Complete Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Two of the most legendary figures associated with NM State men's basketball are once again eligible to enter the pantheon of greats associated with the sport.
This week, in a release issued by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced that the late Lou Henson as well as the late "Super" John Williamson are on the ballot for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2022.
A press conference announcing the Finalists from the North American and Women's committee for the Class of 2022 will be held during NBA All-Star Weekend, which is scheduled for Friday, February 18th in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hall of Fame will also reveal the full Enshrinement schedule at this time. The entire Class of 2022, including those selected by the direct elect committees, will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana, in early April.
The Enshrinement ceremony will take place in Springfield, Mass., September 9-10, 2022. Tickets for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Enshrinement ceremony and various events surrounding the ceremony will be on-sale at a later date.
Henson and Williamson are two of the 167 individuals or teams eligible for including in the Hall of Fame's Class of 2022.
Born in Okay, Oklahoma, on January 10, 1932, Henson lettered three times as a member of the NM State men's basketball team from 1953-55. That playing career was the beginning of one of history's finest college basketball legacies which spanned over a half-century. Following his playing days, Henson remained in Las Cruces to begin his coaching career at Las Cruces High School. As the head coach of the varsity team from 1958-62, Henson and his crew captured state championships in 1959, 1960 and 1961 before he joined the collegiate coaching ranks. After spending four seasons as the head coach at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, Henson returned to Las Cruces and was named NM State's head men's basketball coach prior to the start of the 1966-67 season.
Through his first tenure as the Aggies' bench boss which ran from 1966-75, Henson helped the Aggies advance to the NCAA Tournament on six occasions. It was Henson's 1969-70 squad, however, that set the standard for all Aggie squads before or since. Led by the likes of Jimmy Collins, Sam Lacey and Charlie Criss, NM State embarked on a magical run to the Final Four where they lost to eventual national champion UCLA. The Aggies concluded their season with a 27-3 record and made their presence known to basketball fans around the land.
Following the 1974-75 season, Henson accepted the job as the head coach at the University of Illinois where he remained for the next 21 seasons. In the 1988-89 campaign, Henson returned to the Final Four with the Fighting Illini.
Just prior to the 1997-98 season, Henson returned to the city where his basketball coaching career started 40 years earlier to begin his second stint as the head coach of NM State. That second run as the Aggies' leader lasted seven-plus seasons and was highlighted by Big West regular season and conference titles in the 1998-99 campaign. The 1998-99 season marked Henson's final trip to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, too. Midway through the 2004-05 season, Henson was forced to retire for good as a result of his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
All told, Henson's career continues to stand as one of the best ever in the history of college basketball. Upon his retirement, his 289 wins at NM State and 423 at Illinois were the most by a head coach at both institutions and his 779 career victories rank 16th on the all-time coaching list. Henson passed away on July 29, 2020.
One of just 13 NCAA men's basketball coaches who have accumulated 200 or more victories at two different schools, Henson is also one of just 15 coaches who have guided two teams to the Final Four. Henson also holds spots in four different Halls of Fame including the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame (1978), National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (2015), Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame (2018) and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (2019). In 2002, the court inside the Aggies' home facility of the Pan American Center was renamed Lou Henson Court so his tremendous legacy would continue to live on.
Two years after Henson led the Aggies to Final Four, he succeeded in recruiting one of the premier prep players on the east coast in Williamson. For two memorable seasons (1971-73), Williamson changed the lights on the scoreboard at breakneck speed for the Aggies. Through the course of his debut campaign at NM State in 1971-72, the New Haven, Conn., product latched on to First Team All-American (Basketball News) honors after ranking sixth in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game. Through that season, Williamson failed to reach the 20-point mark in just one of the Aggies' 25 tilts.
On Jan. 17, 1972, Williamson put on a spectacular scoring show on the west coast, leading NM State to a 91-89 triumph at California by way of a 48-point outburst. That scoring output remains the highest single-game total by any Aggie in the history of the program and allowed the Aggies to grab one of their five wins on the year over current Pac-12 programs - Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado and Oregon.
In his final season with the Aggies (1972-73), Williamson recorded the highest single-season scoring average in school history with 27.2 points per game. Taking notice of the guard's high-scoring ways, the Atlanta Hawks selected Williamson with the 96th overall pick in the 1973 NBA Draft. Though he didn't make the cut for the Hawks' roster, that didn't deter Williamson from beginning what turned out to be an eight-year career in the ABA and the NBA.
Able to obtain a roster spot with the ABA's New York Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA) ahead of the 1973-74 season, Williamson joined forces with a guy by the name of Julius Erving and helped lead the Nets to an ABA Championship. For his efforts, Williamson was named to the ABA All-Rookie Team in 1974.
With Erving and Williamson on their side, the Nets repeated as ABA Champions in 1976. That season was the Nets' last at the ABA level as they were elevated to the NBA the following year. In total, Williamson played for three NBA teams over the course of his career including the Indiana Pacers (1976-79), New Jersey Nets (1977-80) and the Washington Bullets (1979-91).
In all, Williamson totaled 9,017 points, 1,274 rebounds and 1,441 assists through his professional career. On Dec. 7, 1990, Williamson's jersey number (23) was retired by the Nets and to this day he is one of just six players in history of the franchise to have their jersey number retired. That group also includes Erving, Bill Melchionni, Jason Kidd, Drazen Petrovic and Buck Williams. Williamson passed away on Nov. 30, 1996 following a lengthy battle with kidney disease.
For complete coverage of NM State men's basketball as the Aggies continue their 2021-22 season, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Men's Basketball), Twitter (@NMStateMBB) and Instagram (@NMStateMBB).
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