Len Bias To Be Inducted Into College Basketball Hall Of Fame On Sunday
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- Legendary Maryland forward Len Bias will be inducted in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday, the university said.
A two-time All-American, Bias averaged 16.4 points per game in his four years at Maryland under coach Lefty Driesell, and twice earned the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year honors. Tim Duncan, Danny Ferry and Ralph Sampson are among the other players to win the conference award two times.
As a senior, Bias averaged 23.2 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Terps during the 1985-86 season, prompting the Boston Celtics to pick the Prince George's County native second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft.
Two days later, Bias died of a cocaine overdose.
Thursday would have his 58th birthday, the university said.
Bias joins Driesell, former center Tom McMillen and former head coach Gary Williams as the only Terrapins in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, which opened in 2007.
Bias was set to be inducted in 2020, but the event was postponed due to COVID-19.
To honor Bias' life and legacy, the men's basketball team will wear throwback gold jerseys during its Dec. 1 game against Virginia Tech, and the first 4,000 students in attendance will receive a replica gold Bias No. 34 jersey.
The athletic department is also releasing a documentary, "34," through its Terrapin Club+ streaming platform. The film features interviews with Driesell, Walt Williams, Tony Massenburg, Scott Van Pelt, Mike Wilbon, Johnny Holliday, Jay Bilas and Frank Isola.
