Rick Mahorn left Hampton Institute 35 years ago to pursue a professional basketball career. On Saturday, the former NBA Champion returned to Hampton University to honor a promise he’d made his mother, Alice Faye Mahorn.
“That was so important to her,” Mahorn told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. “A single mom. We were on government assistance most of our childhood. She didn’t want any of us to have to rely on that. She insisted on education.”
Mahorn played at Hampton from 1976-1980, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds. He was selected 35th overall by the Washington Bullets and played 18 seasons, helping the Detroit Pistons win the 1989 NBA Championship.