BATON ROUGE – LSU Basketball All-American Durand “Rudy” Macklin, who led the rise of LSU basketball to a national power in the late 1970s and to the NCAA Final Four in 1981, will have his jersey retired in ceremonies at halftime of the LSU-Kentucky basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 6.
The LSU-Kentucky game is set for 3 p.m. and will be televised by the SEC Network. Less than 500 tickets remained for the game at the close of business on Friday. Tickets can be purchased online at LSUsports.net or at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office beginning at 8 a.m. Monday morning.
The LSU basketball legend joins an elite group of former athletes and coaches whose jerseys have been retired in the 116-year history of Athletics. Only four jerseys presently hang from the rafters of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center – Bob Pettit, Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal in men’s basketball; and, the most recent addition, women’s basketball star Seimone Augustus, the first female in LSU Athlete to have a jersey retired.
“Rudy Macklin helped change the course of LSU basketball in the 1970s,” said LSU Vice-Chancellor/Director of Athletics Joe Alleva. “This is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a former LSU athlete and Rudy Macklin is truly deserving of this recognition. “He distinguished himself during his LSU basketball career and continues to represent LSU and our state with pride and dignity. This is a very significant honor in LSU athletics history.”
Macklin was a two-time basketball All-American selection during his Tiger career from 1976-81 during which time he became LSU’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,276 boards and the second-leading scorer in school history behind only the legendary Maravich with 2,080 points.
Macklin’s arrival at LSU began a new era of Tiger Basketball as he shunned the basketball powers in his home state of Kentucky to join Dale Brown‘s program in Baton Rouge. He led the Tigers to two Elite Eight appearances and the 1981 Final Four in Philadelphia. He still holds the school single game rebound record with 32, a mark like some of the great records in any sport that may never be broken. Amazingly, that record came in his first collegiate game against Tulane.
He overcame a broken leg at the start of his junior season to have his two best years and lead LSU to the SEC Tournament Title and Elite 8 in 1980 and then a 17-1 SEC Championship record in 1981 and the NCAA Final Four after winning the regional finals in front of a raucous crowd at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1981 NBA draft and played several seasons for the Hawks and the New York Knicks.
Macklin will be the special guest of Coach Trent Johnson Monday night at Walk-Ons on “The Trent Johnson Show” on the LSU Sports Radio Network at 7 p.m.
To have a jersey retired at LSU, an athlete must have completed intercollegiate competition for LSU a minimum of five years prior to nomination. Athletes must have demonstrated truly unusual and outstanding accomplishments, exceeding and in addition to all criteria used for Hall of Fame selection. The athletic performance must be considered unique, such as winning of a Heisman Trophy or National Player of the Year award, and should be based on the total LSU career. Athletes may also be considered for making dramatic impact on the popularity of his or her sport or for significant participation in positive change in LSU Athletics. Nominees must have a unanimous vote of support from the Hall of Fame committee.
The retirement of the jersey of Macklin comes under a new provision of the LSU jersey retirement bylaws that says the retirement of an athlete’s jersey in a particular sport does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach. This provision applies only to jerseys retired after January 1, 2007, so the numbers worn by Maravich, Pettit, O’Neal, Cannon and Bertman may never again be worn by future student-athletes in their respective sports.