March 3, 2011

Birmingham, Ala. – Featuring former greats from all 12 Southeastern Conference member institutions, the 2011 class of SEC Basketball Legends will be honored at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament March 10-13 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.

“The SEC Basketball Legends Program allows us to honor our past and show everyone why the SEC is one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.

The 2011 class includes Robert Horry, Alabama; George Kok, Arkansas; Jimmy Fibbe, Auburn; Craig Brown, Florida; Walter Daniels, Georgia; Kevin Grevey, Kentucky; Howard Carter, LSU; Bob Weltlich, Ole Miss; Darryl Wilson, Mississippi State; BJ McKie, South Carolina; Jimmy England, Tennessee and Jeff Turner, Vanderbilt.

Each SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution’s first game at the tournament.

Highlighting the schedule of events at the Sunkist Soda SEC FanFare will be appearances by selected legends. FanFare will be open Thursday-Saturday, March 10-12.

This marks the 13th year of the SEC Basketball Legends program.

Last year’s group included Charles Cleveland, Alabama; Jim Counce, Arkansas; Chuck Person, Auburn; Bob Emrick, Florida; Tom Brennan, Georgia; Joe B. Hall, Kentucky; Ned Clark, LSU; Cob Jarvis, Ole Miss; Kermit Davis, Mississippi State; Melvin Watson, South Carolina; Don DeVoe, Tennessee and Ronnie McMahan, Vanderbilt.

2011 SEC Basketball Legends
ALABAMA – Robert Horry, Forward, 1989-92

Robert Horry helped lead the Crimson Tide to three SEC Tournament Championships and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in his four seasons in Crimson and White. Horry finished his illustrious career at the Capstone with 1,591 points, the 12th most in UA history, and is ninth all-time in rebounding with 929 boards. A complete player, Horry still ranks third all-time in steals at UA with 168 and is Alabama’s all-time leader in blocks with 286. Following his collegiate career, Horry went on to star in the NBA for 16 seasons and become one of the most decorated players in NBA history by leading three different franchises to seven World Championships, the most by any player since 1976.

ARKANSAS – George Kok, Center, 1945-48
A four-year letterman (1945-48) for the Razorbacks, George Kok earned second team All-America honors from The Sporting News in 1946. Following the 1948 season, the Associated Press placed him on its All-America Third Team. A three-time All-Southwest Conference selection, he scored 22 points against Oregon in 1945 to lead Arkansas to the school’s second Final Four appearance. Kok became the first Razorback to score 1,000 points, finishing his career with a then-record 1,644 points. He averaged 17.5 points over his career, including a career-best 20.4 during his senior season.

AUBURN – Jimmy Fibbe, Forward, 1958-61
Jimm Fibbe finished his Auburn career ranked fourth on the Tigers’ all-time scoring chart with 838 points. The Frankfort, Ky., native had a one-and-one free throw situation with Auburn down 59-58 with :04 left against Kentucky and made both to give the 17th-ranked Tigers a 61-60 victory the Wildcats en route to the SEC Championship. Fibbe ranks third on Auburn’s single-season free throw percentage chart making 86.5 percent in 1960-61. The 6-foot-3 forward ranked fifth on Auburn’s career free throw percentage list (.802) and ninth on the field goal percentage chart (.548).

FLORIDA – Craig Brown, Guard, 1991-94
Craig Brown was the team captain, MVP and Most Inspirational Player on the University of Florida’s first Final Four squad in 1994. He was a second team All-SEC selection in 1994 and a member of the SEC All-Tournament Team the same season, helping the Gators’ to the final of the league tournament for just the third time in school history. Brown scored more than 1,400 points in his Gator career and left UF in the top five in school history in three-pointers made, assists and steals. He was a unanimous selection to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 1991.

GEORGIA – Walter Daniels, Guard, 1976-79
Walter Daniels remains one of the finest guards ever to play basketball at the University of Georgia. Three times he won All-SEC honors, twice while playing for the late John Guthrie and finally as a senior captain in 1979 for coach Hugh Durham. A native of Macon, Ga., he led Georgia in scoring as a junior and senior, averaging 21.9 points per game in his last year of 1979. Daniels finished his career with 1,679 points and 299 assists, both of which were UGA records at the time. After a brief professional career abroad, Daniels returned to UGA and completed his undergraduate degree at the age of 28.

KENTUCKY – Kevin Grevey, Forward, 1973-75
A two-time All-America selection (1974 and 1975), Kevin Grevey earned consensus All-America honors in 1975. The two-time SEC Player of the Year (1973 and 1975) currently ranks seventh on Kentucky’s all-time scoring lists with 1,801 career points. As a senior in 1975 he led the Wildcats to a share of the SEC Championship and a national runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament. He was named to the 1975 NCAA All-Final Four Team and went on to be the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 1975 NBA Draft. His jersey is among those retired in UK’s Rupp Arena.

