The Washington Huskies and Washington St. Cougars have given fans some incredible moments over the years. While every player leaves his mark on the program, there are those who stand out above the rest. For their achievements at UW and WSU, George Irvine and Steve Puidokas were selected for the Pac-12 Hall Of Honor for the 2011-2012 season.
We have the rest of the details after the page jump...
From the official media release out of the Pac-12 offices:
George Irvine, Washington - Irvine tore up the record books and made a mark on the program that remains visible today. Irvine started all three years (1968-70) as a Husky and led the team in scoring inboth his junior (15.6 ppg) and senior seasons (20.0 ppg), respectively. He also led the team in rebounding during his sophomore year (7.6 rpg) and his junior year (7.5 rpg). Irvine led the Huskies in field goal percentage each of his three years on the varsity team and would leave the program in 1970 as the school's all-time field goal percentage leader (.588), a mark that would stand until 1987. Irvine now ranks fourth on that list and currently is 21st on UW's all-time scoring list with 1,314 points.
His show-stopping play earned him a spot on the All-Pac-8 team his senior season. In 1970, Irvine was drafted by both the NBA Seattle SuperSonics and the ABA Virginia Squires. He opted to sign with the Squires and played five years with the team, then two seasons with the Denver Nuggets before suffering a career-ending knee injury in 1977.
In 1980, Irvine embarked on a 25-year career in the NBA working as an assistant coach, head coach and vice president of basketball. He started as an assistant coach in stints with the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors, but would also get his shot as a head coach for Indiana and Detroit. Irvine also worked in the Pacers' front office helping to assemble their successful teams during the 1990's.
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Steve Puidokas, Washington State - When Puidokas arrived at WSU in the fall of 1973, head coach George Raveling was attempting to resurrect a struggling Cougar basketball program. By the time Puidokas left the Palouse, he had set five school records. He became the first basketballplayer and only the second student-athlete in WSU history to have his jersey number retired when he was honored in 1977.
As a freshman, the center averaged 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds a game, earning All-District 8 honors, second team All-Pacific-8 recognition and third team All-West Coast accolades. As a sophomore, Puidokas set school records with 42 points against Gonzaga, averaged a league-leading 22.4 points per game, and again was named a second team All-Pac-8 selection. During his junior campaign, Puidokas averaged 18.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per outing while garnering second team All-Pacific-8 honors for the third straight season. He became WSU's all-time leading scorer that season. Puidokas capped his career at WSU by averaging 17.2 points and 9.7 rebounds during his senior season. He left WSU as the Cougars' all-time leader with 1,894 points and 992 rebounds. He earned a second team All-West Coast selection, was a District 8 all-star and was named second team All-Pac-8 for the fourth time, making him the first of two WSU players ever to be awarded all-conference honors four straight years.
At the end of his career, he ranked fourth on the all-time Pac-8 list in scoring and seventh in rebounding. Puidokas still holds the WSU career marks for scoring average (18.6 points per game), field goals (734) and rebounds (992). Afterwrapping up his career in Pullman, he played for several years in Europe. Puidokas passed away in 1994 at 40 years old.
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A big congratulations to both players. They will be enshrined into the Hall Of Honor the week of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Los Angeles.