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Stan Becton | NCAA.com | February 17, 2023

Every HBCU player, coach and more in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

North Carolina Central Eagles vs. Texas Southern Tigers: Game Highlights

A total of 19 HBCU affiliates have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the most prestigious figures in basketball history. 

Ten players, six coaches, six contributors, one referee and one set of teams have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame from HBCUs. No HBCU has more than one player inducted while North Carolina Central, Tennessee State, Winston-Salem State, Cheney and North Carolina A&T are the only HBCUs with multiple Hall of Famers.

C. Vivian Stringer is the only woman affiliated with an HBCU that has been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Moreover, Tennessee State is the only HBCU with teams inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Here's the complete list of inductees.

Name Role College Inducted Year
John B. McLendon Contributor/Coach North Carolina Central*,
Hampton,
Tennessee State^,
Kentucky State
1979/2007
Willis Reed Player Grambling State 1982
Clarence E. Gaines Coach Morgan State,
Winston-Salem State
1982
Samuel "Sam" Jones Player North Carolina Central 1984
Vernon "Earl" Monroe Player/Contributor Winston-Salem State 1990
Marques O. Haynes Player Langston U. 1998
John Chaney Coach Bethune-Cookman,
Cheyney
2001
Earl F. Lloyd Player/Coach/Contributor West Virginia State 2003
Meadowlark Lemon Contributor Florida A&M 2003
C. Vivian Stringer Coach Cheyney 2009
E.B. "Ed" Henderson Coach UDC 2013
Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton Player/Contributor Xavier (LA) 2014
Zelmo Beaty Player Prairie View A&M 2016
Robert Hughes Coach Texas Southern 2017
Al Attles Player/Coach/Contributor North Carolina A&T 2019
1957-1959
Tennessee State^ teams
Team Tennessee State 2019
Bob Dandridge Player Norfolk State 2021
Ben Wallace Player Virginia Union 2021
Hugh Evans Referee North Carolina A&T 2022

*Called North Carolina College at the time
^Called Tennessee A&I at the time

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