Source: USF
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bill Cartwright, a three-time All-American at USF who led the Dons to national prominence in the 1970’s before going onto a 16-year NBA career, is one of five people included on the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame’s list of 2017 inductees.
Cartwright joins Russell Baze (horse racing), Carmen Policy (football/distinguished achievement), Kerri Jennings Walsh (volleyball) and Matt Williams (baseball) in BASHOF’s 2017 induction class. The group will be will be inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame at the 38th Annual BASHOF Enshrinement Banquet on Monday, April 24 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.
A native of Lodi, Calif. who attended Elk Grove High School, Cartwright is USF’s all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points and ranks third all-time with 1,137 rebounds. He graduated as the WCC’s all-time leading scorer and his point total still ranks sixth all-time in conference annals while his rebounding total ranks eighth. Cartwright still holds the school’s single-season record for field goal percentage, making 66.7 of his shots from the floor during his senior season of 1978-79.
During his four-year career on the Hilltop from 1975-79, USF posted a 93-22 (.808) record, including a 45-7 (.865) mark in WCC play, captured three conference titles and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one NIT appearance.
During his sophomore season of 1976-77, the Dons won their first 29 games of the season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the majority of the season. Following the season, Cartwright earned his first of three WCC Player of the Year honors and was named a second team All-American by AP and UPI. He earned first team All-America honors as a junior (Converse) and senior (USBWA).
The third overall selection in the 1979 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, Cartwright played 16 seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle Sonics. As a player, he won three NBA titles with legendary Bulls’ teams on the early 90’s and added two more rings as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson in 1997 and ’98. He also served as head coach of the Bulls during the 2001-02 season.
Last April, Cartwright returned to USF as Director of University Initiatives and was also inducted into the WCC’s Hall of Honor.
Cartwright joins K.C. Jones (1986), Ollie Matson (1983), Steve Negoesco (2010), Pete Newell (1984), Bill Russell (1980), Bob St. Clair (1991) and Phil Woolpert (2001) as former USF standouts who were selected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Each year, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame prepares a ballot and solicits votes from all major media outlets in the Bay Area. There are three ballots: Contemporary (after 1980), Veteran (Prior to 1980) and Distinguished Service. From the results of the ballots, 4-5 new inductees are selected annually. Through 2016, there have been 165 persons inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
About the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that began in 1979 with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s Sports Committee and Lou Spadia, former president of the San Francisco 49ers. Now in its 38th year and adhering to its goal of honoring local athletic legends in the name of benefiting youth sports, BASHOF has donated close to $4 million to youth sports programs in the Bay Area to over 600 youth organizations in the Bay Area.
