Jan. 31, 2013

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a standout for the Golden Bears during the 1995-96 season, was selected for induction to the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor. The former Cal star will be inducted during a ceremony on Saturday, March 16, prior to the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Abdur-Rahim is one of 11 former student-athletes and one former coach with their induction into the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor. He joins Jason Gardner (Arizona), Dennis Hamilton (Arizona State), Cliff Meely (Colorado), Chuck Rask (Oregon), Charlie Sitton (Oregon State), Ron Tomsic (Stanford), Lucius Allen (UCLA), Forrest Twogood (USC), Keith Van Horn (Utah), Nate Robinson (Washington) and James McKean (Washington State).

Abdur-Rahim averaged 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during his freshman season in Berkeley. He was the first freshman in Pac-12 (then Pac-10) history to win conference Player of the Year honors, and was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. Abdur-Rahim also set the single-season freshman records for points, scoring average, field goals, and free throws.

He surpassed 20 points 15 times, including four games with 30 or more points. The Golden Bear received the 1996 National Freshman of the Year and was named to five All-American teams. In addition, Abdur-Rahim was a finalist for the John Wooden Award, he was also the USBWA District 8 Player of the Year. He broke the Cal freshman record for scoring averaging, as well as swiping 52 steals and blocking 35 shots.

Abdur-Rahim entered the NBA draft in 1996 and was the third overall pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, 1996-2001 for the Vancouver Grizzlies, 2001-2004 for the Atlanta Hawks and 2004-2008 the Sacramento Kings. He was named an NBA all-star in 2002.

The former Cal star also was a member of the 2000 gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team. He is currently in his third year as the assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings after previously serving two seasons as an assistant coach.

Abdur-Rahim returned to Cal to complete his sociology degree and graduated with a 3.8 grade point average this past spring.