WVU’s Rod Thorn to be inducted into Southern Conference Hall of Fame
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There is quite an impressive class entering the Southern Conference Hall of Fame this year.
The class, which was announced Wednesday, includes Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame members, a 10-year Major League Baseball veteran, an NCAA pioneer and an NCAA record holder.
Members of the 2020 class are Rod Thorn (West Virginia), Terrell Owens (Chattanooga), Wayne Tolleson (West Carolina), Lynne Agee (UNC-Greensboro) and Eric Breitenstein (Wofford).
Thorn was a basketball great who played from 1961 to 1963. He is one of three WVU players to have his number retired.
Thorn was born in Weirton, W.Va. but grew up in Princeton, W.Va.
He averaged 21.8 points per game during his collegiate career including 23.7 in 1962. Thorn was a three-time All-Southern Conference first team player and was the Southern Conference Athlete of the Year in 1962 and 1963.
Thorn played for Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis and Seattle in the NBA over eight seasons, coached in Seattle, New York, Chicago, St. Louis and New Jersey before joining the NBA’s front office in 1986.
In 2000, he became president of the New Jersey Nets and then served as president of Philadelphia in 2013.
Thorn was a two-time SoCon Male Athlete of the Year in the early 1960s and was part of a West Virginia dynasty in the era, helping the Mountaineers to a combined 70-18 record from 1960-63 that included a 34-4 SoCon mark.
He helped WVU to three SoCon regular-season titles and two tournament crowns, claiming MVP honors twice, and helped the squad to a run to the NCAA regional semifinals in 1963.
Thorn established six school records and finished with 1,785 points in three seasons.
Agee was a women’s basketball coach from 1981-2011 with a career record of 602-334 in 33 seasons.
Breitenstein played football and was a first-team All-American. He rushed for 321 yards against Elon in 2012.
Owens was a three-sport star (football, basketball, track) at Chattanooga who became a six-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL and a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Tolleson was infielder who played for Texas, the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.