LSU – Howard Carter, Forward, 1980-83
Howard Carter was a Baton Rouge native who rose to stardom at his hometown university as a four-year starter on the LSU team, including his sophomore season when the 1981 team went to the NCAA Final Four. A McDonald’s All-American, Carter delivered immediately for the Tigers, averaging 10.5 points for LSU. From there he averaged 16.0 points as a sophomore in the 1981 Final Four season, 16.7 points as a junior and 17.6 points as a senior in the days before his long-range shot would have counted for three points. He was named second team All-America in both 1982 and 1983 and was selected first-team All-SEC in both of those years. Carter finished his career with 1,942 points in 128 games, ranking third all-time in scoring at LSU until last season when he was bumped a spot to fourth. One of the most impressive stats is that he started every game of his career at LSU, a rarity even then in college basketball. He also ranks 23rd all-time in assists at LSU with 225. Carter posted a single game career high of 33 points in 1981 against Auburn and is third all-time at LSU in field goals made (806) and minutes played (4,276).

OLE MISS – Bob Weltlich, Head Coach, 1976-82
During Bob Weltlich’s six years at the helm of the Ole Miss program, the Rebels earned the school’s only SEC Tournament Championship as well as their first NCAA Tournament bid and first two NIT appearances. The 1981 SEC Tournament title was the first conference basketball tournament crown for Ole Miss since winning the 1928 Southern Conference Championship. Weltlich, who was the consensus SEC Coach of the Year in 1980, guided Ole Miss to 83 victories during his six seasons, which represented the third-most career coaching wins in school history behind Country Graham and Cob Jarvis. Weltlich won 300 games during his 22-year head coaching career (Ole Miss, Texas, Florida International, South Alabama) as he took four different teams to postseason tournaments and was chosen Coach of the Year in four different leagues.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Darryl Wilson, Guard, 1994-96
Darryl Wilson helped pace the Bulldogs to a three-year composite record of 66-27 and three consecutive postseason tournament appearances as a three-time All-SEC selection. He’s a member of MSU’s 1996 NCAA Final Four and 1995 NCAA Sweet 16 squads and was named to the 1996 SEC All-Tournament and NCAA All-Southeast Regional teams. Wilson ranks sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,619 career points) and fifth among career scoring average leaders (17.4 ppg) after leading the Bulldogs in scoring during each of his three MSU seasons. He scored in double figures in 83 of his 93 career outings, including 32 games with 20 or more points and a trio of 30-point efforts. Wilson was the most prolific three-point marksman in school history until this past season with career standards for three-pointers made (258) and attempted (645). He stands fourth on the school’s career charts for free throws made (439) and fifth in attempts (541), while ranking fifth all-time among MSU’s career free throw percentage leaders (81.2 precent).

SOUTH CAROLINA – BJ McKie, Guard, 1996-99
BJ McKie finished his career as South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer with 2,119 points and became just the 12th person in league history to be named Associated Press first team All-SEC three years. The 1996 SEC Freshman of the Year earned All-America honors in 1998. One of five players in Carolina history to have his jersey retired, he played in 123 consecutive games, scoring in double figures 111 times and scoring 20 or more points 38 times (10 as a senior). The two-time captain averaged 17.3 points his senior year, the third-highest scoring average in the SEC that year. McKie averaged 17.4 points in 1997 while leading South Carolina to its first SEC basketball title.

TENNESSEE – Jimmy England, Guard, 1970-71
A 1971 Helms Athletic Foundation first-team All-America, Jimmy England was a two time (1970 and 1971) first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. He led the SEC in free throw percentage (89.7 percent in 1969-70) and assists (5.4 apg in 1970-71). England finished his career third on Tennessee’s career scoring list with 1,407 points. Nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” during his career at Tennessee, he captained the 1970-71 team that went 21-7 and finished second in the SEC. After leading the Vols in scoring, free throws and assists as a junior and senior, he was drafted in the sixth round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.

VANDERBILT – Jeff Turner, Forward/Center, 1981-84
Jeff Turner was a member of the United States’ Olympic Gold Medal team in 1984 after a sterling career at Vanderbilt. As a Commodore, he was All-SEC and Academic All-SEC in 1984 and he still ranks among the school’s all-time Top 25 career scorers with 1,271 points. The 6-foot-9 southpaw hit 51 percent of his field goal attempts during his college career. He went on to a 10-year NBA career, starting with New Jersey and concluding with seven seasons with the Orlando Magic.