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The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's basketball

Former IU player Calbert Cheaney to join National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

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One of the most memorable players in IU men’s basketball history is now set to take his place among the all-time greats of college basketball.

It was announced Tuesday that Calbert Cheaney, IU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,613 career points, will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

Cheaney is part of the Class of 2019 set to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Nov. 24 in Kansas City. This year’s class features six former players, including Cheaney, and three former head coaches.

The other five players selected are Duke University’s Shane Battier, Purdue’s Terry Dischinger, Providence College’s Ernie DiGregorio, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Larry Johnson and Stanford University’s Todd Lichti.

The three coaches also entering the Hall of Fame are Homer Drew, Lute Olson and Rick Majerus.

Cheaney played at IU from 1989-93 and was named a three-time All-American during his college career. The Hoosiers won 105 games during his four college seasons, which also featured four trips to the NCAA Tournament, two Big Ten Regular Season championships and an appearance in the Final Four in 1992.

Cheaney was an in-state recruit who attended William Henry Harrison High School in Evansville, Indiana.

He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year as a senior in 1993, when he averaged more than 22 points and six rebounds per game.

Following his time as a Hoosier, Cheaney was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft by the then-Washington Bullets, and he played 13 seasons in the NBA for five franchises.

After his playing career, Cheaney has spent time as a coach. From 2013-16 he was an assistant coach at Saint Louis University, and since 2018, Cheaney has been an assistant coach with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League.

With Tuesday’s announcement, Cheaney becomes the sixth former IU player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The other five are Isiah Thomas, Branch McCracken, Walt Bellamy, Quinn Buckner and Scott May.

Former IU Head Coach Bob Knight is also a member of the Hall of Fame.

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