Paul Silas Part of 2012 MVC Hall of Fame Class

OMAHA, Neb. -- Paul Silas, a three-time All-American basketball player at Creighton from 1961-64, is part of the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame class that will be honored in March. Silas is being honored by the MVC as an "Institutional Great" since he never played in the MVC due to Creighton's independent affiliation at the time.

Silas is one of five players in NCAA history to average more than 20 points (20.5) and 20 rebounds (21.6) during his college career, an elite list that also includes Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Kermit Washington and Artis Gilmore. He owns more rebounds than any player in the last 55 years, remains the only player with multiple games of 36 or more rebounds, and is also the only player in NCAA history with 557 rebounds at least three times.

Silas, who played at Creighton under John J. "Red" McManus, is one of four Bluejay players with his jersey (#35) retired. He is the only player in Creighton history with 25 or more rebounds in a single game, something he did an astounding 22 times in 81 games wearing a Bluejay uniform.

After being selected as the 10th overall pick in the 1964 Draft, Silas won three titles during his 16-year NBA playing career. He has also won 390 games in 10 years as an NBA coach with the Clippers, Hornets, Cavaliers and Bobcats organizations.

The MVC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, March 2, 2012, in St. Louis.

Joining Silas in the 15th MVC Hall of Fame class will be coaching legend/television analyst Charlie Spoonhour of Missouri State, men's soccer coach Fred Schmalz of Evansville, track and field Olympian Connie Price-Smith of Southern Illinois, basketball icon Denny Crum of Louisville and track star Joey Woody of Northern Iowa.

For the ninth time in 10 years, the league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship weekend next March 1-4. The March 2 festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:45 a.m.

Tickets to the 2012 Hall of Fame event – which is scheduled to be held in the newly-renovated Peabody Opera House which is adjacent to Scottrade Center – can be obtained by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300. Seating is limited and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Paul Silas - Career Statistics at Creighton
Year	GP-GS	FG-FGA	FG Pct.	FT-FTA	FT Pct.	Points	PPG	Rebounds	RPG	Fouls-DQ
1961-62	25-25	213-524	.406	125-215	.581	551	22.0	563	22.5	83-3
1962-63	27-27	220-531	.414	133-228	.583	573	21.2	557	20.6	74-2
1963-64	29-29	210-529	.397	117-194	.603	537	18.5	631	21.8	81-3
Totals	81-81	643-1584	.406	375-637	.589	1661	20.5	1751	21.6	238-8

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