June 21, 2008

NATCHITOCHES -- Louisiana Tech basketball legend Karl Malone was among eight members of the 2008 Induction Class for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as selected by an elite panel of state sports media honored Saturday night.

Malone, a native of Summerfield in Claiborne Parish just south of the Louisiana-Arkansas border, became an All-America basketball star at Tech. He ranks among the game's all-time greats after 13 NBA All-Star selections in 19 pro seasons, ranking as the second-leading scorer (36,928 points) and sixth-best rebounder (14,968) in NBA history with career averages of 25.0 points and 10.1 rebounds.

"The Mailman" was a member of the Olympic gold-medal 1992 USA "Dream Team." The muscular 6-foot-9, 250-pounder averaged at least 20 points per game in 17 NBA seasons, including a career-best 31.0 in 1989-90. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1996-97 and 1998-99, and was twice the All-Star Game MVP.

Malone joins football Pro Bowl stars Leonard Marshall and Aeneas Williams, and former state high school sports commissioner Tommy Henry. Also inducted are 2004 USA Olympic weightlifting coach Gayle Hatch, 13-year major league baseball standout Darryl Hamilton, legendary Jena High school girls basketball coach Geraldine "Jelly" Piggott and women's golf great Barbara Fay White Boddie are also among the 2008 Induction Class. Boddie and Piggott will be enshrined posthumously.

Voting was done by a 30-member committee under the auspices of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the parent organization of the Hall of Fame. Media from around the state considered 131 nominees from 21 different sports categories and were limited to eight inductees by LSWA rules governing selection since the Hall was established in 1958.