Founders and Hall of Fame Members Honored
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – At this Saturday’s Hurricanes men’s basketball game versus NC State, six former University of Miami basketball players and current UM Sports Hall of Fame members will be recognized for their athletic achievements.
Athletic Director Blake James and Miami Sports Hall of Fame president KC Jones will greet the six basketball players and other members of the Hall of Fame at midcourt during halftime. The six players being honored are Octavia Blue, Abe Friedman, Wayne Becker, Eric Brown, Julie Cohen and Tim James.
Members of Miami’s Founders will also be recognized during a media timeout. The Founders rebuilt the Hurricane basketball program after its temporary 14-year hiatus that began in 1971 and ended with an 85-77 win over The Citadel in November of 1985.
Octavia Blue is the only women’s basketball player among the six, and is currently an assistant with the UM women’s basketball team. In 1998, Blue earned first team All BIG EAST and third team All-American honors and was crowned an ACC legend in 2008. Blue holds the Miami record for most career three-point field goals, is fifth in career points and is only one of three Hurricanes women’s basketball players to compile 1,7000 points and 600 rebounds.
Abe Friedman, was part of the first 20-win season in Miami men’s basketball history. Friedman captained the 1949 Hurricane squad that played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, the program’s first postseason appearance.
Wayne Beckner averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game in 1965, the third consecutive season the Canes won at least 20 games.
A part of the revival of Miami basketball in the mid-1980s, Eric Brown is second all-time in Miami history with 2,270 points and scored 20-plus points in 54 games. Brown holds the record for highest career field goal percentage and free-throw attempts. In 2011, Brown was named an ACC legend.
A member of famed Miami head coach Bruce Hale’s “Hale Boys,” Julie Cohen was a member of the first Hurricanes basketball team in play in the NCAA tournament in 1960.
Tim James played his high school basketball locally at Miami Northwestern High and was the second Hurricanes basketball player to have his number retired. In 1999, James was named co-BIG EAST Player of the Year and was a first round selection of the Miami Heat. James later joined the Army and proudly served in Iraq. He is the only Hurricane to register 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocked shots.
The UM Sports Hall of Fame is located next to the Hecht Athletic Center and houses artifacts and memorabilia from over 85 years of Hurricanes athletics.
Tip-off from the BUC is scheduled for 2 p.m. and is the final game of a three-game homestand for the Hurricanes.
