Mike Wittman in ACC Legends Class of 2013

GREENSBORO, N.C.-The former Commissioner of the ACC andpast member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, a pair of highly-successfulhead coaches and one of the only four ACC players who earned first- orsecond-team All-ACC honors in four consecutive seasons headline the 2013 ACCMen’s Basketball Legends Class announced Thursday by ACC Commissioner JohnSwofford.

Included on the team are a member of the ACC’s 50^thAnniversary basketball team, six All-Americas, three All-ACC selections, sixNBA Draft selections, four players who led their teams to five ACCChampionships and two former successful coaches, including one who led Marylandto the 2002 National Championship.

Leading the way is former ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan (Keswick, Va.), whoserved on the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Committee and oversaw the ACC for a 10-yearperiod when the conference captured three NCAA Men’s Basketball Championshipsand saw 11 teams earn berths to the NCAA’s Final Four. Corrigan is a beinghonored as an ACC Legend this year as the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournamentcelebrates its 60th anniversary.

Also leading the way are former Georgia TechAll-America point guard Mark Price(Enid, Okla.), who was the focal point of the resurgence of the BobbyCremins-coached Georgia Tech teams of the mid-1980’s; former Maryland headcoach Gary Williams (Collingswood, N.J.),who led the Terrapins to the 2002 National Championships and to 14 NCAATournament appearances in his 22 seasons at College Park; and “Gentleman” Carl Tacy (Huttonsville, W. Va.), whocoached Wake Forest to six post-season appearances and 222 victories in his 13seasons at the helm in Winston-Salem.

Joining them are Boston College’s Gerry Ward (Bronx, N.Y.) who completedhis career as the Eagles’ 3^rd-leading career scorer while playingfor coaches Don Martin and Frank Power; Clemson’s Terrell McIntyre (Raeford, N.C.), a prolific point guard for theTigers who three times earned All-ACC honors;  Duke’s TrajanLangdon (Anchorage,  Alaska), one ofthe key cogs of the Blue Devils 1999 team which advanced to the NCAA nationalchampionship game and who was one of the most effective long-range shooters andfree throw shooters in league history; Florida State’s Tharon Mayes (New Haven, Conn.), who helped lead Florida State toits first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for then coach Pat Kennedy; andMiami’s Mike Wittman (St. Joseph’s,Michigan), who was a high-scoring forward for the record-setting Miamiteams of the mid 1960’s.

Completing this year’s ACC Legends Class are NorthCarolina’s Mike O’Koren (Jersey City,N.J.), one of the most versatile players in Tar Heel history who helpedlead the Dean-Smith coached teams to four NCAA appearances and ACCChampionships in 1977 and 1979; NC State’s DereckWhittenburg (Washington, D.C), the author of the most famous pass/shot inNCAA Tournament history and a key member of the Jim Valvano-coached 1983National Championship squad; Virginia’s TravisWatson (Brookneal, Va.), a versatile forward who helped lead the Cavaliersto four consecutive post-season tournament appearances; and Virginia Tech’s Ace Custis (Eastville, Va.), a versatileforward who led the Hokies to the Championship of the 1995 NIT and anappearance in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

The Legends will be honored at this year’s ACC’sMen’s Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., March14-17. They will be feted at the annual ACC Legends Brunch, which will be heldSaturday, March 16, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Guilford Ballroom of theSheraton Four Seasons Hotel, and, later that day, will be introduced to theGreensboro Coliseum crowd at halftime of the first semifinal game. Ticketinformation for the ACC Legends Brunch is available on the ACC website attheACC.com.

Corrigan (1987-97) served as the Commissionerof the ACC during a 10-year period when the league saw 10 of its teams advanceto the NCAA Final Four and two of them (1991-93) win three consecutive nationalchampionships in basketball. A 1952 graduate of Duke, Corrigan began hisathletics administration career at Washington & Lee University in 1955 ascoach of the school’s basketball, soccer and lacrosse teams. Three years laterhe joined the staff at the University of Virginia as head lacrosse and soccercoach and assistant basketball coach, leaving UVa in 1967 to become the ServiceBureau Director at the Atlantic Coast Conference under the ACC’s firstCommissioner, Jim Weaver.  He returned toWashington & Lee as director of athletics in 1969, and took the sameposition at Virginia in 1971. Ten years later he left UVa to become thedirector of athletics at Notre Dame. During his time in South Bend, he servedon the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Committee. He rejoined the ACC as itsthird Commissioner in 1987. During his time with the ACC, Corrigan oversaw theaddition of Florida State to the conference and was a key factor in theformation of the Football Bowl Alliance, the forerunner to today’s BCS. In hisfinal two and a half years with the ACC, Corrigan served as President of theNCAA. Additionally, he served as a member of the NCAA Special Advisory Committeeto Review Distribution of Revenues and was Chair of the NCAA Committee on CostReduction. A native of Baltimore, Md., he currently resides in Keswick, Va.,just outside of Charlottesville.

Ward (1961-63) started three seasons forthe Eagles as a 6-4 forward, playing his first two years under Don Martin andhis final year under coach Frank Power. He averaged in double figures each year,averaging a then-school record 20.0 points a game as a senior in 1963. Histotal of 1,115 career points, which still ranks 33^rd on the BostonCollege career scoring list, was the school’s third-best career total when hefinished his college career. Ward led the Eagles to a 39-32 three-year record,shooting .525 from the field, which at the time was a school career record. Afierce competitor on the boards, his career rebounding average of 13.3 percontest is still the second-best in school history and his total of 947rebounds still ranks 6^th on the BC career list. His threesingle-season rebound averages rank among the top eight single seasons in BChistory, including a 15.6 rebound norm in the 1962 season which is the school’sthird-best season rebounding average. After averaging 20 points and 12.4 reboundsas a senior, he was named a third-team All-America and an Academic All-Americafirst-team honoree. After graduation, he was drafted in the first round of the1963 NBA Draft as the fifth overall selection by the St. Louis Hawks. He playedfour seasons in the NBA as a guard for the Hawks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia76ers and Chicago Bulls, averaging 3.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists pergame. He was a member of the 1965 World Champion Boston Celtics. Ward is amember of the Boston College Varsity Hall of Fame and his jersey was retired byBoston College in 2007. He currently lives in Ridgefield, Conn.

McIntyre(1995-99), a diminutive but extremely talented point guard, was the leaderof four Clemson teams which reached post-season play-including three NCAAappearances–under coaches Rick Barnes and Larry Shyatt during the 1996 through1999 seasons. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 1997 and 1999 andthird-team accolades in 1998. He was also named to the 1998 All-ACC Tournamentfirst team and was a member of the 1996 All-ACC Freshman team. McIntyre still ranks second in Clemson history inscoring with 1,839 points, assists (577), free throws made (396) andthree-point goals made (259). He led the Tigers to a four-year record of 79-50and NCAA Tournament berths in 1996, 1997 and 1998, as well as a trip to the1999 NIT. He led the ACC in scoring as a senior, averaging 18.9 points per game.After leaving Clemson he played professionally for 10 seasons in Europe, twicebeing named first-team All-Euroleague and had his jersey retired by MontepaschiSiena in Italy this past September. He is currently retired from professionalbasketball and resides in Charlotte, N.C.

Langdon (1994-99), one of the most accuratelong-range shooters in ACC history, started four seasons for the Blue Devils,missing only the 1995-96 campaign due to injury. He led Duke to four NCAATournament berths, helping the Blue Devils to the 1999 ACC Championship and tothe championship game of the NCAA’s Final Four later that year. He was named afirst-team NABC All-America in 1999 and second-team honors by the Sporting Newsand Associated Press. He was also named a 2^nd-team All-America byThe Sporting News in 1998. Langdon earned three first-team All-ACC selectionsin 1997, 1998 and 1999. An excellent student as well, he was three times namedto the All-ACC Academic Basketball Team. Langdon still ranks 5^th onthe ACC’s career list for free throw percentage, making 86.2 percent of hischarity tosses and is 4^th in the ACC’s career three-point fieldgoals and 7^th in ACC history in career three-point field goalpercentage, making 42.6 per cent of his long-range bonus bombs. A first-roundselection by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1999 NBA Draft, Langdon became thefirst Alaskan to play in the NBA. He spent three seasons with Cleveland, andthen played professionally for eight seasons in Europe, the last six with CSKAMoscow. He averaged 12.7 points per game over his eightseasons andwas named the Euroleague Final Four MVP in 2008 while also earning first-team all-Euroleague honorstwice and second-team accolades once. Langdon retired from professionalbasketball in June 2011 after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian League crown. He currently resides in Arlington, Va.

Mayes(1993-97), a three-year starter for the Seminoles at guard, led FSU to itsfirst back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and 1989 for then-headcoach Pat Kennedy. Mayes averaged double figures in scoring each of his threevarsity seasons, averaging 13.2 as a sophomore, 13.3 as a junior and 23.3points per game as a senior in 1990, still the third-highest single-seasonscoring average in Florida State history. His total of 1,260 career pointsstill ranks 20^th on the FSU all-time scoring list and his careerscoring average of 16.4 points per game ranks 19^th. He helped leadFSU to a three-year record of 57-34, including a 22-8 mark during the 1988-89season when the Seminoles finished the year ranked 16^th nationally.In 1990, Mayes set an FSU record for three-point field goal percentage, averaging46 percent from the three-point arc. He still ranks 8^th in the FSU careerrecords for three-point field goals (128) and three-point field goal percentage(.380), as well as 8^th in career free throw percentage (.784). Healso is still ranked 16^th in career steals. Mayes played one seasonin the NBA with three different teams, Toronto, Philadelphia and the L.A.Clippers, then went on to play seven seasons in the CBA and nine more years inEurope before retiring after the 1999-2000 season. He currently lives in NewHaven, Conn., where he works for the Boys and Girls Club.

Price (1982-86), the point guard leader of Georgia Tech’s basketball resurgence underhead coach Bobby Cremins, is one of only four players in ACC history to earnfirst- or second-team All-ACC honors in each of his four varsity seasons. Priceearned 2^nd-team All-ACC honors in 1983, leading the conference inscoring as a freshman and earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors.  He then was named 1^st-team All-ACCin 1984, 1985 and 1986 joining on North Carolina’s Tyler Hansborough,Virginia’s Jeff Lamp and Duke’s Johnny Dawkins as four-year All-ACC honorees. Athree-time All-America, he was a first-team selection in 1985. Price helpedTech post a four-year record of 85-41 for a program which was 14-40 in the twoyears before he arrived in Atlanta. Price also led the Jackets to earn a bid tothe NIT in 1984 and NCAA appearances in 1985 and 1986, as Tech reach the NCAAEast Regional finals in 1985 and the Southeast Region semifinals in 1986. Pricewas named the winner of the Everett Case Award as the Most Outstanding Playerin the 1985 ACC Tournament in Atlanta as he led Tech to its first ACCBasketball Championship. A finalist for the Wooden and Naismith National Playerof the Year Awards in 1986, he was the first pick of the second round of the1986 NBA Draft by Dallas, which promptly traded him to Cleveland. He went on toa 12-year career in the NBA, the first nine with Cleveland. A four-time NBAAll-Star and named to the 1993 All-NBA first-team, Price played a total of 722NBA games, scoring 10,989 points and averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 assists pergame. His career free throw percentage of 90.4 is the best in NBA history. Healso compiled a field goal percentage of 47.2 percent for his career and 40.2percent from three-point range. After retiring from the NBA at the end of the1998 season, he began an extensive career in coaching, including spending oneseason as an assistant to Cremins at Georgia Tech. Originally a native of Enid,Okla., he now resides in Orlando, Fla.    

