Notre Dame will have 10 members in its Ring of Honor when [autotag]John Shumate[/autotag] is inducted into it during the Irish’s Dec. 11 game with Marquette. Irish fans of a certain age will recall that Shumate made many meaningful contributions to the program. As a freshman, he was named MVP of the 1973 NIT. In 1974, he was a consensus First Team All-American, joining a team that featured future Hall of Famers Bill Walton, David Thompson and Jamaal Wilkes.
During his Irish tenure, Shumate averaged 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game while also shooting 61.0% from the field. He was the best player on the 1974 Irish team that famously ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak. No Irish team since has been able to touch its .897 winning percentage that came from its 26-3 record.
Shumate was so good that the Phoenix Suns made him the fourth overall pick in the 1974 draft. After missing his first NBA season, he made the All-Rookie Team. He went on to play five seasons with six different teams. Later, he coached SMU for six seasons and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for one season.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89