WOAY – Princeton native and former WVU men’s basketball standout Rod Thorn has been named part of the Class of 2020 to the Southern Conference Hall of Fame.
Thorn, who was born in Weirton but grew up in Princeton, averaged 21.8 points per game in three seasons with the Mountaineers (1961-63), as WVU won three regular-season and two tournament championships. He was a two-time Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year, and also played first baseman on the WVU baseball team. Thorn played professional basketball for eight years before becoming an executive; as general manager for the Chicago Bulls, he was instrumental in the team picking Michael Jordan third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Thorn is a 1992 inductee into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and a 2018 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. His #44 jersey at WVU was retired in February 2020.
Also in the Class of 2020 is Lynne Agee (UNC Greensboro women’s basketball), Eric Breitenstein (Wofford football), Terrell Owens (Chattanooga football/men’s basketball/men’s track & field), and Wayne Tolleson (Western Carolina baseball/football).
*Photo courtesy Southern Conference
