Miners basketball legend Tim Hardaway Sr., who played for the Miners from 1985-1989, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Saturday, Sept.10. Hardaway is the fifth UTEP men’s basketball player to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.
Hardaway will join Nolan Richardson who was inducted in 2014, the 1966 National Collegiate Athletic Association Champions who were inducted in 2007, Don Haskins who was inducted in 1997, and Nate Archibald who was inducted in 1991.
As a Miner, Hardaway recorded a total of 1,586 points (12.6 points per game), ranking seventh all-time in assists at UTEP, averaging 4.5 and setting a school record in steals with 2.1 per game. Hardaway also was a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) honoree, second team in 1987 and 1988, and first team in 1989. Hardaway also received National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District accolades for second team in 1988 and first team in 1989.
During his senior year, Hardaway averaged 22 points per game and earned WAC Player of the Year honors in 1989. Hardaway also received WAC Tournament MVP, where he led the Miners to the Big Dance for the fourth time in his career as a Miner.
UTEP’s longtime “Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher explains that Hardaway was not always the best player on the Miners. Teicher mentions that during Hardaway’s first year at UTEP he was not a great shooter, but as time went on, he began to improve.
“I’ve always said that he was a player that improved more from year-to-year-to-year while he was at UTEP than any player I’ve ever seen,” Teicher said in a press release Sept. 9. “I don’t think he was a great shooter when he first got to UTEP. Once he fixed that, he became a much more effective shooter. Certainly, by the time he got to the NBA, he had largely fixed that.”
Hardaway’s number 10 jersey was retired in 2012 and is currently hanging in the rafter of the Don Haskins Center. Hardaway continues to be the Miners career record holder in steals with 262 and ranks second in assists with 563.
After his career with the Miners, Hardaway was selected 14th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft where he played for six seasons from 1990-1994 and 1994-1995. Hardaway also played for the Miami Heat for six seasons, Denver Nuggets for one season, Dallas Mavericks for one season and Indiana Pacers for one season.
During his time in the NBA, Hardaway averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists and Hardaway played in 867 career games. Hardaway was also an All-Rookie first team in 1990, All-NBA third team in 1993, All-NBA first team in 1997, and a three-time All-NBA second team in 1992, 1998 and1999.
Hardaway was a five-time NBA All Star and was an All-NBA point guard. Hardaway is most known for a crossover he developed known as the UTEP two-step. In the 2000 Olympics, Hardaway won a gold medal with the USA men’s basketball team.
“It’s kind of surreal to see Tim going into the Hall of Fame,” former Miners Assistant Coach Rus Bradburd said in a press release Sept. 9. “I’ve been out here 10 years ago when Nolan Richardson got in, and boy it is a really, really big deal. The things that drove Tim is that I feel like he had something to prove. That kind of thing really drove him to greatness. He really used that fuel him.”
All information and quotes courtesy of UTEP Athletics, utepminers.com
Katrina Villarreal is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected].
