Kentucky State University will honor Travis Grant ’79, the university’s first National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, during halftime of its game against Morehouse College. The game starts at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the William Exum Center on KSU’s campus.
Grant holds the record for the most career points (4,045) for a college basketball player. Known as “The Machine” in college, his accurate arm and aggressive play helped lead the Thorobreds to three consecutive NAIA national championships. He was a 63 percent shooter who during four years at KSU averaged 33.4 points per game (39.5 points his senior year), and he holds the records for most points scored in a single season and in a single game and for scoring average and career field goals. He was the first small college player to receive the Lapchick Trophy for College Basketball Player of the Year.
As a result, Grant was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. His National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class included Larry Bird, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, coaches Gene Bartow and Jud Heathcote and the late University of Oklahoma forward Wayman Tisdale.
The Clayton, Ala., native played for KSU legendary coach Lucias Mitchell. His teammates included Elmore Smith, William Graham, Jerry Stafford and Jerome Brister, considered by some as the best team in Kentucky college basketball history.
Grant was drafted as the Los Angeles Lakers’ 13th pick. He played five years in the NBA and ABA and averaged 25 points in 1974-75 with the San Diego Conquistadors.
After a professional basketball career, Grant has worked as an athletic director, assistant principal and community organizer in the Atlanta, Ga., area. He and his wife, Sharon, have two grown children, Travis III and Amber.
