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In the world of sports, there is perhaps no better way to honor the importance of a player or person than by enshrining them in statue form for everyone to see.
Whether it’s Tennessee’s Pat Summit crossed armed near Thompson-Boling Arena, the NCAA’s all-time leading rebounder, Tom Gola, preserved in bronze at La Salle, or Michigan State commemorating Magic Johnson’s numerous championships, college basketball has become known for some of the most inspiring examples.
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More recently, Loyola University Chicago unveiled a statue of legendary men’s basketball team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, to honor her commitment to the school and its athletics department.
With the announcement of Sister Jean’s embronzing just outside Loyola Chicago’s Damen Student Center, fans of Mid-Major Madness voted on which mid-major icon should be next to receive a statue.
In a split decision, 2-time NCAA national champion Bill Russell and current Oakland head coach and 2026 Gene Bartow Award winner Greg Kampe tied for first with 33% of the vote. Davidson great Steph Curry and Princeton offense mastermind Pete Carril each received 17% of the vote.
Russell arrived on campus at San Francisco in 1952 and after averaging more than 20 points per game for the Dons freshman team, was quickly promoted to varsity as a sophomore. He continued much of that success once he finally debuted in December 1953 and went on to lead the California Basketball Association in both points (19.9/G) and rebounds (19.2/G).
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Russell led San Francisco to its first ever NCAA Championship during the 1954-55 season by downing Gola and La Salle and made it back-to-back the following year with another win over Iowa. He was twice selected as the Helms Foundation Player of the Year, a two-time Consensus All-American, a three-time All-CBA First Team selection, and shortly thereafter, had his No. 6 officially retired by the program.
Selected second overall in the 1956 NBA Draft, Russell went on to win 11 NBA…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mid-major-madness-reacts-survey-185700958.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-26 18:57:00
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