University of Massachusets Athletics
NE Basketball Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced
June 28, 2004 | Men's Basketball
June 28, 2004
KINGSTON, R.I. - Former University of Massachusetts men's basketball players Marcus Camby and Al Skinner have been selected for induction to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. With the addition of Camby and Skinner, a total of six former UMass players and coaches have been selected to the Hall of Fame. In 2002, former UMass star Julius Erving was inducted into the Hall of Fame, in its inaugural class. Last year, former coach Jack Leaman was inducted, along with former players Doug Grutchfield and Rick Pitino.
Camby earned three letters for the Minutemen from 1993-1996, and was honored as the consensus National Player of the Year following the 1995-1996 season. Camby also earned unanimous first team All-America honors in 1995-1996, and was chosen as the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year. A two-time first team All-Atlantic 10 selection, Camby totaled 1,387 points, 642 rebounds and 336 blocked shots during his collegiate career, while hitting 50.1 percent (539 of 1076) of his field goal attempts. He led UMass to an overall record of 35-2 and the NCAA Final Four in 1995-1996, after averaging 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per contest. Camby still holds the UMass career (336) and single season (128 in 1995-1996) records for blocked shots. Following the conclusion of his collegiate career, Camby was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the second overall pick in the 1996 National Basketball Association draft. He played two seasons with Toronto, four years with the New York Knicks, and has spent the last two seasons with the Denver Nuggets.
Skinner was a three-time letterwinner in basketball at UMass, leading the team in rebounding from 1971-1974, totaling 749 rebounds. He set a school record for highest career field goal percentage at UMass (.557), and held the single-season record (.620) for nearly 20 years. Skinner was a three-time first team All-Yankee Conference selection, and helped UMass to two Yankee Conference titles. He also led the league in scoring in 1974, averaging 18.7 points per game, and became only the eighth player in school history to join the 1,000-point club, finishing his career with 1,235 points. Upon completion of his UMass career, Skinner went on to play with the New York Nets, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association from 1974-1980. He has since gone on to a successful collegiate coaching career at the University of Rhode Island and Boston College. Skinner had a 138-126 record at Rhode Island from 1988-1997, and currently stands 122-95 at Boston College since 1997. He was inducted into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982, and had his jersey No. 30 retired by the university in 2004.
Induction ceremonies for the New England Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2004 will be held on September 14 at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I.