University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Athletic Department To Honor Wendell Ladner
1/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Athletic Department To Honor Wendell Ladner
Hattiesburg, Miss. ? The University of Southern Miss Athletics Department will honor Hall of Fame basketball star and American Basketball Association legend, Wendell Ladner, during halftime ceremonies of the January 29 game between the Golden Eagles and the Louisville Cardinals by officially inducting him into the Golden Eagle Legends Club.
Ladner was tragically killed in a 1975 plane crash in New York City.
Ladner, at 6-5, 220-pounds, is recognized as one of the school?s greatest players. He was a three-year letterman for the Golden Eagles from 1967 to 1970 and still ranks as the school?s second all-time leading rebounder with 1,256, an incredible average of 16.5 rebounds per game. Although he ranks 11th all-time in scoring at Southern Miss with 1,561 points, his career scoring average of 20.5 is the best in school history.
He owns 14 of the top 16 rebounding performances in Southern Miss history including a school- record 32 rebounds against Texas-Pan American, 31 against Old Dominion and 30 against Louisville during the 1969-70 season.
Three times in his career he scored 35 points or more in a game, including a career high 38 (6th best in school history) against Northwestern (La.) State in 1967-68. He also scored 36 points against West Virginia Tech (1967-68) and 35 points against Northwestern (La.) State in 1967-68.
He was inducted into the M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
Ladner was drafted in the second round of the American Basketball Association draft by the Memphis Tams and was signed prior to the NBA draft, where he was projected to be one of the top 20 prospects. He then finished as runner-up to Kentucky?s Dan Issel and Virginia?s Charlie Scott for ABA ?Rookie of the Year? in 1970-71.
During his ABA career he played with Memphis (1970-73), Carolina (1971-72), Kentucky (1972-74) and New York (1973-75).
He finished his 300-game ABA career with 3,474 points and 2,481 rebounds and also played in 40 ABA playoff games and a pair of ABA all-star games.
In January of 1974, he was traded by the Kentucky Colonels to the New York Nets. At the time of the trade New York trailed Kentucky in the Eastern Division standings, but after adding Ladner, the Nets surged past the Colonels to win the Eastern Division championship and the 1974 ABA championship.
In the ABA, he was known for his hustle and physical play and was one of the great enforcers of the league, where he protected Dan Issel of Kentucky and Julius Erving of New York.
All former Ladner teammates are being invited to join in the ceremonies as the Wendell Ladner banner is raised to join (men's program) Golden Eagle basketball legends M. K. Turk, Clarence Weatherspoon and Nick Revon in recognizing his Southern Miss accomplishments. Former teammates are asked to call Executive Secretary To The Athletic Director, Lynn McLelland, at 601-266-5422 to confirm attendance.
