DETROIT (12/16/2015) -- The greatest honor that could be bestowed upon an athlete is seeing his name hang high in the rafters as former Titan Spencer Haywood will have his jersey retired during a men's basketball game on Friday, Jan. 29.

The Titans will take on Northern Kentucky that day at 7:00 p.m.

"Spencer was one of the best players we ever had and it is was a privilege to talk to him about this special ceremony," said Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels, Jr. "We have had a lot of great players and we are going to continue to look for ways to honor all of our outstanding former Titans."

He will be the sixth men's basketball player to have his jersey retired following Bob Calihan, Dave DeBusschere, John Long, Rashad Phillips and Terry Tyler. 

Haywood is a member of the Titan Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this past fall. His only year as a Titan is generally considered one of the greatest single-seasons ever in Titan basketball history as he still ranks first in scoring average (32.1), second in total points (771), rebounds (530) and free throws (195) and tied for second in total field goals (288). 

He spent one year in a Titan uniform before turning pro, but he was one of the best players in the nation at the time as he posted a school-record 32.1 points and 22.1 rebounds per game during the 1968-69 season. The 32.1 points was fourth in the NCAA behind only "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Rick Mount and Calvin Murphy, while his 22.1 rebounds led the nation. 

In his first game as a Titan, he tallied 36 points and sent the fans home early as his dunk with 6 ½ minutes on the clock broke the backboard, and the game was called with Detroit up, 105-40, over Aquinas.

Before that, he was already a star on the hardwood and led Team USA to a gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico. He led that team with 16.1 points per game and set a USA field goal percentage record of .719.

He went on to a 13-year professional career in the ABA and NBA and scored 17,111 points, while grabbing 8,675 rebounds. During his pro career, he averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. In his first professional season in the ABA with the Denver Rockets, he was tabbed the ABA Rookie of the Year and the ABA MVP during the 1969-70 season and became the youngest ever recipient of the MVP at the age of 21 in leading the team to a division title.
 
In the NBA, he played five seasons for Seattle, averaging 24.9 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game and was selected to four NBA All-Star games, helping lead the team to their first playoff berth in 1975.
 
Haywood later played for the New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Bullets, earning a championship ring with the Lakers during the 1979–80 season.