Arizona's Richard Jefferson and Arizona State's Kurt Nimphius will be among 11 players and one coach inducted into the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2012 Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament.
The other inductees, one from each school, are: Lamond Murray (California), Burdette Haldorson (Colorado), Jim Barnett (Oregon), A.C. Green (Oregon State), George Selleck (Stanford), Ed O’Bannon (UCLA), coach Sam Barry (USC), Arnie Ferrin (Utah), George Irvine (Washington), Steve Puidokas (Washington State).
Jefferson played three seasons at Arizona and helped the Wildcats advance to the 2001 NCAA championship game. He had a double-figure scoring average in all three of his seasons and was known for his athleticism, defensive intensity and spectacular dunks. He was a first-round draft choice of the Houston Rockets in 2001 and is now in his 11th season in the NBA, playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
Nimphius played four seasons at ASU and was an All-Pac-10 performer as a senior in 1980, when he led the Sun Devils to a 22-7 record, leading the team in scoring (16.6 points per game), rebounding (9.6) and field goal percentage (.609). He went on to an eight-season NBA career after being drafted in the third round by the Denver Nuggets in 1980.