Williams (1990-2011), one of the most respected coaches in ACC history, took over adowntrodden Maryland program in 1990 and rebuilt the Terrapins into a nationalbasketball powerhouse. In all, he won 461 games in 22 seasons at his almamater, posting a 461-252 (.647) to become the winningest coach in Terrapinhistory. Known for his fiery coaching style, Williams led Maryland to 14 NCAAappearances, including two Final Four appearances. He was named National Coachof the Year after leading Maryland to the 2002 NCAA National Championship, thefirst ever for the College Park school. He was twice named ACC Coach of theYear (2002, 2010) and led the Terps to the 2004 ACC Championship. A native ofCollingswood, N.J., Williams played three seasons at Maryland (1964-67) as apoint guard for Coach Bud Millikan and was named team captain in his seniorseason of 1967. He graduated in 1968 with a degree in Marketing and spent threeseasons as a high school coach before beginning his college coaching career asan assistant at Lafayette (1972-73) and Boston College (1973-78). He thenserved as a head coach at American University (1978-82), Boston College (1982-86)and Ohio State (1986-89) before taking over at Maryland. He has an overallcoaching record of 668-380 (.637) for 33 seasons and ranks 34^th onthe NCAA’s all-time wins list. In all, he led his teams to 17 NCAA Tournamentappearances and 8 trips to the NIT. He finished his career ranked 3^rdamong all ACC coaches in total wins and ACC victories trailing only Duke’s MikeKrzyzewski and North Carolina’s Dean Smith. He retired from Maryland after the2011 season and currently lives in Bethesda, Md.

Wittman(1964-67), as a sophomore, played on the 1964-65 Miami team whichestablished a then-NCAA record scoring average of 98.4 points per game.  Playing for legendary Miami head coach BruceHale and teaming with All-America Rick Barry, that Miami team topped the100-point mark 10 times that year including tallying a school-record 148 pointsagainst Rollins College. A year later, Wittman, with Barry playing in the NBA,took over the leadership of the team, averaging 21.8 points a contest as ajunior and 22.3 points per game as a senior, and being named team MVP bothyears. In his senior season of 1966-67, he shot 80 percent from the foul lineand 48 percent from the field. In his three seasons at UM, Wittman helped theHurricanes compile a 52-26 record. He still ranks 15^th in careerscoring with 1,319 career points and he has recorded two of the top 11 scoringseasons in school history with 567 points as a junior in 1966 and 585 points in1967.  His career field goal percentageof .473 still ranks 10^th-best in Miami history and his 335 careerfree throws ranks 8^th. He ranks 6^th all-time for the “U”with 33 games of 20 or more points, including four 30-point contests. He savedhis best performance for last, leading the Hurricanes to a win over arch-rivalFSU with a 20-point and 20-rebound effort in his final collegiate game. Afifth-round draft choice by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1967 NBA Draft, he optedinstead to play for the Phillips 66ers and Akron Wingfoots in the National IndustrialBasketball League, where he was first-team All-League in 1968. Wittman retiredfrom basketball and spent the next 40 years broadcasting TV sports. He isrecognized as the “father of aerial sports broadcasting with Goodyear” and hascovered over 2,500 live sports events from the Goodyear blimp, including sixOlympics, 30 World Series, 26 Super Bowls and dozens of college football games,including three of Miami’s national championship games. As Director of AerialSports Broadcasting, he introduced the first gyro-stabilized camera. Hecurrently lives in St. Joseph, Michigan.   

