KNOXVILLE — Former University of Tennessee basketball player Steve Hamer will be inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame as part of its 2020 class.
The ceremony will be held virtually on July 31.
Hamer, a 7-footer, played for the Vols between 1992-96 and he might have gone down as one of the program’s all-time greats had he not played on some of Tennessee’s worst teams.
During his career on Rocky Top, Hamer played for two coaches in Wade Houston and Kevin O’Neill and when the Volunteers dismissed Houston, he almost left college basketball, but he did not.
He stayed and finished his career under O’Neil.
The decision to remain in Knoxville paid off for Hamer, a Memphis native. He never played on a winning team at Tennessee, but managed to be taken in the 1996 NBA Draft.
Hamer, who recently earned his degree in journalism and electronic media, was selected in the second round by the Boston Celtics. He was the 38th overall pick and played two years in Boston.
He appeared in 35 games in his NBA career before being cut.