Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1965
Tom Bishop was a four-year letterman for Coach Lee Floyd’s Southern Miss basketball teams from 1949-50 to 1952-53 and finished his career as one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the school. Teaming first with Jack Gallagher and later with Nick (The Cat) Revon, the trio is considered among the most explosive the school has ever seen.
He stills ranks as the school’s all-time leading scorers and was one of just two pure basketball players to be included as charter members of the school sports Hall of Fame.
As a freshman Bishop was the team’s leading scorer with 404 points, an average of 16.2 points per game and led the team to a 19-7 record, including a 14-2 mark in the Gulf States Conference and the league championship.
His sophomore year he again led the team in scoring with 598 points, an average of 18.1 points per game, as the team finished 21-14.
Bishop’s junior year would see him average 13.8 points per game and finished second on the team in scoring to the player that still ranks as the school’s all-time scoring leader, Nick Revon. But the team finished 29-8 and won the Gulf States Conference regular season and post-season tournament championships. For the first time in school history the team advanced to the NAIA National Championships, losing in the opening round to New Mexico A&M.
As a senior Bishop and Southern Miss enjoyed one of its finest years ever. With Bishop averaging a team high 15.2, Southern posted a 27-8 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championships, before losing to Hamline.
Bishop would finish his career with 1,932 points for an average of 15.8 points per game. His scoring average is still tied for the eighth best in school history and no one to this day has scored more field goals in their career than Bishop’s 828.
His 598 points during the 1950-51 season is the fourth best single season total for a Golden Eagle and the 258 field goals he made that season has been topped only once in the history of Southern Miss basketball.
Although rebounds totals weren’t kept in those days, Bishop would have undoubtedly been one of the team’s leading rebounders during his career and ranked among the team’s career leaders even today.
Another stat not kept back then was field goal percentage, but those that watched Bishop play will testify that his silky smooth shooting touch would still rank him as one of the best pure shooters the school has ever had.
He was named to the all-Gulf State Conference team his first three seasons with the Golden Eagles and became the school’s first All-American when he was named to the Helms Foundation All-America first team following the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons.
Bishop also played two seasons with the Southern Miss baseball team in 1950 and 1951.
