Duke Athletics: Blue Devils Hall of Fame Class Announced

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 4: Shelden Williams
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 4: Shelden Williams /
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The Duke Athletics Department has released the inductees for this year into the Duke Athletic Hall of Fame.

Heading into Duke’s Hall is Elton Brand, Shelden Williams, Lindsay Harding, Katie Chrest Erbe, Candy Hannemann, Ryan Jackson, Randy Jones, and Bob Harris.

The class is obviously headlined by Brand and Williams who are icons in the history and pedigree of Duke Basketball.

Elton Brand spent two years in Durham before being selected as the top pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. It was that same year that Brand was the ACC Player of the Year.

At Duke, Brand averaged 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

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Brand started the trend at Duke, as he was one of the first players not to stay all four years and enter the NBA early.

Shelden Williams was also a top pick in the NBA Draft. Williams was selected No. 5 overall in the 2006 Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

Williams averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at Duke and has his No. 23 hanging in the rafters of Cameron Indoor.

In 2005 and 2006 Williams was a First Team All-ACC player and in 2005 was named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.

Lindsey Harding was an absolute star at Duke. She was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft and was the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year in her final season at Duke in 2007.

Harding averaged 13.6 points per game in her last year as a Blue Devil, the highest average of her career.

Katie Chrest Erbe is Duke’s all-time career points and goals leader for the Women’s Lacrosse team. She was named the Women’s National Player of the Year in 2007.

Candy Hannemann was a stud on the Duke Women’s Golf team. She led the Lady Blue Devils to the 1999 NCAA Championship, was All-ACC in 2000, was an individual medalist in 2001 at the NCAA Championships, and was the low amateur at the 2001 U.S. Open.

Ryan Jackson was a monster in the middle of the Duke Baseball lineup. When he graduated in 2009 he was the Blue Devils season leader in home runs, 22, and was second in career home runs.

Jackson was drafted in the seventh round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Flordia Marlins and made his debut in 1998 with the Marlins.

Randy Jones played football and ran track while at Duke, but he is a medalist for the American Bobsled team. Jones received the bronze at the 1993 and 1997 Winter Olympics and the silver at the 2003 games.

And the legendary play by play announcer for Duke men’s basketball and football, Bob Harris, will also head into the Duke Hall of Fame. Harris was on the call for 40 years at Duke, broadcasting 456 consecutive football games and 1,358 straight men’s basketball games.

It is a great honor for all of these people to be inducted as their legacy at Duke will be remembered forever. A date has not yet been set for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.