Media Clips
DETROIT (1/30/2016) -- It was a special night at Calihan Hall on Friday, Jan. 29, as the Titans honored one of the greatest college players and NBA Hall Of Famer Spencer Haywood by retiring his jersey.
Haywood's No. 45 will now hang from the rafters in historic Calihan Hall as he is the sixth men's basketball player to have his jersey retired following Bob Calihan, Dave DeBusschere, John Long, Rashad Phillips and Terry Tyler
It was a long and festive day for the Titan Hall Of Famer starting at 5:00 p.m., with a live press conference. He then had a private gathering at 5:30 inside the Titan Club Room.
At 6:38 was the start of the special ceremony as the Titans officially retired his jersey. During the first timeout, his Michigan Sports Hall Of Fame plaque was on display as part of its new "Hometown Heroes" community outreach project.
To watch the ceremony or to read all the media clips on Haywood, click on any of the links above.
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.
