College Hall of Fame to induct 8
Six players and two coaches will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in ceremonies Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
Inductees are players Mark Aguirre of DePaul, Bob Boozer of Kansas State, Doug Collins of Illinois State, Lionel Simmons of La Salle, Jamaal Wilkes of UCLA and Dominique Wilkins of Georgia as well as coaches Hugh Durham and Mike Montgomery.
Aguirre was the player of the year in 1980 and a two-time consensus AllAmerican.
Boozer, who died in 2012, was a two-time consensus All-American and the No. 1 pick in the 1959 NBA draft.
Collins, who averaged 29.1 points in his career, was a 1973 All-American and the No. 1 NBA pick in 1973. He holds the Illinois State record with 2,240 points.
Simmons, nicknamed “L Train,” was national player of the year in 1990 and ranks third on the Division I career scoring list with 3,127 points.
Wilkes was a consensus All-American in 1973 and 1974 and helped the Bruins to NCAA titles in 1972 and 1973. He was a first-round draft pick in 1974.
Wilkins was chosen Southeastern Conference player of the year in 1981, averaging 23.6 points. He was the third overall pick in the 1982 NBA draft.
Durham coached Georgia and Florida State to their only Final Four berths in program history. He retired from coaching in 2005 with 634 victories, eighth all time.
Montgomery led Stanford to the Final Four in 1998, the first time for the program since 1942. He also took California to six postseason appearances in six years and finished with 677 career victories. Layups: Illinois signed fivestar recruit Jeremiah Tilmon for next season. Recruiting analysts rank the 6-10, 245-pound Tilmon among the top 25 recruits in the country. Tilmon is coach John Groce’s highestranked recruit at Illinois. ... Auburn and Clemson will headline the field for the 2017 Charleston (S.C.) Classic. Along with Auburn and Clemson, other 2017 participants are Dayton, Hofstra, Indiana State, Old Dominion, Ohio and Temple.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will undergo surgery this week on the lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, ESPN reported Thursday.
Afirm timetable for Stamkos’ return won’t be established until after the surgery, but the recovery time for the procedure generally is four to six months.
“If we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, he’s going go to be back,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of Stamkos. “And that’ll be better than any trade deadline acquisition than anybody else is going to get.
“You’ve got to take your head out of the sand, dig your heels in and march on. And unfortunately, this has happened to us before and the guys have found a way.”
Red Wings F Darren Helm will be out at least six weeks because of a dislocated shoulder. Helm, who was injured during Tuesday’s loss to the Lightning, has seven points in 17 games this season. ... The Wild assigned rookie C Joel Eriksson Ek to his Swedish team, Farjestad BK. Eriksson Ek, 19, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2015, was a healthy scratch in the last two games.