University of Arizona Athletics issued the following announcement on Aug. 7.
Former Wildcat Josh Green and Australia defeated Slovenia, 107-93, to earn the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday (Aug. 7). Green becomes just the third Arizona men's basketball player to earn an Olympic medal, joining Andre Iguodala, who picked up a gold medal in 2012 with the United States, and Richard Jefferson, to won bronze with the United States in 2004.
It also marks the first-ever men's basketball Olympic medal for Australia. As a result of the medal, Green can now be inducted into the Ring of Honor in the McKale Center. Another of his classmates at Arizona, Zeke Nnaji, will also be inducted into the Ring of Honor after being named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year following the 2019-20 season. As a freshman during the 2019-20 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Green averaged 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and paced the team with 46 steals before being selected 22nd overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2020 NBA Draft. In Tokyo, Green appeared in five games for a total of 15 minutes and scored six points.
Another former Wildcat, current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, was an assistant coach for the United Stats as they posted a 87-82 win over France to claim the gold medal. The United States had lost to France earlier in Tokyo as part of the preliminary round but got their revenge in the closing game. Overall, it's the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for USA men's basketball.
A third former Wildcat, Nico Mannion, helped lead Italy to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual silver medalist France. Mannion averaged 4.5 assists over four games, which ranked ninth at the Olympic Games. He also averaged 12.5 points per game, good for second-best on the Italian team.
Arizona Men's Basketball Ring of Honor Inductees
Here are the 30 players listed in order of enshrinement, including Nnaji and Green, who still have to be formally inducted:
- Bob Elliott, C, 1974-77
- Steve Kerr, G, 1984-88
- Sean Elliott, G/F, 1986-89
- Jud Buechler, F, 1987-90
- Sean Rooks, C, 1989-92
- Chris Mills, F/G, 1991-93
- Khalid Reeves, G, 1991-94
- Damon Stoudamire, G, 1992-95
- Miles Simon, G, 1995-98
- Jason Terry, G, 1996-99
- Mike Bibby, G, 1997-98
- Michael Wright, F, 1999-2001
- Richard Jefferson, F, 1999-2001
- Jason Gardner. G, 2000-03
- Luke Walton, F, 2000-03
- Salim Stoudamire, G, 2002-05
- Gilbert Arenas, G, 2000-01
- Channing Frye, C, 2002-05
- Chase Budinger, F, 2007-09
- Derrick Williams, F, 2010-11
- Andre Iguodala, F, 2003-04
- Aaron Gordon, F, 2014
- Nick Johnson, G, 2012-14
- Stanley Johnson, G, 2015
- Jerryd Bayless, G, 2008
- Deandre Ayton, F, 2018
- Al Fleming Jr., F, 1972-76
- Ernie McCray, C, 1956-60
- Zeke Nnaji, F, 2020 (still to be officially inducted)
- Josh Green, G, 2020 (still to be officially inducted)
The qualifications to be inducted into the Ring of Honor are as follows:
- First Team All-America recognition by one or more of the major national organizations or media
- Major national "player of distinction", e.g. Heisman, Wooden, etc.; and/or national championship Most Valuable or Outstanding Player distinction
- Pac-10/12 Player of the Year or Pac-10/12 Freshman of the Year; and Pac-10/12 Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year
- Arizona Career leader in 3 or more major positive "career" categories at the conclusion of their collegiate career, must hold the career record for a minimum of 5 years (e.g., does not include single game record(s), minutes played, etc.)
- 10+ years in the United States Major Professional Leagues of the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB and/or been selected as an All-Star/All Pro by the official league
- Olympic Medalist
Original source can be found here.
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