BLOOMINGTON, Ind — An Indianapolis basketball legend is taking his place in another hall of fame.
Indiana University announced this week George McGinnis is among six people who will be inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame this fall.
McGinnis led George Washington High School to the state basketball championship in 1969, then played one season of varsity basketball for the Hoosiers. That season, he led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding - averaging 29.9 points and 14.7 rebounds as a sophomore in 1970-71.
He left Bloomington with two years of eligibility remaining, due to hardship, and signed with the Indiana Pacers, who then played in the American Basketball Association. He led the Pacers to two ABA championships while playing four years under coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard and was named co-MVP with Julius Irving after the 1974-75 season.
He moved to the NBA in 1976, playing seven years in the league, scoring over 17,000 points in his 11 seasons of professional basketball.
McGinnis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, the seventh person with IU basketball connections named to the hall.
Joining McGinnis in the IU hall of fame this fall will be track and field athlete Derek Drouin, soccer player Aleksey Korol, diver Christina Loukas, tennis player Tina McCall Waters and team physician Larry Rink, who has worked with Hoosier athletes since 1980.
The group will be formally inducted at a dinner on Friday, Sept. 22 and introduced to the crowd at IU's home football game against Akron the following day.