By WJBC Staff
BALDWIN CITY, Kansas – Illinois Wesleyan graduate Jack Sikma, a seven-time National Basketball Association all-star, is one of 12 people chosen as 2017 inductees for the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame.
A 1977 IWU graduate, Sikma is still the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,272 career points) and rebounder (1,405 rebounds) and, in each of his last three seasons, the Titans won College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships and advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament in Kansas City.
The 2017 induction ceremony for the second class of Hall of Famers chosen for the SBC will be on November 2 in Evansville, Ind.
“I am honored and excited to be inducted into the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame,” said Sikma. “Being recognized as part of the rich history along my fellow inductees and members is a proud moment for me personally. I want to especially thank [IWU] coach Dennie Bridges, along with my teammates and the whole IWU family, for providing me with the opportunity to thrive and achieve my goals as a both student and an athlete.
Thank you to the nominating committee for honoring me with my inclusion in the class of 2017.”
At Illinois Wesleyan, Sikma was a three-time NAIA All-American and was the top votegetter as an Associated Press College Division All-American as a senior when he averaged 27.0 points and 15.4 rebounds. In four years his teams went 83-32 and he was chosen as the CCIW most outstanding player for three straight years. He was induced into the NAIA Hall of Fame and was a member of the NAIA 50th & 75th All-Anniversary Teams.
He was also a two-time Academic All-American and was selected in 1999 to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame.
The No. 8 pick in the 1977 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, Sikma scored 17,827 points and got 10,816 rebounds in the NBA and was a key player on Seattle’s 1979 NBA championship team. He holds Seattle’s team records for rebounds (7,729) and free throws made (3,044).
Sikma is the only center to have led the NBA in free throw shooting percentage, converting 92.2 percent in 1987-88 with the Milwaukee Bucks and his jersey has been retired both by Illinois Wesleyan and the Seattle SuperSonics.
He has worked as an assistant coach for Seattle, Houston and Minnesota and currently serves as a coaching consultant for the Toronto Raptors.
In addition to Sikma, the Small College Basketball Class of 2017 consists of Zelmo Beaty, Prairie View A&M; Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois; Bob Love, Southern; Elmore Smith, Kentucky State; Jim Spivey, Southeastern Oklahoma State; Rico Swanson, Bethel (Ind.); George Tinsley, Kentucky Wesleyan; and Al Tucker, Oklahoma Baptist.
Coaches Don Meyer (Hamline, David Lipscomb, Northern State) and Dave Robbins (Virginia Union) and Emil Liston, who is recognized as the founder of the NAIA, are also among the Hall’s second selection class.
