
|
Leroy Chalk |
1969-70-71 |
Jerry Fort |
1973-74-75-76 |
Coach Jerry Bush |
1955-63 |
1992 (4) |
|
Sid Held |
1940-41-42 |
Rex Ekwall |
1955-56-57 |
Marvin Stewart |
1969-70-71 |
Coach W.H. Browne |
1933-40 |
1993 (4) |
|
Bob Pierce |
1949-50-51 |
Bill Johnson |
1952-53-54-55 |
Grant Simmons |
1964-65-66 |
Jack Moore |
1979-80-81-82 |
1994 (4) |
|
Bob Cerv |
1947-48-49-50 |
Tom Russell |
1961-62 |
Nate Branch |
1965-66-67 |
Andre Smith |
1978-79-80-81 |
1995 (4) |
|
Carl Olson |
1928-29 |
Don Fitzgerald |
1939-40-41 |
Al Maxey, Sr. |
1959-60 |
Tom Baack |
1966-67-68 |
1996 (7) |
|
Walter Henrion |
1932-33 |
Gary Reimers |
1956-57-58 |
Wilson Fitzpatrick |
1958 |
Bob Gratopp |
1968-69-70 |
Bob Siegel |
1974-75-76-77 |
Dave Hoppen |
1983-84-85-86 |
Coach Moe Iba |
1981-86 |
1997 (3) |
|
Elmer Dohrmann |
1936-37-38 |
Fred Seger |
1952-53-54 |
Tom Scantlebury |
1968-69-70 |
1998 (3) |
|
Paul Amen |
1936-37-38 |
Willard Fagler |
1952-53-54-55 |
Willie Campbell |
1965-66-67 |
1999 (3) |
|
Don Smidt |
1956-57-58 |
Jim Kubacki |
1956-57-58 |
Brian Banks |
1976-77-78-79 |
2000 (3) |
|
Daryl Petsch |
1962-63-64 |
Larry Cox |
1974-75-76 |
Stan Cloudy |
1983-84 |
2001 (3) |
|
Brian Carr |
1984-85-86-87 |
Rich King |
1988-89-90-91 |
Floyd Ebaugh |
1936-37-38 |
2002 (2) |
|
Clifford Scales |
1988-89-90-91 |
Willard Witte |
1928-29-30 |
2003 (1) |
|
Beau Reid |
1988-89-90-91 |
2006 (1) |
|
Eric Piatkowski |
1991-92-93-94 |
2009 (2) |
|
Erick Strickland |
1993-94-95-96 |
Coach Danny Nee |
1987-2000 |
2011 (1) |
|
Bruce Chubick |
1991-92-93-94 |
2013 (1) |
|
Tyronn Lue |
1996-97-98 |
Bud Cuca Special Merit Award
1989 |
Ed Childress and Bud Cuca |
1990 |
Paul Schneider |
1991 |
Bob Devaney |
1992 |
Don Bryant |
1993 |
Tony Sharpe |
1994 |
George Sullivan |
1995 |
Jerry Lott |
1996 |
Al Papik |
1997 |
Mel Worster and Woody Varner |
1998 |
Ed Kaplan and Jerry Solomon |
1999 |
Lloyd Castner and Dick Perry |
2000 |
Larry Frederick |
2001 |
George Andreas |
2003 |
Jack 'Butch' Lindley |
2009 |
Kent Pavelka |
2011 |
Harley and Marcia Bergmeyer |
2013 |
Bus Whitehead Distinguished Alumni Award
2003 |
Milton 'Bus' Whitehead |
2009 |
Rex Ekwall |
2011 |
Albert Maxey Sr. |
2013 |
Dave Hoppen |
NU Athletic Communications