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Hall of Fame Bulldogs
DOMINIQUE WILKINS
Known as the “Human Highlight Film,” Dominique Wilkins arrived in Athens in 1979 and helped take Georgia Basketball to new heights.
Individually, Wilkins was a two-time AllAmerican and a three-time All-SEC honoree. He was also tabbed both SEC Player of the Year and MVP of the SEC Tournament in 1981.
From a team perspective, Wilkins led Georgia to the 1981 NIT, the Bulldogs’ first postseason appearance. A year later, he helped Georgia advance to the NIT semifinals.
Wilkins entered the NBA Draft after his junior year. He was the No. 3 overall pick by the Utah Jazz but soon thereafter traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Wilkins played the majority of his career with the Hawks, where he was a nine-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA selection and a two-time slam dunk champion.
In 1991, Wilkins became the first Bulldog to have his jersey – No. 21 – retired by Georgia.
Wilkins was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, was a member of the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2005, was Georgia Basketball’s first inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
HUGH DURHAM
During 17 seasons at Georgia, Hugh Durham elevated Georgia Basketball to a national stage.
Durham is UGA’s winningest coach with 297 victories. Prior to his arrival, Georgia had never received a postseason bid in 74 seasons. The Bulldogs reached postseason play 11 times during Durham’s tenure and also won their first SEC Tournament in 1983 and SEC Championship in 1990. He was named SEC Coach of the Year three times – in 1985, 1987 and 1990.
In UGA’s initial NCAA Tournament appearance in 1983, the Bulldogs advanced to the Final Four. Durham’s Dogs defeated St. John’s and North Carolina to win the East Regional before falling to eventual champion N.C. State.
Durham posted 633 career victories in 37 seasons, with 230 at Florida State and 106 at Jacksonville bookending his wins at Georgia. He was the first coach in Division I history to take two schools to their first Final Four and just the sixth to reach the Final Four at two schools.
Durham was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame 1980, the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame in 1994, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
ZIPPY MOROCCO ALEC KESSLER
Anthony “Zippy” Morocco came to Athens from Youngstown, Ohio and became UGA’s first All-American in basketball and one of the Bulldogs’ best two-sport performers ever.
Morocco led the SEC in scoring in 1953 at 23.6 points per game on 590 points, breaking the existing SEC mark of 540 points by Kentucky’s Cliff Hagan. He led the Bulldog football team in kickoff returns three consecutive years and in punt returns twice. He also was Georgia’s top receiver in 1950 and averaged over 10 yards every time he touched the ball.
Alec Kessler is widely regarded as one of the greatest student-athletes in the history of college athletics. On the basketball court, he broke UGA’s career scoring record, was named SEC Player of the Year and All-America in 1990 and was chosen No. 12 overall in the NBA Draft. Kessler graduated with a 3.91 GPA while majoring in Microbiology. He was named men’s basketball’s Academic All-American of the Year in both 1989 and 1990 and was selected as the top Academic All-American for all sports in 1990. Kessler was elected to the state of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. UGA CIRCLE OF HONOR WILLIE ANDERSON
ALEC KESSLER – 2000 ZIPPY MOROCCO – 2002 JARVIS HAYES – 2020
The Circle of Honor is designed to pay tribute to extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who by their performance and conduct have brought honor to the university and themselves, and who by their actions have contributed to the tradition of the Georgia Bulldogs. The criteria for selection also stipulate that each recipient has earned his or her academic degree.
Atlanta native Willie Anderson blossomed into one of the college basketball‘s most diverse talents during his career at UGA. As a senior, Anderson averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals in 1988. He then earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team that summer.
Anderson was drafted No. 10 overall by San Antonio Spurs in the 1988 NBA Draft. He was a first-team All-NBA Rookie pick in 1989 and went on to play nine seasons in the NBA.
