John Shumate to be inducted into Notre Dame Ring of Honor
Notre Dame will have 10 members in its Ring of Honor when John Shumate is inducted into it during the Irish’s Dec. 11 game with Marquette. Irish fans of a certain age will recall that Shumate made many meaningful contributions to the program. As a freshman, he was named MVP of the 1973 NIT. In 1974, he was a consensus First Team All-American, joining a team that featured future Hall of Famers Bill Walton, David Thompson and Jamaal Wilkes.
During his Irish tenure, Shumate averaged 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game while also shooting 61.0% from the field. He was the best player on the 1974 Irish team that famously ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak. No Irish team since has been able to touch its .897 winning percentage that came from its 26-3 record.
Shumate was so good that the Phoenix Suns made him the fourth overall pick in the 1974 draft. After missing his first NBA season, he made the All-Rookie Team. He went on to play five seasons with six different teams. Later, he coached SMU for six seasons and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for one season.
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