Kenny Sailors Nominated to NCAA Hall Of Fame

Kenny Sailors, the inventor of the jump shot, the 1943 National Player of the Year at the University of Wyoming and the oldest living Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament is one of 10 individuals who have been selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2012.

Sailors led Wyoming to the 1943 NCAA Championship, while being named the National Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player in the ‘43 NCAA Tournament.   He is also credited with creating the jump shot.

Joining Sailors in the 2012 class of inductees are: Georgetown center Patrick Ewing; Kansas center Clyde Lovellette; North Carolina guard Phil Ford; Winston-Salem State guard Earl Monroe; Grambling center Willis Reed; Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall; Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins; and contributors Jim Host, of founder of Host Communications, and Joe Dean, of Converse and LSU.

Sailors, who turned 91 on Jan. 14, 2012, and his former head coach, Everett Shelton, are the only two representatives from the state of Wyoming in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.  Shelton was inducted in the inaugural class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

After teaming with Shelton to lead Wyoming to the NCAA Championship in 1943, Sailors enlisted in the Marines and served in the South Pacific during World War II.  After being away from the game he loved for two years, Sailors returned to Wyoming for the 1945-46 season and once again earned All-America honors.

The announcement of the class was made by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation on Tuesday.

(Courtesy of University of Wyoming)