Barnes, Stackhouse, Strange top NC Sports Hall of Fame class

Tue, Jan 24, 2023
Other News (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes, former NBA star and Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse and former PGA Tour golfer Curtis Strange headline this year's class for the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

The hall released its 15-member class Tuesday ahead of their formal induction on April 21.

Barnes is a native of Hickory who previously coached at Clemson and Texas before his current stint with the Volunteers. Stackhouse is from Kinston and played in college at North Carolina before a long NBA career.

Strange played in college at Wake Forest and led the Demon Deacons to the 1974 national championship while claiming the individual title, then went on to win 17 titles on the PGA Tour. He also played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams and has worked as a TV golf commentator.

The class also includes Bob "Stonewall" Jackson, who became the first Black player from a historically Black college or university to be drafted by an NFL team. Jackson was a World War II veteran who returned to play four years at what is now North Carolina A&T, and also went on to coach at Johnson C. Smith and North Carolina Central.