O’Koren(1977-80), one of the most versatile players in Tar Heel history, was thecenterpiece of Dean Smith-coached North Carolina teams that captured ACCChampionships in 1977 and 1979 and earned NCAA Tournament berths in each of hisfour varsity seasons, including a Final Four berth and NCAA Championship Gameappearance in 1977. During his four seasons in Chapel Hill, he helped lead theTar Heels to a 94-29 record. He is still the only UNC player to have recordedat least 1,500 points (1,765), 800 rebounds (815) and 300 assists (348) in hiscareer. He also had 183 steals and shot 57.2 percent from the field for hiscareer. O’Koren was a three-time first-team All-America for the Tar Heels afterthe 1978, 1979 and 1980 seasons. He earned first-team All-ACC honors in 1978and 1980 and was named first-team All-ACC Tournament in 1977 and 1979. At hisbest in the big games, O’Koren had 18 points and 11 rebounds, scoring UNC’sfinal 10 points in a 71-63 win over Duke in the 1979 ACC Championship game. Afirst-round draft choice and the 6^th overall pick in the 1980 NBADraft by the New Jersey Nets, he played six seasons with the Nets and one withWashington Bullets before retiring with the Nets in 1988. In 407 NBA games hescored 3,355 points (8.2 avg.), had 1,391 rebounds (3.4 avg.) and 856 assists(2.1 avg.). A native Jersey City, N.J., he currently lives outside of New YorkCity in the Township of Washington, N.J.

Whittenburg(1979-83), one of the key players on NC State’s 1983 National Championshipteam, is the author of the most famous missed shot in NCAA Tournament history.A three-year starter for the Wolfpack under legendary coach Jim Valvano, it wasWhittenburg’s desperation heave with time running out that the late LorenzoCharles grabbed and dunked for the winning basket in the Wolfpack’s historic 54-52upset of top-ranked Houston to claim the 1983 national championship. Asecond-team All-ACC selection in 1982, Whittenburg was a likely first-teamchoice in 1983, but missed 14 games of the season with a foot fracture, onlyreturning to play in State’s third-to-last regular season game. His return,though, helped spark the Wolfpack to a near-miraculous 10-game winning streakthat saw them capture the ACC championship and the NCAA title with a series oflast-minute heroics that earned the team the nickname “Cardiac Pack.” Afour-year contributor at State, he played one season under former Wolfpackcoach Norman Sloan and three for Valvano, helping lead the program to threeNCAA Tournament appearances and an overall record of 82-41. He was named to thefirst-team All-ACC Tournament team in 1983, to the second team in 1982, and tothe NCAA’s All-Final Four Team in 1983. An excellent outside shooter who alsohad excellent jumping ability, Whittenburg paired with Sidney Lowe to becomeone of the Wolfpack’s all-time best backcourts and he is still ranked 28^thin career scoring (1,272) and 13^th in career free throw percentage(.794). A third-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in the 1983 NBA draft,Whittenburg began his college coaching career as an assistant at State(1985-86). He then served as an assistant at George Mason (1987), Long BeachState (1988), again at NC State (1989-91), Colorado (1992-93), West Virginia(1994) and Georgia Tech (1995-99) before spending four years as head coach atWagner College (2000-03) and six years at Fordham (2004-09). He has a 10-yearhead coaching record of 135-162 (.454). Whittenburg is a long-time board memberfor the “V” Foundation, the organization which raises funds for cancer researchin memory of Valvano, and he is currently a game-day and studio analyst forESPNU’s college basketball broadcasts. A native of Washington, D.C., where heplayed at DeMatha High School for the legendary Morgan Wootten, Whittenburgcurrently lives in New York City.

