Upstate NY basketball great named to college hoops hall of fame

A former Upstate New York basketball great will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

The college hoops hall of fame announced its 2024 class Tuesday, including Tom Stith of St. Bonaventure University. Stith averaged 26.5 points in his NCAA career, was the Bonnies’ first consensus All-American and still holds the Cattaraugus County school’s all-time record for field goals in a season (327) and scoring average in a season (31.5 ppg in 1959-60, second only to Oscar Robertson that year).

He also had the top two scoring seasons in program history (819 in 1959-60 and 830 points in 1960-61), according to St. Bonaventure University, and helped Bona to final AP poll rankings of No. 9 and No. 3 in his junior and senior years, respectively. He and his older brother, Sam Stith, combined for 52 points per game in the 1959-60 season.

Tom Stith briefly played in the NBA for his hometown New York Knicks in the 1961-62 season, but his playing career was cut short by tuberculosis. He died in 2010 at age 71.

Seven others from his era will be inducted posthumously in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

The rest of the inductees include Utah State star Wayne Estes, who was tragically killed while trying to help at the site of an auto accident after his final game; Dave Meyers, who helped UCLA win the NCAA title in 1973 and ‘75; Duquesne’s Sihugo Green, the first overall pick in the 1956 NBA draft; Lennie Rosenbluth, who led North Carolina to a 32-0 record in its 1957 championship season; Wayne Estes (Utah State), New Mexico State’s Sam Lacey, the fifth overall pick in the 1970 NBA draft; John Rudometkin, who scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons at USC; and longtime coach Jack Hartman (Coffeyville CC, Southern Illinois, Kansas State).

According to the Associated Press, Hartman may be the most well-known nationally. He played quarterback in the Canadian Football League after playing football and basketball at Oklahoma State. He later coached hoops at his alma mater, Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College, Southern Illinois and Kansas State, notably leading the Wildcats to four Elite Eights over 16 seasons.

Hartman retired in 1986 with a 589–279 record. He died in 1998 at the age of 73.

The AP notes Estes was just 21 when he died on Feb. 8, 1965. The 6-foot-6 forward scored 48 points for Utah State against Denver in his final game, pushing him past 2,000 points for his career, when he stopped at the scene of a car accident near campus. Estes was crossing the street when he accidentally touched a downed power line, fatally electrocuting him.

Estes was the second-leading scorer in the nation behind Rick Barry that season. The Aggies retired his No. 33 jersey and the school’s practice facility, which opened in 2013, is named the Wayne Estes Center in his honor.

Details of the induction ceremony have not been announced.

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, has previously inducted notable stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Christian Laettner, Oscar Robertson, Syracuse University alumnus Dave Bing, and Syracuse Nationals standouts Dolph Schayes and Hal Greer.

Besides Stith, Bob Lanier is the only St. Bonaventure alumnus to be enshrined in the hall. Lanier and the Stith brothers are also in the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame.