C.M. Newton Named Alabama's 2015 SEC Basketball Legend
1/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Former Alabama head coach and Hall of Famer Charles Martin "C.M." Newton is one of 14 men who have been selected for the 2015 Allstate® Southeastern Conference Basketball Legends. Newton, along with the entire class, will be honored at the 2015 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 11-15, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
"The Allstate® SEC Basketball Legends Program allows us to honor our past and show everyone why the SEC is one of the nation's premier basketball conferences," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.
A former two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Newton coached at Alabama for 12 seasons (1968-80). During his time at the Capstone, he compiled a record of 211-123, the fourth-most wins in program history. While he was with the Tide, Newton led Alabama to three straight SEC Titles (1974-76) and seven postseason appearances, which included two NCAA Tournament berths, a sweet-16 appearance in 1976, and five NIT berths.
Four of Newton's teams (1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76 and 1976-77) finished 14th or higher in the final national rankings. In addition to his coaching accomplishments, Newton's Alabama legacy is cemented by integrating the Alabama Basketball program, by signing the program's first African-American student-athlete, Wendell Hudson, in 1968.
In addition to Newton, the 2015 class includes Darrell Walker, Arkansas; Chris Porter, Auburn; Eddie Shannon, Florida; Jack Dorsey, Georgia; Bob Burrow, Kentucky; Ronald Dupree, LSU; B.L. "Country" Graham, Ole Miss; Doug Hutton, Mississippi State; Derrick Chievous, Missouri; Jack Thompson, South Carolina; Johnny Darden, Tennessee; Sonny Parker, Texas A&M; Bruce Elder, Vanderbilt.
Each SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution's first game at the tournament.
This marks the 17th year of the SEC Basketball Legends program. Alabama's SEC Legends include, in order, Reggie King, 1999; Wendell Hudson, 2000; T.R. Dunn, 2001; Leon Douglas, 2002; Buck Johnson, 2003; Derrick McKey, 2004; Gary Waites, 2005; Jim Farmer, 2006; Mike Nordholz, 2007; Leon Marlaier, 2008; Melvin Cheatum, 2009; Charles Cleveland, 2010; Robert Horry, 2011; Jack Kubiszyn, 2012; Wimp Sanderson, 2013; and Eddie Phillips, 2014.
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