Wally Szczerbiak
Birthdate: March 5, 1977
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
High School: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1995)
College: Miami University (1999)
Year Inducted: 2013
Welcome to Wally World! That’s what they were saying in Oxford during Wally Szczerbiak’s career at Miami University. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooting forward made the All-Mid American Conference first team in 1998 and 1999 and was a unanimous choice as MAC player of the year in 1999 when he averaged 24.2 points as the Redhawks won 24 games and made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time. His 43-point, 12-rebound performance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament lifted 10th-seeded Miami to a 59-58 victory over No. 7 seed Washington. He followed it with 24 points in an upset of No. 2 seed Utah and 23 in a loss to Kentucky. His 30-point average was the highest in the tournament. With 1,847 points, Szczerbiak is MU’s second-leading scorer all-time. He is Miami’s career record-holder in 3-point field goal percentage and its single season leader in points, free throws and 3-point accuracy. Selected sixth overall by Minnesota in the 1999 NBA draft, Szczerbiak played 10 years in the NBA – six-plus with the T-Wolves and short stints with Boston, Seattle and Cleveland. He averaged 14.1 points.
Watch Wally Szczerbiak’s Enshrinement Speech:
