The ranks of the Detroit Titans Sports Hall of Fame will swell by 10 later this month as the 2010 Induction Class – which includes former Horizon League Men's Basketball Players of the Year Jermaine Jackson and Rashad Phillips – was unveiled today by UDM athletic director Keri Gaither.
The latest honorees will be inducted on Jan. 23 at halftime of the Titans' Homecoming basketball game against Horizon League rival Wright State. The class also includes two other former Detroit basketball greats (Cassandra Pack and Joe Kopicki) as well as former stars from baseball (Pat Adams and Mike Pesci), cross country/track and field (Ken Dubois and Kim Jess), golf (Adam Walicki) and tennis (Maria Pandele).
Together, they will bring the number of greats in the Hall of Fame to 112. UDM established its Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, during the University's Centennial year, in order to honor those student-athletes, coaches and administrators who have helped develop the successful tradition of Titan Athletics.
The 2010 induction class will be feted during a private pre-game event, and again following the basketball game during a reception in Calihan Hall to which all former Titan student-athletes have been invited.
“This is a tremendous class of people who have distinguished themselves not on athletically while at the University, but have also gone on to distinguish themselves in their professional careers and their communities,” Gaither noted. “I congratulate them all.”
Here's a profile of each of the 2010 Titan Sports Hall of Fame inductees:
Baseball, 1978-81
One of the Midwest's most prolific sluggers as a first baseman for the Titans… Was a two-time All-District 4 honoree… Won the Titans' “Triple Crown” as a sophomore by leading the 1979 team in home runs (13) and RBI's (55) – both setting school records – along with a .361 batting average… By the time his playing days ended, set U-D records for career home runs (33) and RBI's (177) while also standing second in runs scored (144) and fifth in batting average (.346)… Remains in the all-time Top 5 in six all-time offensive categories…
Cross Country/Track and Field, 1984-88
A long distance specialist who capped off his career by finishing runner-up at the 1987 MCC cross country championship and 31st at the Great Lakes Regional… Was a three-time All-MCC cross country runner… Also excelled on the track and set the school record for 5,000 meters as a senior… Received the 1988 Cecil Coleman Medal of Honor as the MCC's most outstanding senior male student-athlete… Was selected a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1987 and '88…
Basketball, 1996-99
Capped off a great career by being named Horizon League Player of the Year in 1999… Led Detroit to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance – and a first-round victory over UCLA – that season… Became the 28th member of the UDM 1,000 Point Club and finished with 1,341 career points… Also became just the fourth Titan in history to amass more than 500 career assists, finishing with 509… Graduated in the Titans' all-time Top 10 in steals (142) as well… Has played with six different NBA teams during his professional career…
Track and Field, 1994-98
A high jump specialist who won four Horizon League indoor championships (1994, '95, '96 and '98) during her career… Established a new conference record (1.73m) at the 1995 league meet… Set the school record (5'10½”) as a sophomore… Was an NCAA provisional qualifier in 1995 and again in 1996… Also competed in the triple jump as a Titan and set the school record (34'9”) during her junior season at UDM… Was selected to the USTCA All-Academic Team…
Basketball, 1979-82
Voted All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference in his final two seasons as a Titan after the team joined its new league… Became a member of the Titans' 1,000 Point Club as a senior and graduated with 1,410 career points… A two-time winner of the Bob Calihan Award as his team's Most Valuable Player… Ranked 26th nationally in rebounding as a senior (10.5 per game) while also averaging 18.6 points… Finished his career among the top 10 rebounders in Titan history… Was drafted in the third round by the Atlanta Hawks in 1982… Played three seasons in the NBA, two with Washington and the last with Denver…
Basketball, 1984-87
The first player in Titan women's basketball history to top the 2,000-point plateau when she finished with 2,037 career points… Also set the school one-game scoring mark after posting 39 points against Xavier, one of her six games of 30-plus… Her 22.2 scoring average as a senior set the school record as well… Was voted a Freshman All-American in 1984 and was also a four-time all-conference honoree during her career…
Tennis, 1998-01
The first four-time all-conference selection in Titan women's tennis history… Also received the league Newcomer of the Year Award in 1998 and Player of the Year as a senior in 2001… Rolled up 77 career singles victories and 53 wins in doubles to set two UDM individual records by the time her career ended… Also set the school record for most singles victories in a season (21 in 1998)… Led the team in singles wins during three of her four varsity seasons…
Baseball, 1996-98
A three-time All-MCC outfielder.. Was voted 1997 conference Player of the Year after leading the Titans to the league championship… Was also named to the All-Mideast Team at the end of that season as he finished with a .409 batting average and a .773 slugging percentage… His 16 home runs that year were just two shy of the school single-season record… Had a career batting average of .349 and finished fourth on the all-time Titan list with 32 career home runs… His.655 career slugging percentage set the school record…
Basketball, 1998-2001
A two-time Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year (2000 and 2001)… Received the 2001 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the leading player in the nation standing six-feet-tall and under… Was also a 2001 All-District honoree and honorable mention All-American… Became the leading scorer in school history with 2,319 career points… Also set the school record for three-pointers made and was second in steals… The first Titan in history to record both 1,500 career points and 500 assists…
Golf, 2000-02
A two-time all-conference golfer who led UDM to Horizon League Championships in 2001 and 2002 as well as its first two berths in the NCAA Regionals… Won the first tournament he ever played for UDM, the 1999 Detroit Titans Invitational… Led the Horizon League with a 73.7 stroke average in 2000… Received the Professor William Kelly Joyce Award as team MVP in 2000 and again in 2002… Went on to reach match play in the 2002 U.S. Amateur and won the 2003 Golf Association of Michigan Championship…
Each new member will be immortalized with a plaque that will hang permanently in the beautiful Hall of Fame display in the Calihan Hall lobby.
