Complete WCC Hall of Honor ReleaseBill Cartwright, a three-time All-American who led USF's men's basketball program to national prominence in the 1970's before going onto a 16-year NBA career, will be inducted into the West Coast Conference's Hall of Honor on Saturday, March 5 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas.
Along with Cartwright, the 2016 WCC Hall of Honor class includes BYU's Dylann Duncan Ceriani (volleyball), Gonzaga's Mike Redmond (baseball), Loyola Marymount's Kate Murray Dunn (basketball), Pacific's Ron Cornelius (basketball), Pepperdine's Maureen Formico-Caloiaro (basketball), Portland's Bill Krueger (baseball and basketball), Saint Mary's David Vann (basketball), San Diego's Susie Erpelding Barosso (basketball) and Santa Clara's Randy Winn (baseball and basketball).
The class will be formally inducted at the WCC Hall of Honor Brunch on Saturday, March 5 at 9:00 a.m. PT at the Mardi Gras Ballroom in the Orleans Hotel. Tickets to the WCC Hall of Honor Brunch & Induction Ceremony are available to the public for $40 and may be purchased online using the Hall of Honor Ticket Form on WCCsports.com. Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, February 25.
"The West Coast Conference is honored to celebrate the life-long accomplishments of these former student-athletes," said West Coast Conference Commissioner Lynn Holzman. "The 10 inductees in the 2016 Hall of Honor class represent the commitment of our programs to enhance the holistic development of student-athletes through the fostering of an environment of athletic and academic excellence."
A native of Lodi, Calif. who attended Elk Grove High School, Cartwright is USF's all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points and ranks third all-time with 1,137 rebounds. He graduated as the WCC's all-time leading scorer and his point total still ranks sixth all-time in conference annals while his rebounding total ranks eighth. Cartwright still holds the school's single-season record for field goal percentage, making 66.7 of his shots from the floor during his senior season of 1978-79.
During his four-year career on the Hilltop from 1975-79, USF posted a 93-22 (.808) record, including a 45-7 (.865) mark in WCC play, captured three conference titles and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one NIT appearance.
During his sophomore season of 1976-77, the Dons won their first 29 games of the season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the majority of the season. Following the season, Cartwright earned his first of three WCC Player of the Year honors and was named a second team All-American by AP and UPI. He earned first team All-America honors as a junior and senior.
The third overall selection in the 1979 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, Cartwright played 16 seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle Sonics. As a player, he won three NBA titles with legendary Bulls' teams on the early 90's and added two more rings as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson in 1997 and '98. He also served as head coach of the Bulls during the 2001-02 season.
In January of 2013, Cartwright was named the head coach of Osaka Evessa of the Japanese Professional League and in September of 2014, was hired as the head coach of Mexico's National Team.
Cartwright joins former USF standouts Joe Ellis (basketball), Bob St. Clair (football), Steve Negoesco (soccer), K.C. Jones (basketball), Mary Hile-Nepfel (basketball), Ollie Johnson (basketball) and Jim Brovelli (basketball) in the WCC Hall of Honor, which inducted its first class in 2009.
