Former University of Evansville great Jerry Sloan has been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Sloan, head coach of the NBA Utah Jazz, was chosen as part of the class of 2009 today with Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton, and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer. Sloan becomes the second Evansville standout to join the Basketball Hall of Fame. Longtime head coach Arad McCutchan (1946-77) was the first NCAA College Division coach inducted into the Hall.
Today's announcement was made in Detroit, site of the men’s NCAA Final Four. Induction is Sept. 10-12 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Sloan currently is the longest tenured head coach with a single franchise in major professional sports, having served as Utah's head coach since the 1988-89 season. A three-time All-American at Evansville, Sloan helped lead the Purple Aces to NCAA College Division national championships in 1964 and 1965. The 1964-65 team remains the only one in school history to go through a season undefeated, with a 29-0 record. A 1965 Evansville graduate, Sloan is still one of only two players in Aces' history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career. He was a two-time NBA All-Star during his playing days with the Chicago Bulls, and is the only NBA coach to win more than 1,000 games with a single team. Another of this year's inductees, John Stockton, played his entire pro career with the Jazz, beginning in 1984.
Sloan has remained a strong supporter of the University of Evansville athletic and educational programs throughout the years. A replica of his number 52 jersey has hung above Roberts Stadium's Arad McCutchan Court during all Evansville home games since 1997. Sloan spends the off-season on his farm in McLeansboro, Illinois, about one hour west of Evansville. In addition, his family has worked closely with the University of Evansville for the past four years in promoting The Bobbye and Jerry Sloan Hand-in-Hand Foundation. The foundation was created following the death of Bobbye Sloan, Jerry's wife, in 2004 from pancreatic cancer.
