U.'s Ferrin honored by Hall

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 7, 2008 | by Mike Sorensen Deseret Morning News

Former Utah All-American Arnie Ferrin was excited and emotional to learn he has been selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame along with six others.

The announcement was made Sunday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation.

Ferrin is joined by former players Charles Barkley and Danny Manning, coaches Nolan Richardson and Jim Phelan and TV broadcasters Dick Vitale and Billy Packer.

"I can't tell you how emotional it was to hear that," said Ferrin, who was informed of his selection a week earlier. "As you get older, it makes it that much more special. It's a neat way to culminate a career."

Ferrin, who helped lead Utah to the 1944 NCAA title and the 1947 NIT title, was thrilled to be inducted with the six others. He said he's a close friend of Packer's and was the chairman of the NCAA Selection Committee in 1988 when Manning was the MVP after leading Kansas to the NCAA title.

"You think of all the people who have played basketball and it's pretty flattering to be selected for the Hall of Fame," Ferrin said.

The NABC Hall of Fame is different from the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., which is officially announcing its 2008 class today. Its first class was inducted in 2006.

The NABC induction ceremony will be held at the College Basketball Experience at the Sprint Center in Kansas City in November. The class will also be introduced at next year's NCAA Championship game in Detroit.

Ferrin said he was looking forward to the induction ceremony later this year, but joked that he probably would have a chance to say much with Vitale and Barkley among the other inductees.

The 82-year-old Ferrin was a four-time All-American at Utah and also played three years for the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA. He also served as Utah's athletic director during the 1980s.

E-mail: sor@desnews.com