Joliet, Ill. – Horace Grant, a four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion and veteran of 17 NBA seasons, will serve as the guest speaker at University of St. Francis’ 46th Annual Brown & Gold Night, it was announced by the school on Wednesday afternoon. The fundraiser will take place inside the Pat Sullivan Center on the campus of USF on Tuesday, March 18.
The annual fundraiser begins with a cash bar at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and the program at 8 p.m. The event will also include both a silent and live auction. No autograph requests will be granted the night of the event.
Tickets are available for $65 each or a table of ten for $650. Corporate sponsorships are also available. For more information, contact the USF Athletic Department at 815-740-3842. To order tickets for the event, go to the USF Athletics website at https://gofightingsaints.com.
About Horace Grant
Horace Grant, who played in six NBA Finals, came away with three consecutive titles with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls (1991-93) and one with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal with the Los Angeles Lakers (2001). He also played on the Orlando Magic team that reached the NBA Finals in 1995 and with the Lakers’ squad that fell to the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
Selected as the 10th overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft out of Clemson University by the Bulls, Grant went on to play seven years (1987-94) in Chicago topped by a 1993-94 season in which he averaged career highs in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (11.0) and assists (3.4).
From there, Grant had two stops in Orlando (1994-99, 2001-02), where he also played seven seasons. His other three years in the NBA were spent with the Seattle SuperSonics (1999-2000) and the Lakers (2000-01, 2003-04).
For his career, Grant averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting .509 from the field. He was recognized on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for four consecutive years between 1993 and 1996 and was named an NBA All-Star in 1994.
Born on July 4, 1965 in Augusta, Ga., along with his twin brother Harvey, who also played 11 seasons in the NBA, Horace Grant became the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to top the league’s charts in scoring (21.0 ppg), rebounding (9.6) and field goal shooting (70.8 pct.) at Clemson. That came in 1987 when he also became the first Tiger player to be named the ACC Player of the Year. He was a Second Team All-American that same winter.
Famous for wearing goggles while playing after being diagnosed with myopia, Grant had the opportunity to shed the trademark eyeglasses following surgery. He opted not to when he learned that he became an inspiration to children that donned eyewear.
Grant becomes the fifth member of the Bulls organization to attend Brown & Gold, joining former teammates John Paxson and Bill Cartwright, as well as Doug Collins, Johnny “Red” Kerr and Tim Floyd.
Others who have spoken at the event include John Wooden, Al McGuire, Ray Meyer, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Fergie Jenkins, Frank Thomas, Joe Maddon, David Ross, Dan Gable and Denis Savard.
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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 3,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.
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