Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Tim Duncan to Collegiate Hall of Fame
Former Wake Forest Demon Deacons star Tim Duncan is one of a handful of Hall of Fame entrants with ties to the Old North State.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons did not beat the Virginia Tech Hokies yesterday. That put their future in the NCAA Tournament in the hands of the selection committee and that makes them firmly a bubble team. There was some good news hanging over from Wednesday. Tim Duncan became part of a College Basketball Hall of Fame class absolutely loaded with North Carolina connections.
First is the obvious, Duncan will enter the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He played for the Deacs for four years from 1993-97. He averaged a double-double during that time and routinely earned high honors for his defensive play. These achievements were capped by a Player of the Year win in 1997 before becoming the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft.
Also included in the class is former Duke point guard Jay Williams. Williams was known as Jason at the time, but his Duke teams from 1999-2002 were routinely deep in the NCAA Tournament. Williams, like Duncan, was Player of the Year (2002) but unlike Duncan he won a National Title (2001) during his college career. Williams can now be found as an ESPN analyst sparring with former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg.
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Another player from the Winston-Salem will also enter the Hall of Fame. That would be Cleo Hill, a player at Winston-Salem State. Hill played back in the fifties and sixties when Winston-Salem State was not even in the NCAA. Instead Hill dominated the NAIA with a twenty-five point scoring average. Don’t take the level of competition as some sort of knock either, Hill was drafted eighth overall in the 1961 NBA Draft.
The next two men were not collegiate players in North Carolina, but they connections to the state nonetheless. Scott May, father of former North Carolina player Sean May, will enter the Hall of Fame for his play with the Indiana Hoosiers. Paul Silas, former coach of the Charlotte Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats, will enter the Hall of Fame for his exploits as a player for Creighton.