College Hall to enshrine Laettner, Thompson

Former NCAA champions Christian Laettner of Duke and David Thompson of N.C. State will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, which announced its eight-person 2010 class on Wednesday.

The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 21 in Kansas City, Mo. Also set for enshrinement as players are Sidney Wicks and Jerry West as players, Tex Winter and Davey Whitney as coaches, and Tom Jernstedt and Wayne Duke as contributors.

Laettner led Duke to four Final Fours and NCAA championships in 1991 and 1992. He received national player of the year honors in 1992 and ranks third in Duke history in career points (2,460) and rebounds (1,149).

He is the NCAA Tournament’s career scoring leader with 407 points and made one of the most famous shots in NCAA history in overtime in a 1992 regional final to lift Duke to a 104-103 win over Kentucky.

Thompson, who is from Boiling Springs, N.C., was one of the most athletic players in the history of the game and was named national player of the year twice. He led N.C. State to the 1974 NCAA title and was selected as ACC player of the year in 1973, 1974 and 1975.

He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Ken Tysiac