What others are saying about the 2010 Titan Sports Hall of Fame inductees:
“Jermaine (Jackson) was really the rock that we built our program around. He came in as a freshman and started all four years. He set the standard for the hard work and effort that being a Titan was all about. He was a great leader and a great player and he was also a great reflection of what the coaching staff and the University was all about.”
“Just a tremendous honor for Rashad (Phillips). He was such a great player who brought excitement and enthusiasm to the team, the fans and to the entire league. He always gave you a level of comfort no matter how big the game was, NCAA, NIT or in league play. You knew he was going to be able to rise to the occasion and give you everything he had.”
–Perry Watson, former Titans head men's basketball coach
“Joe (Kopicki) came in and built on what some other great Titans did to really help prolong the success of the basketball program in the late Seventies and early Eighties. He had options as a player, but he's a Detroiter and he made a commitment to be a part of the program and keep the team rolling. I have great respect for him as a player, and also as a person who has given back a great deal to basketball. He's coaching, he's helping kids, and he's been very supportive of us and our program now. He loves this University just as he did when he was playing here.”
“I remember looking at the University of Detroit record books as a high school senior wanting to personally re-write Detroit Titans history. Cassandra Pack was the player I was aiming to replace as the all-time leading scorer and I thought her numbers were definitely attainable. Clearly not reaching that goal, I researched her statistics and found that she only attempted six more field goals than I did, but scored 351 more points. With that type of efficiency and accuracy, there is definitely no one more deserving of this prestigious honor than Cassandra Pack.”
–Autumn Rademacher, former Titan and current head women's basketball coach
“Pat (Adams) had a tough time deciding when I was recruiting him because he was really thinking about playing basketball and he said to me, 'Coach, I'm not sure if I'll start as a freshman for you,' because we had a real good first baseman on our team at the time. So I told him, 'Pat, you'll play the outfield your first year, and that's good because you need to know how to play more than one position, and then you'll be our first baseman as a sophomore.' That's the way it worked out: he came to play for us and became one of the all-time great players and great leaders at Detroit. People forget he was such a great defensive player at first base, because he was such a tremendous hitter.”
“Mike (Pesci) was another one of those junior college boys who meant so much to our program. I just stayed on him and stayed on him and sure enough he signed with us and he turned out to be one of our all-time great players. He was such a tough kid out there. He was one of the best. He had a great ability and a great attitude and he set such a good example for all of the players on our team when he was with us.”
–Bob Miller, former Titans head baseball coach
“I had the privilege of being a teammate of Ken's (Dubois) and he was all you could ask for in a teammate. Ken gave his best at all he did, he was always fit and prepared and really never had a bad race. Ken was an intense competitor and ran his best when the conditions where the worst. Two of the muddiest and wet races ('85 NCAA Regional and '86 National Catholic) are arguably the best ever by a Titan. Ken was as good as any Titan student-athlete ever to wear the Red and White and is definitely the right pick to be the first modern era male cross country/track and field athlete in the Titan Hall of Fame.”
“Kim (Jess) was as talented an athlete as we have had in the program. Kim was national level in the high jump and picked up other events to help the team in any way she could. Kim was a fierce competitor and leader. Her team-only meeting the night before the '98 MCC Championship really propelled us to the title, as everyone came through in the events they were picking up just to fill out our
roster, just as Kim did in every meet. Kim worked just as hard in the classroom and is definitely worthy of Titan Hall of Fame honors.”
–Guy Murray, current Titans cross country/track and field coach
“Adam (Walicki) came to us as a transfer from Michigan State the summer after we won our first MCC Championship (1999). We had a pretty good team back, but here came a guy who had been a starter in the Big Ten and he made us that much better. He moved right into the Number 1 spot in our lineup and, actually, he won the first tournament he ever played for us, the Titan Invitational. Adam might be the best ball striker ever to play for us. He was so precise. He was pretty quiet – at least at the start, anyway – but the guys figured out pretty quickly they had a really good new teammate.”
–Mark Engel, current Titans head men's golf coach
“Maria (Pandele) was a senior when I took over the women's tennis program, and that season she broke several Titan records, and was voted Player of the Year by the coaches in our League. She's one of the most competitive players you'd ever meet or watch play. She deserves to be the first women's tennis player in the Titan Hall of Fame."
–Daron Montgomery, former Titans head women's tennis coach
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