Draymond Green highlights Michigan State Athletics' 2022 Hall of Fame class

NBA star Draymond Green and a pair of former football greats highlight the nine-person 2022 Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame Class.

Green will be joined by NFL Hall of Famer Herb Adderley, two-time consensus All-America linebacker Greg Jones as well as men’s track national champion Bob Steele. And for the first time in school history, more women will be inducted than men as former women’s basketball coach and longtime administrator Karen Langeland goes in alongside Kathy DeBoer (volleyball/women’s basketball), Joan Garety (women’s golf), Laura (Heyboer) Heethuis (women's soccer) and Kalisha Keane (women’s basketball).

The Hall of Fame induction will be Sept. 9. Floor Rijpma (field hockey), a member of the 2021 class, will be recognized, too, during the weekend. The class also will be recognized Sept. 10 during the MSU-Akron football game at Spartan Stadium.

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Green, who recently won his fourth NBA title with the Golden State Warriors and earned two Olympic gold medals, is one of four Spartans to win national player of the year; he did it as a senior in 2011-12. The Saginaw native helped lead MSU to the 2009 national title game in Detroit and returned to the Final Four in 2010, finishing his career as the school’s all-time leading rebounder and is one of just three Spartans with 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points. Green’s three career triple-doubles are second in MSU history behind only Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

“To be mentioned with guys like Mateen Cleaves, Magic Johnson, Steve Smith, Bubba Smith and Kirk Gibson is absolutely mind-blowing to me,” Green said in a statement. “It’s an incredible honor. Michigan State was my dream school since I was a child, but the Hall of Fame never even crossed my mind.”

Adderly was MSU’s first and only NFL Hall of Famer from his induction in 1980 until 2003, one of just three Spartans enshrined in Canton and one of four players in pro football history to win six NFL titles. The Philadelphia native earned first-team All-Big Ten honors twice as a halfback in 1958 and 1960, then became a first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers and switched to defensive back and was a five-time All-Pro. He died in 2020 at 81.

Jones arrived nearly 60 years after Adderly and immediately became a cornerstone for coach Mark Dantonio’s rebuild of MSU football from 2007-10. The Cincinnati native earned Freshman All-America honors and then became one of just four MSU players to twice be named a first-team All-American and was a unanimous selection in 2010, when he helped MSU to its first Big Ten title in 20 years. Jones led MSU in tackles four straight seasons, and he still ranks third all-time with 465 stops and 10th with 16.5 sacks.

“I got a little emotional – I was in the middle of training some kids,” said Jones, who lives in suburban Detroit. “I was super excited and couldn’t wait to tell my family. I’m grateful and humbled to be a part of such an elite group of people in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.”

Langeland, a Grand Rapids native, coached MSU's women's hoops program from 1976-2000 and then served in MSU's athletic department until her retirement in 2012. The Calvin College alum won the 1996-97 Big Ten title, the Spartans' first, and was named conference coach of the year in 1988.

“I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything that came from my time at Michigan State,” said Langeland, who won 376 games at the school and produced three NCAA tournament appearances.  “I enjoyed the 24 years I spent coaching the amazing young women who passed through our basketball program. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the department as an administrator where I could not only continue to watch student-athletes grow and develop, but also our coaches and ancillary staff members. My 36 years with Michigan State were incredibly fulfilling, and truly, I feel beyond lucky to be a Spartan for life.”

DeBoer was a two-sport star from 1975-78 before the NCAA officially began sponsoring women's sports in the nascent post-Title IX era. In basketball, DeBoer still ranks fourth at 9.3 rebounds a game and 14th with 17 double-doubles despite playing only two seasons. She also helped MSU to an 82-13 record in volleyball with Big Ten titles and Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women tournament appearances in 1975 and '76.

The Grand Rapids native has been the executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association since 2006. She previously coached volleyball at Ferris State and Kentucky.

“I’ve been a troublemaker on the Title IX front for most of my career, so there’s an irony to it,” DeBoer said of being inducted to MSU’s Hall of Fame during the 50th anniversary of the federal legislation. “What we always say is never waste an anniversary. Never waste a chance to bring attention to issues, to positive things, but also to things that remain undone. Most of the time Hall of Fame inductions are celebratory events, but this one has some pain points. There are a lot of stories to tell about the early days and what it was like, but what is more important is where we are today and the work that still needs to be done.”

Garety golfed at MSU from 1975-78 and remains tied for the school's women's record with nine tournament victories in a time before the Big Ten recognized her sport. The Caro native went on to win two Michigan Amateur Championships, the 1996 Golf Association of Michigan women's title and the GAM 2004 Mid-Amateur title. She also won five GAM Women's Senior Championships and two Michigan Women's Senior Amateur titles.

Heyboer was a four-time All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection from 2008-11. The Hudsonville native earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and remains the MSU women's soccer leader in points (139), goals (57), assists (25) and game-winning goals (19).

Keaned starred for Suzy Merchant's first four women's basketball teams from 2007-11 and remains the only player in program history with at least 1,500 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 250 steals. The native of Ajax, Ontario, and current assistant coach at Dayton earned Associated Press and WBCA honorable mention All-American honors as a senior in 2010-11, then went on to win a bronze medal in 2011 and silver in 2013 for Team Canada at the FIBA Americas Championships.

Steele won the Big Ten and NCAA championship in the 440-yard hurdles in 1966 and repeated his national title in 1967. He helped MSU win the 1965 and '66 Outdoor Big Ten Championships. The Plymouth native also teamed with football players Gene Washington and Clinton Jones in 1966 as the top three hurdlers in the nation.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Draymond Green among Michigan State Athletics 2022 HOF class