KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Wayne Estes, the Utah State men’s basketball program record holder for scoring average, will have his legacy honored as he is one of eight legends of college basketball who have been selected for induction into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2024 will be posthumously celebrated at the next National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Details for the induction event will be announced at a later date. Other honorees include Dave Meyers (UCLA), Sihugo Green (Duquesne), Lennie Rosenbluth (North Carolina), Sam Lacey (New Mexico State), John Rudometkin (USC), Tom Stith (St. Bonaventure) and Coach Jack Hartman (Coffeyville CC/Southern Illinois/Kansas State).
Estes was an All-American basketball player for Utah State from 1963-65 and still ranks as the fourth-leading scorer in Utah State history with 2,001 points and the fourth-leading rebounder (893). He holds school records for career points per game (26.7), free throws made in a career (469), consecutive 10-point games (64), points in a season (821), points per game in a season (33.7), points in a game (52), and rebounds in a game (28).
On the night of February 8, 1965, Estes played the last game of his college career against the University of Denver in the Nelson Fieldhouse on the USU campus. Estes, who scored the second-most points in a single-game in school history that night with 48, eclipsed the 2,000 point mark with his final basket of the game to give him 2,001 points for his career. After the game, Estes and some friends stopped at the scene of a car accident near campus. While crossing the street, Estes brushed against a downed high power line and was fatally electrocuted.
Estes would have likely been a high draft pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1965 as he was the second-leading scorer in the nation at 33.7 points per game, just behind Rick Barry. Estes was posthumously given All-American honors by the Associated Press and also earned a posthumous consensus Second Team All-American distinction. In 1967, Estes was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
About the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, a program of the NABC Foundation, has honored the game’s greatest contributors since 2006, including legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, and Larry Bird, just to name a few of the many receiving the honor since 2006. The Hall of Fame is housed in The College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri – the most interactive basketball museum/experience ever created with the stated mission to celebrate the sport’s rich history and the game itself on a year-round basis.
For more information, visit www.collegebasketballexperience.com.
