BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts, Ole Miss’ Justin Reed, and Alabama’s Erwin Dudley were announced Friday Southeastern Conference Legends who will be honored March 13-17 at the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Each SEC Basketball Legend will be recognized at halftime of his institution’s first game at the tournament.
This is the 21st year of the SEC Basketball Legends program.
Roberts was a two-time All-SEC First-Team selection during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons at MSU after he transferred from Baylor. He became MSU’s first consensus All-America First-Team honoree since Bailey Howell in the late 1950’s and was named SEC Player of the Year in 2003-04.
Roberts is one of four players to average a double-double in their MSU career. He was an instrumental part to the Bulldogs winning the 2004 SEC regular-season title.
Roberts was a second round pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2005 NBA draft before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he spent two seasons before spending several professional seasons in Europe.
Dudley played at the Capstone from 2000-03 and helped guide the Crimson Tide to the NCAA tournament in each of his final two seasons. The three-time All-SEC performer finished his career with 1,775 points, which ranks eighth in program history and 1,184 career rebounds, which is fourth-best in school lore.
As a junior, the Uniontown, Alabama, native earned The Associated Press Third Team All-America honors and was the 2002 SEC Player of the Year — the last Alabama player to achieve that feat. That season, Dudley averaged 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, which led the league.
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