Clyde Lovellette to be Inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

March 6, 2012

KANSAS CITY – University of Kansas basketball legend Clyde Lovellette will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame it was announced Tuesday. Lovellette, who played for the Jayhawks from 1950-52, was a three-time All-American for KU and was a key piece in Kansas’ march to its first NCAA title in 1952.

Playing for Hall of Fame coach Dr. Forrest C. “Phog” Allen at Kansas, Lovellette was the first player to win championships in the NCAA, AAU, NBA and Olympic Games. The 6-9 center was a three-time All-America selection for the Jayhawks and led the Big Seven Conference in scoring in each of his three seasons. He was the nation’s top scorer in 1952 with 28.6 points per game and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1952 NCAA Tournament.

Today, Lovellette ranks as the fourth all-time leading scorer in KU history with 1,979 career points in 80 games (24.7 ppg) and as the No. 10 all-time leading rebounder with 813 (10.2 rpg). In addition to his All-America selections, he was a three-time All-Big Seven center and capped his career by leading the United States to the gold medal in basketball at the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki, Finland. Following his career at KU, Lovellette played one year of AAU ball then embarked on a 12-year NBA career with stops at Minneapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Boston. Since retiring from professional basketball following the 1964 season, he has worked in the area of law enforcement and juvenile counseling in his native state of Indiana. He was elected to the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame in May, 1988.

Lovellette is joined in the induction class of 2012 by Georgetown’s dominating center Patrick Ewing, North Carolina’s star guard Phil Ford, coaches Joe B. Hall and Dave Robbins, players Kenny Sailors, Earl Monroe and Willis Reed and contributors Jim Host and Joe Dean.

The group will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City as part of a three-day celebration of college basketball. The hall of fame is located in the College Basketball Experience, a world-class entertainment facility that provides a multi-faceted interactive experience for fans of the game. Included in the festivities induction weekend will be the CBE Classic held at Sprint Center Nov. 19-20. Kansas will compete in the event along with Saint Louis, Texas A&M and Washington State.