Former University of Pittsburgh basketball star Billy Knight is one of 13 standout players and a pair of record-setting coaches scheduled to be honored as part of this year’s class of ACC Basketball Legends presented by New York Life.
Knight and the entire Class of 2015 Legends will be recognized during the 2015 New York Life ACC Tournament, which will be held March 10-14 at the Greensboro Coliseum. They will be featured at the annual ACC Legends Luncheon, which will be held Friday, March 13, beginning at noon in the Guilford Ballroom of the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel. They will then be introduced that evening to the Greensboro Coliseum crowd during halftime of the first semifinal game.
The following is a capsule look at Billy Knight, one of four basketball players in school history have their University of Pittsburgh jersey retired:
Billy Knight, Pitt (1971-74)
Led by smooth Billy Knight, the 1973-74 Pitt squad was one of the most successful teams in school history. In three varsity seasons, Knight scored 1,731 career points and had a scoring average of 22.2 points per game. He led the 1974 Panthers to the NCAA Eastern Regional finals and earned All-America honors. Knight won the Panther Award in 1974 as the student-athlete who best promoted the University through athletic achievement. The first-ever Pitt player to register 500-plus points and 250-plus rebounds in a season, he still ranks ninth on the school’s all-time career scoring list (1,731 points) and fourth on the rebound list (938). Knight’s many collegiate achievements included a career-high 37-point performance on perennial national champion UCLA’s home court on Dec. 22, 1972. At the time, that represented the most points ever scored by an opposing player at Pauley Pavilion. Knight went on to an 11-year All-Pro career in both the ABA and NBA. He also became a successful NBA executive and served a stint as the Atlanta Hawks’ General Manager. Knight’s jersey number 34 was retired by Pitt in 1989.
The 2015 ACC Legends Class:
Malcolm Huckaby, Guard, Boston College
Horace Grant, Forward, Clemson
Shane Battier, Forward, Duke
Doug Edwards, Forward, Florida State
Bobby Cremins, Head Coach, Georgia Tech
Junior Bridgeman, Guard/Forward, Louisville
Darius Rice, Forward, Miami
Franklin “Rusty” Clark, Center, North Carolina
Vinny Del Negro, Guard, NC State
Troy Murphy, Forward, Notre Dame
Billy Knight, Guard/Forward, Pitt
Derrick Coleman, Forward, Syracuse
Donald Hand, Guard, Virginia
Charlie Moir, Head Coach, Virginia Tech
Dave Budd, Forward, Wake Forest