Watson(1999-03), a three-time All-ACC power forward for Virginia under head coachPete Gillen, is one of the most consistent performers in Cavalier history. The6-8 frontcourtman totaled 54 games in which he scored and rebounded in doublefigures, the 12^th highest total in ACC history. Watson averaged indouble figures in each of his four seasons at UVa, totaling 1,546 careerpoints, good enough for 14^th in the Virginia career list. He alsograbbed 1,115 rebounds in his career, more than any over Cavalier save for thelegendary Ralph Sampson. Watson’s career rebound total places him 15^thon the ACC career list. Named second-team All-ACC in 2001, 2002 and 2003, heled the ACC in rebounding in 2002 (9.7) and 2003 (10.4), finished second in2001 (9.1) and was fourth as a freshman in 2000 (8.3). A four-year starter, heled UVa to a four-year record of 72-48 including four straight post-seasontournament appearances, three NIT bids and one NCAA appearance. He still ranksthird on Virginia’s career blocked shots list (130) and eighth in field goalpercentage (.519). He has played nine seasons professionally in Europe andIsrael, leading the Euroleague in rebounding in 2007 while playing for ArmaniJeans Milano and the Greek League in rebounding in 2004 and 2005. Born in SanAntonio, Tex., and a native of Brookneal, Va., he played high school basketballat Narunas, Va. and Oak Hill Academy (Oak Hill, Va.) and currently resides in Alexandria,Va.

Custis(1993-97), the central figure for the Hokies’ 1995 National InvitationTournament (NIT) championship team and one of the most popular players inVirginia Tech history, was a four-year starter at power forward for theVirginia Tech teams of coach Bill Foster. Named to the All-Metro Conferenceteam as a sophomore, he was selected to the All-Atlantic 10 team as a juniorand senior. During his senior season, he was a finalist for the NaismithNational Player of the Year Award. He led the Hokies to a record of 81-42,including the championship of the 1995 NIT and a 1996 appearance in the NCAATournament. He led Virginia Tech in rebounding for four consecutive seasons andhis total of 1,177 career boards ranks 3^rd in Tech history. The 6-7performer still ranks 10^th on the Virginia Tech career list forpoints scored (1,706), 6^th in field goals made (660), 5^thin career rebound average (9.5) and 7^th in career steals (199). Heis one of only three players in Virginia Tech history to surpass the 1,500 markin both points and rebounds. After graduation, he enjoyed a lengthyprofessional career in Japan.  He is oneof just four Tech players to have their jersey’s retired and was inducted intothe Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He currently lives in Suffolk,Va.    

Tacy (1973-85), knownas “Gentleman Carl” Tacy, for his calm courtside demeanor, is one of the mostsuccessful basketball coaches in Wake Forest history. A native of Huttonsville,Va., and a graduate of Davis and Elkins College, Tacy came to Wake Forest after10 successful seasons as a high school coach, three years at Ferrum (Va.)Junior College (now Ferrum University) where he posted a 67-14 record and oneseason as an assistant coach and one year as head coach at Marshall Universitywhere he led the Thundering Herd to a 23-4 record and a berth in the 1972 NCAATournament. He became head coach at Wake Forest in 1972-73 and began a 13-yeartenure in which he posted a record 222-149 (.599), still the third-highest wintotal for the Deacons in history. He guided Wake Forest to four NCAA Tournamentappearances and two NIT berths, leading Wake to post-season play in each of hisfinal five years in Winston-Salem. Four of his Wake Forest teams ended the yearranked nationally by the Associated Press, including his 1977 club which wasranked 9^th and reached the finals of the Midwest Regionals beforelosing to eventual NCAA championship Marquette. His 1984 team set a school markfor wins and reached the NCAA’s regional semifinals and was ranked 19^thnationally, while his 1981 (11^th) and 1982 (18^th) teamsalso achieved final national rankings. While at Wake Forest, he coached threeAll-Americas: Skip Brown, Rod Griffin and Frank Johnson. He is currentlyretired and living in Winston-Salem, N.C.

LEGENDS BRUNCH

TheLegends will be honored at this year’s ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboroat the annual ACC Basketball Legends Brunch, which will be held on Saturday, March 16, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Sheraton FourSeasons  Hotel. Hosted by televisionpersonalities Tim Brant and Mike Hogewood, tickets for the ACC Men’s BasketballLegends Brunch are priced at $35 each and tables of ten are available for $350 each.Information on purchasing tickets may be obtained at the official ACC website-www.theACC.com/ACCTourney.

2013 ACC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT LEGENDS ROSTER