Nebraska Basketball Hall of FameNebraska Basketball Hall of Fame

Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame

Men's Basketball

Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame

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

Tom Osborne

Bus Whitehead Distinguished Alumni Award

2003

Milton 'Bus' Whitehead

2009

Rex Ekwall

2011

Albert Maxey Sr.

2013

Dave Hoppen


NU Athletic Communications