Arguably the most decorated big-man in Mizzou men’s basketball history, former Tiger standout Steve Stipanovich has been named a 2023 Allstate® SEC Basketball Legend, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
The annual SEC Basketball Legends class will be honored at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament from March 8-12 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stipanovich is a 1983 All-American and the 1983 Big Eight Player of the Year. The 7-foot center steered four consecutive conference championships from 1980-83 and two Sweet 16 appearances. Nicknamed “Stipo”, the St. Louis native racked up back-to-back first-team All-Big Eight honors in 1982 and 1983 after claiming Big Eight Newcomer of the Year recognition.
As a senior, he became Mizzou’s all-time leading scorer with 1,836 points and the Tigers’ all-time leading rebounder with 984 boards. Stipanovich still ranks fourth all-time in program history in scoring, fourth all-time in field goals made with 709, third all-time in blocked shots with 149 swats and third all-time in rebounding. He finished with 34 double-doubles, which still ranks fifth all-time at Mizzou.
Stipanovich was selected second overall in the 1983 NBA Draft and played six seasons with the Indiana Pacers. He remains the highest draft pick in school history. Stipanovich was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990 and is one of eight players with their jersey retired in the Mizzou Arena rafters.
The 2023 SEC Legends Class also includes Jerry Harper, Alabama; Nick Davis, Arkansas; Layton Johns, Auburn; Chris Richard, Florida; Rod Cole, Georgia; Vernon Hatton, Kentucky; Collis Temple III, LSU; Eric Laird, Ole Miss; Jerry Jenkins, Mississippi State; Tre’ Kelly, South Carolina; Lang Wiseman, Tennessee; David Britton, Texas A&M; Butch Feher, Vanderbilt.
