George Irvine, who re-wrote the University of Washington basketball record book during his three seasons (1968-70) with the Huskies, will be inducted into the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor Saturday in Los Angeles, prior to the tip-off the conference tournament championship game at Staples Center.
Irvine started all three of his varsity seasons, leading UW in scoring i his junior (15.6 ppg) and senior (20.0) seasons. He also topped Washington in rebounding as a sophomore (7.6) and a junior (7.5).
In addition, Irvine, who played under head coach Tex Winter, led the Huskies in field goal percentage all three years. When he departed, he was the school’s all-time leader in that category (58.8). Irvine now ranks fourth on that list.
Irvine scored 1,314 points, 21st on the Husky career list. As a senior, he made All-Pac-8.
After Irvine’s senior season, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) and Virginia Squires (American Basketball Association). Irvine signed with the Squires, for whom he played five years. He spent his last two seasons with the Denver Nuggets, his career ending with a knee injury in 1977.
The 6-6, 200-pound Irvine, who attended Ballard High School before enrolling at Washington, averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in his 325-game ABA career.
Starting in 1980, Irvine spent 25 years in the NBA as a head coach, assistant coach and vice president of basketball operations. Irvine started out as an assistant coach, pulling stints with the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors, before getting shots as a head coach for Indiana and Detroit.
Irvine coached the Pacers from 1984-89 and the Pistons from 1999-01. He posted a record of 100-190 as a head coach.
Following his coaching career, Irvine worked in the Pacers’ front office, helping assemble the club’s successful teams during the 1990’s.
Joining Irvine in the 2012 Pac-12 Hall of Honor class are Richard Jefferson (Arizona), Kurt Nimphius (Arizona State), Lamond Murray (California), Burdette Haldorson (Colorado), Jim Barnett (Oregon), A.C. Green (Oregon State), George Selleck (Stanford), Ed O’Bannon (UCLA), Sam Barry (USC), Arnie Ferrin (Utah), Steve Puidokas (Washington State).
Irvine becomes the 11th Husky enshrined in the Pac-12 Hall of Honor. The complete list of Huskies enshrined, and their years of induction.
| Year | Player | Pos. | Career | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Bob Houbregs | C | 1951-53 | Led UW to the Final Four in 1953 |
| 2003 | Marv Harshman | Coach | 1970-85 | At UW 14 years; 246 wins |
| 2004 | James Edwards | C | 1973-76 | All-America in 1976; 19 years in NBA |
| 2005 | Jack Nichols | C | 1944-48 | All-America in 1948; played in NBA |
| 2006 | Steve Hawes | C | 1970-72 | No. 9 on the UW’s scoring list |
| 2007 | Chris Welp | C | 1984-87 | Leading scorer in Husky history |
| 2008 | Louie Nelson | G | 1971-73 | 1,504 points, No. 2 among UW guards |
| 2009 | Detlef Schrempf | F | 1982-85 | Led Washington to 2 Pac-10 titles |
| 2010 | Eldridge Recasner | G | 1987-90 | 1,700 points, No. 7 on UW career list |
| 2011 | Todd MacCulloch | C | 1996-99 | Led NCAA in FG% three years |
| 2012 | George Irvine | F | 1968-70 | Selected All-Pac-8 in senior year |
6 Comments
Nice to see this…brought back some childhood memories.
When I was first becoming a basketball fan in the late 60’s as a grade schooler, George Irvine was the big star of the Huskies, although I remember Steve Hawes coming on as a sophomore during George’s senior year (didn’t Jay Bond start at center for the UW at the start of 1969-70?). This brings me back to the days of watching those guys along with Rafael Stone and Dave Willenborg playing on TV against Stan Love and Oregon (Hawes and Love had some great games against each other), Vic Bartolome and Oregon State, and Seattle U with Tommy Little, Leaping Lou West and Gary Ladd. I started loosely following Seattle Pacific and players like John Glancy, Jim Ballard and Larry Quesnell the same year, too. This was all after I’d become a Sonics fan the year before.
Good, less cynical times to be a basketball fan.
Thanks so much for your response. Interesting thing about Stan Love. He was a cousin of Mike Love, lead singer for the Beach Boys.
That’s right. Stan was actually a very talented player, but his desire was something else. I actually read a book that was his diary of an NBA season, but I recall that he stopped writing it not long after the first of the year so the book ended well before the regular season did. That I see nothing ironic in that maybe says it all. Not sure where Kevin (who I was hoping the Sonics would draft instead of Russell Westbrook that last summer) got his heart for the game, but I don’t think it’s from dad.
Nice to see this…brought back some childhood memories.
When I was first becoming a basketball fan in the late 60’s as a grade schooler, George Irvine was the big star of the Huskies, although I remember Steve Hawes coming on as a sophomore during George’s senior year (didn’t Jay Bond start at center for the UW at the start of 1969-70?). This brings me back to the days of watching those guys along with Rafael Stone and Dave Willenborg playing on TV against Stan Love and Oregon (Hawes and Love had some great games against each other), Vic Bartolome and Oregon State, and Seattle U with Tommy Little, Leaping Lou West and Gary Ladd. I started loosely following Seattle Pacific and players like John Glancy, Jim Ballard and Larry Quesnell the same year, too. This was all after I’d become a Sonics fan the year before.
Good, less cynical times to be a basketball fan.
Thanks so much for your response. Interesting thing about Stan Love. He was a cousin of Mike Love, lead singer for the Beach Boys.
That’s right. Stan was actually a very talented player, but his desire was something else. I actually read a book that was his diary of an NBA season, but I recall that he stopped writing it not long after the first of the year so the book ended well before the regular season did. That I see nothing ironic in that maybe says it all. Not sure where Kevin (who I was hoping the Sonics would draft instead of Russell Westbrook that last summer) got his heart for the game, but I don’t think it’s from dad.