Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Set for K Club and Homecoming Weekend

May 31, 2012

053112aaa_463_7816045.jpegLAWRENCE, Kan. – The 2007 Kansas men’s basketball squad and two Jayhawk greats – soccer standout Holly Gault and track and field All-American Egor Agafonov – will be inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame during K Club and Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 26-27, 2012.

Gault, Agafonov and the 2007 men’s basketball team will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame and their pictures will be unveiled in a ceremony at the Booth Family Hall of Athletics on Friday, Oct. 26. The ceremony is open to the public. The following day, the group will be recognized on the field during Kansas’ homecoming football game against Texas.

Under head coach Bill Self, the 2007 Kansas men’s basketball team posted a 33-5 record, won the Big 12 regular-season title with a 14-2 mark, the Big 12 Postseason Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament West Regional championship game. Without a senior on the team, the 2006-07 Jayhawks posted two winning streaks of 10 games or better, and won 14 of their last 15 contests.

In 2007, the Jayhawks were led by Wooden All-American and All-Big 12 First-Team selection Brandon Rush, who averaged 13.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers was next in scoring at 12.2 ppg, followed closely by sophomore forward Julian Wright at 12.0 ppg. The rest of the 2006-07 team included Darrell Arthur, Brennan Bechard, Jeremy Case, C.J. Giles, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun, Matt Kleinmann, Brady Morningstar, Russell Robinson and Rodrick Stewart. KU assistant coaches included Tim Jankovich, Joe Dooley and Danny Manning, while the director of basketball operations was Ronnie Chalmers. Call it a foreshadowing: The following season, with the same core of players, Kansas went on to win the 2008 NCAA National Championship with a 37-3 record.

Gault, a Spring Hill, Kan., native, earned two All-America distinctions in her career as a defender for the Jayhawks from 2003-06. In 2004 she became Kansas’ only NSCAA First-Team All-America selection. That same season she helped KU to its first Big 12 Championship as it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. With Gault in the back field, the Jayhawks set a program record, allowing just 13 goals in 2004. Even as a defender, Gault managed the program’s fifth-most career assists with 19. Over her four-year campaign, she also logged the third-most starts in a KU career with 82.

Agafonov was a two-time national champion for the Kansas track and field squad during his three-year career in Lawrence from 2006-08. The Togliatti, Russia, native won indoor national championships in the weight throw in 2007 and 2008, joining KU greats Jim Ryun, Leo Bookman and Karl Salb as the only Jayhawks to repeat as indoor national champions. He also dominated the Big 12 Conference scene during his KU career, winning three-consecutive conference titles in both the weight throw and hammer throw, and becoming the only athlete in the league’s history to three-peat in either event. Agafonov still holds the KU record in the hammer throw at 233-0 ft. Not only did he succeed in the field but also in the classroom. Agafonov was twice a member of the Academic All-Big 12 First Team and, in 2007, was named an ESPN/CoSida Academic All-American.

The Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame was established to formally recognize outstanding individual and team achievements, and to preserve the heritage and tradition of the University’s intercollegiate athletics program. The Hall of Fame display is located in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, on the east side of historic Allen Fieldhouse.