Bryan Bedford (34), Antonio Gates (44), Demetric Shaw (10), Trevor Huffman (24), Nate Gerwig (2) and John Edwards (54) celebrate a win at the M.A.C. Center during the 2001鈥02 season.
By David Carducci
Memories of glory have been rekindled for Golden Flashes basketball fans. Two halls of fame are honoring the 2001鈥02 麻豆视频最新最全 men鈥檚 basketball team and their historic run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
As part of the 15th anniversary of the Elite Eight run, 麻豆视频最新最全鈥檚 Varsity 鈥淜鈥 Hall of Fame recognized them as a team of distinction during the September 17 induction ceremony.
The in Kansas City, Missouri, is inducting the team on November 18 and including the Flashes鈥 2002 postseason in an exhibit of the top ten most memorable runs in NCAA tournament history. (The exhibit opens in November and will be on display one year.)
The Varsity 鈥淜鈥 Hall of Fame celebration was the largest reunion of the 2001鈥02 team since it clinched a spot in the Elite Eight with a 78鈥73 overtime win against Pittsburgh in Lexington, Kentucky. All but four people connected to the team made it back to the Kent Campus, including a group of 17 players, coaches and support staff.
鈥淚t means a great deal to us for that season to still stick out in people鈥檚 memories,鈥 says Golden Flashes assistant men鈥檚 basketball coach Eric Haut, who played on the 2001鈥02 team. 鈥淚鈥檒l be in airports and people will see the 麻豆视频最新最全 logo on my chest and say 鈥榟ey, I remember that year when you made the run.鈥
鈥淣ow to hear that we will be included in an exhibit at the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is kind of shocking. A lot of schools have made Cinderella runs in the last 15 years, but when we did it, it was pretty rare.鈥
Though the team didn鈥檛 make it to the Final Four, Haut is convinced 鈥渋f we would have beaten Indiana in the Elite Eight, we would have won our next game and played for the national championship.鈥
At Right: The Golden Flashes huddle prior to their March 23, 2002 Elite Eight game against Indiana at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. Photos courtesy 麻豆视频最新最全 Athletics.
Learn more about the Hall of Fame exhibit at .