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Hugh Evans, NC A&T legend headed for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Hugh Evans NCAT

Courtesy of North Carolina A&T Athletics

EAST GREENSBORO —  The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will accept another North Carolina A&T Aggie into its hallowed doors.  

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced the 13 honorees in the Class of 2022 to be celebrated September 9-10 during this year’s Enshrinement festivities in Springfield, Mass. 

Hugh Evans, a longtime NBA referee, will enter the Hall along with two-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year Bob Huggins, and the NBA’s sixth-winningest coach of all-time George Karl. 

Hugh Evans

On the women’s side, the Hall will welcome five-time WNBA All-Star, three-time WNBA Champion, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Whalen, four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Swin Cash and NCAA national champion and WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley.

Evans, a 2002 inductee into the North Carolina A&T Sports Hall of Fame, played men’s basketball for the Aggies from 1959-63 under legendary head coach Cal Irvin. He scored 585 points in 72 games. The Aggies went 63-22 (.741) during Evans’ time in AggieLand. 

After graduating from A&T, Hugh Evans served as an NBA Official for 28 consecutive years (1973-2001), tallying over 1,900 regular-season games, 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals games and four NBA All-Star Games. 

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Following his on-court officiating career, Evans worked as the NBA Assistant Supervisor of Officials (2001-03). He is a recipient of the Each One Teach One Community Service Award. Evans is also a New York City Basketball Hall of Fame member.

Hugh Evans will join fellow Aggie Al Attles in the Naismith Hall. Attles played at A&T from 1956-60. 

Attles played with the Philadelphia/Golden State Warriors (1960-71) before becoming one of the first African American coaches in NBA history. In 1975, he became the second African American coach in NBA history to win an NBA title. 

Attles and Al Holland (baseball) are the only two student-athletes in A&T history to have their jersey numbers retired. 

THE NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2022

HUGH EVANS [Referee] — Evans served as an NBA Official for 28 consecutive years (1973-2001), tallying over 1,900 regular season games, 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals games and four NBA All-Star Games. Following his on-court officiating career, Evans worked as the NBA Assistant Supervisor of Officials (2001-03). He is a recipient of the Each One Teach One Community Service Award and is enshrined in the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame.

MANU GINOBILI [Player] — Ginobili is a two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2011) and four-time NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). Over his 16-year NBA career, all with the Spurs, the Argentine guard amassed 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, 3,697 rebounds and 1,392 steals and was honored with the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2008, as well as twice being named to the All-NBA Third Team (2008, 2011). On the international stage, Ginobili helped deliver the first and only Gold Medal in the country’s basketball history at the 2004 Olympics, as well as the bronze at the 2008 games. He joins Bill Bradley as the only two players to have won a EuroLeague title (2001), an NBA championship and an Olympic Gold Medal.

TIM HARDAWAY [Player] — A 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, Hardaway played 13 NBA seasons scoring a total of 15,373 points while averaging more than 20 points per game for four consecutive seasons. He is the 1990 recipient of the Jack McMahon Award for most inspirational player and a 1997 All-NBA First Team selection. He currently ranks 18th in NBA history with 7,095 career assists. The Chicago native was a member of the men’s basketball team at the University of Texas at El Paso (1985-1989) and is known for making his signature move — the “UTEP Two-step” — famous in 1989, the same year he was named WAC Player of the Year.

BOB HUGGINS [Coach] — Huggins has been coaching in the collegiate ranks for 45 years, including the last 15 as the head coach at West Virginia University. Over the course of his career, Huggins has led his teams to 25 NCAA Tournament berths, including nine appearances in the Sweet Sixteen (1992, 1993, 1996, 200, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018), four trips to the Elite Eight (1992, 1993, 1996, 2010), and two appearances in the NCAA Final Four (1992, 2010). In 16 years as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati (1989-2005), Huggins led the Bearcats to eight Conference USA regular season championships (1996-2002, 2004), four Conference USA Tournament championships (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004), was a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year (1998-2000) and was honored as the Conference USA Coach of the Decade in 2005. On the national level, he a was tabbed as the Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000 and the ESPN.com National Coach of the Year in 2002.

GEORGE KARL [Coach] — Karl spent 27 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers (1984-1986), Golden State Warriors (1986-88), Seattle Supersonics (1992-1998), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Denver Nuggets (2005-2013) and Sacramento Kings (2015-2016). During his career, he guided five different franchises to a total of 22 playoff appearances, led the Supersonics to the NBA Finals (1996), was named the NBA Coach of the Year (2013), and was called upon to be an All-Star Game head coach four times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2010). Karl owns a lifetime coaching record of 1,175-824 (.588), ranking sixth all-time in NBA career wins and posted 12 seasons of 50+ victories and three seasons of 60-plus.

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