Duke's Athletics Hall of Fame membership is set to grow by eight this fall according to an announcement by Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White Thursday afternoon.
Former Blue Devils Elton Brand and Shelden Williams headline the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2018, which will be enshrined Sept. 21. Recently retired broadcaster Bob Harris will also be inducted alongside Katie Chrest Erbe, Candy Hannemann, Lindsey Harding, Ryan Jackson and Randy Jones. Their induction will increase the Athletics Hall of Fame membership to 146.
Brand led the Blue Devils to a 69-6 record during his two-year tenure at Duke—including two ACC regular-season championships, one ACC tournament crown and an appearance in the 1999 NCAA championship game. The Peekskill, N.Y., native averaged 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest at Duke, earning National Player of the Year honors in his sophomore season, en route to becoming the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Similarly, Shelden Williams was also a dominant interior presence on the court during his four-year tenure from 2002-06, when he averaged 13.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per contest. Williams' biggest impact came on the defensive end, where he earned National Defensive Player of the Year honors during both his junior and senior seasons. Williams established the program's single-season record for blocks with 137 his senior season and he graduated as Duke's all-time leader in rebounds and blocks. His jersey No. 23 was retired by the program on Jan. 27, 2007.
While Brand and Williams did not overlap at Duke, Harris was courtside broadcasting for each of their careers as Blue Devils. Harris spent 41 years as the voice for Duke football and men's basketball before retiring in 2017 as the longest tenured play-by-play announcer in ACC history. Over his career, the Albermarle, N.C., native called 1,392 men's basketball contests, including all five national championship titles in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015.
Erbe will become the first member from the women's lacrosse program to be inducted in the Athletics Hall of Fame. Erbe's career was headlined with the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy, presented to the nation's top player. From 2003-06, the Hampstead, Md., native helped lead Duke to a 61-18 record with three ACC regular-season championships, one ACC tournament title and two Final Four appearances. In 2005 Erbe set the Blue Devils' single-season record for points with 96, and she graduated as the school's all-time leader in both goals and points with 216 and 287 respectively.
Hannemann helped lead Duke women's golf to four ACC championships and two NCAA titles in 1999 and 2002. In 2001, Hannemann won the Honda Award—an award given to the nation's top player—after winning three individual titles including the NCAA crown following a four-day score of 285. For her career on the links, Hannemann finished with 16 victories along with a stroke average of 74.26. Following her career, she spent eight years on the LPGA Tour, earning six top-10 finishes.
Harding was a dominant defensive force on the basketball court, earning both National Player of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year recognition in 2007. The Houston native was a three-time member of the ACC's All-Defense unit as well as a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year honoree. Harding graduated as Duke's all-time leader in assists, closing her career with averages of 9.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Harding was selected first overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft, and her jersey No. 10 was raised into the rafters in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 20, 2008.
Jackson did his damage on the baseball field, helping the Blue Devils to three 30-win seasons including a school-record 39 wins in 1993. The two-way star earned National Player of the Year recognition in 1994 after batting .378 with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs, while leading the team in innings pitched with 91.2 and posting a 7-5 record with four complete games and four saves. During that same season, Jackson tied an NCAA record by homering in eight-consecutive contests and hit safely in 34 games, the second-longest hitting streak in school history. Following his graduation, he was drafted in the seventh round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins.
Jones represents the lone two-sport athlete in the class of 2018 after exceptional performances on the football field and the track. In football, Jones amassed 2,835 all-purpose yards as a running back and return specialist, setting what was formerly the program record with three career kickoff returns for touchdowns. On the track, Jones broke a 36-year-old school record in the indoor 60-meter dash in 1992. He also ended his tenure with the second-fastest outdoor 100-meter time in program history.
The group will be inducted Sept. 21 in Cameron Indoor Stadium and will be honored at halftime of Duke's football game against N.C. Central the following day at Wallace Wade Stadium.
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