Alabama's Buck Johnson Among 2003 SEC Legends
2/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Featuring former greats from all 12 Southeastern Conference member institutions, the 2003 class of the Chick-fil-A SEC Basketball Legends will be honored at the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament March 13-16 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, La., announced by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, Wednesday.
"We are again excited about this program and Chick-fil-A's continuing support of SEC basketball," Slive said. "Honoring these former standouts gives the conference the opportunity to thank those who helped establish the rich basketball tradition in our conference."
The 2003 class includes Buck Johnson, Alabama; Lee Mayberry, Arkansas; Bill Alexander, Auburn; Gary Keller, Florida; James Banks, Georgia; Jack Givens, Kentucky; Pete Maravich, LSU; Carlos Clark, Ole Miss; Joe Dan Gold, Mississippi State; Mike Dunleavy, South Carolina; Tom Boerwinkle, Tennessee; and Will Purdue, Vanderbilt.
Each Chick-fil-A SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution's first game at the tournament. The legends will also be honored as a group during halftime festivities before the first semifinal game on Saturday, March 15 at Noon CT.
Highlighting the schedule of events at the Dr Pepper SEC Fan Fare will be appearances by the legends on the Chick-fil-A Press Box Stage. Complimentary posters of the legends will be available in the autograph area near the press box stage. FanFare will be open Thursday-Saturday, March 13-15 at the New Orleans Arena.
This marks the fifth year of the basketball legends program. Last year's group included Leon Douglas, Alabama; Ron Brewer, Arkansas; Bobby Cattage, Auburn; Chip Williams, Florida; Dominique Wilkins, Georgia; Cotton Nash, Kentucky; Ricky Blanton, LSU; Joe Gibbon, Ole Miss; Jeff Malone, Mississippi State; Skip Harlicka, South Carolina; Tony White, Tennessee; and Roy Skinner, Vanderbilt.
Biographical sketches of the 2003 honorees follow.
University of Alabama - Buck Johnson
A forward from 1983-1986, Buck Johnson was a three-time All-SEC selection, earning first-team honors in 1985 and 1986. Johnson ranks fourth all-time at Alabama in scoring with 1,869 career points and ranks eighth all-time with 933 career rebounds. He was an SEC All-Tournament performer in both 1985 and 1986, leading Alabama to four NCAA appearances during his career at the Capstone. Johnson was an NBA first-round draft pick by the Houston Rockets in 1986. He played seven years in the NBA for Houston and Washington and played eight additional years in Europe through 2002. Johnson helped guide the Rockets to the playoffs in five of his seven seasons, scoring 4,139 career points with Houston.
