ARIZONA STATE BASKETBALL

ASU’s Wheeler, Arizona’s Elliott to enter Pac-12 Hall of Fame

Jan 19, 2017, 2:55 PM | Updated: 2:56 pm

In March, the Pac-12 will honor 11 players and one coach as the 16th set of inductees to the Pac-12 Hall of Fame, including former Arizona State player Tarence Wheeler and Arizona’s Bob Elliott.

Wheeler, 47, played for the Sun Devils from 1988 to 1991. As a captain in the 1990-91 season, the Devils made the tournament for the first time in a decade.

After college and a nine-year pro career overseas, he devoted his life to community service in his hometown of Detroit. For 17 years, he has been a major part of the All-Star Giveback program, aimed at helping the poor in the Metro Detroit area. He coordinated the Celebrity Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway, which in 2015 collected 3,000 turkeys and food baskets and 1,000 haircuts and backpacks for people in need.

His work earned him a national honor. In February, the FBI awarded him the 2015 Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI’s Detroit division.

Elliott, 61, played for the Wildcats from 1973 to 1977. In 114 games for Arizona, he averaged 18.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in 29.6 minutes. The Wildcats began all four of his seasons in the AP Top 25, but only made the tournament twice and never passed the regional final. Elliott is second in school history for career points at 2,125.

Elliott played a brief pro career in Europe and then with the New Jersey Nets. After leaving professional basketball, he started work with NBA Cares and other philanthropic projects in the Tucson area. In 2014, he and former teammate Eric Money published Tucson A Basketball Town, a book about the rise of basketball in the area during the time of Fred Snowden.

Among the other names who the Pac-12 will honor are former NBA stars Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller and current New Orleans Pelicans forward Quincy Pondexter. The inductees will be recognized during the semifinals of the conference tournament on March 10.

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