Men’s Basketball to Retire Jersey Number of Great Don Chaney

HOUSTON – For his award-winning careers with both University of Houston Men's Basketball and the NBA and for his legacy as a courageous trailblazer, Cougar great Don Chaney will receive the team's highest honor with the retirement of his No. 24 jersey.

Chaney's No. 24 jersey will be honored and his banner hung inside Fertitta Center during a halftime ceremony at the Cougars' 5 p.m., Feb. 1 game against Big 12 Conference rival Texas Tech.

Chaney will join center Elvin Hayes (#44), guard Otis Birdsong (#10), guard Clyde Drexler (#22), center Hakeem Olajuwon (#34) and forward Michael Young (#42) as the only Cougars to have their jersey numbers retired. Head Coach Guy V. Lewis and UH alum and CBS Sports broadcasting great Jim Nantz also are recognized with banners hanging in Fertitta Center.

"Don Chaney is the poster child for what we want a University of Houston student-athlete to look like. His contributions, the way he played and the impact he had tell his story," Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Don gave Coach (Guy V.) Lewis a tremendous foundation as a point guard, who could guard the other team's best player. He knew how to run his team. If he needed to get 20 (points), he got 20; if not, he knew how to win. I don't know what Don Chaney's statistics are. I do know that when you go back and look at the way he played, during his era, he was one of the best point guards in the nation on one of the best teams in the nation.

"When he left here, he became a tremendous ambassador for the University of Houston. When players leave the University of Houston, there are some for whom you say 'Man, I'm proud of that guy. What an honor it was for us to have him come through here.' Don Chaney is one of those."

AS a HOUSTON COUGAR
A native of Baton Rouge, La., and product of McKinley High School, Chaney joined the Cougars under Lewis in the fall of 1964 during a time of civil unrest in the nation.

With his Men's Basketball teammate Elvin Hayes, Chaney joined with Football running back Warren McVea as the first African-American student-athletes on the UH campus and among the first in the South.

While not able to compete as a freshman in 1964-65 due to existing NCAA rules, Chaney began play as a sophomore during the 1965-66 season and helped establish the Cougars as of the nation's elite programs.

Over three years, Chaney's Houston teams posted an 81-12 record with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first trips to the NCAA Final Four in 1966 and 1967.

As a junior in 1966-67, Chaney averaged a career-high 15.3 points per game as the Cougars took an 83-75 win over SMU to advance to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in program history.

One year later and serving as a team captain, Chaney guided one of the greatest teams in college basketball history. The Cougars won their first 31 games en route to their second straight NCAA Final Four appearance.

Along the way, the second-ranked Cougars faced #1 UCLA inside the Houston Astrodome in front of more than 52,000 fans in the Game of the Century, an event that was shown across the nation and revolutionized the way college basketball was seen.

Playing all 40 minutes, Chaney posted 11 points with six rebounds and added a pair of assists as the Cougars took a 71-69 win over the Bruins to take over the top spot in the national polls.

Chaney averaged 13.0 points and a career-high 5.8 rebounds per game on the way to being named to the All-America Third Team and joined the Cougars' 1,000-Point Club with 1,133 points.

Chaney was twice recognized as an NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team member and USBWA All-District and NABC selections.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
However, Chaney's career did not end with his Cougar playing days… far from it.

Following the 1967-68 season, Chaney was taken with the No. 12 overall pick in the First Round of the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics to begin an 11-year NBA career with the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. He has the distinction of being the only Celtic to play with both Bill Russell and Larry Bird in his career and was a member of two NBA world championship teams with the Celtics in 1969 and 1974.

During his NBA career, Chaney score more than 6,200 points with 492 steals and nearly 200 blocked shots and was named to the league's All-Defensive Second Team five times.

When his playing career was over, Chaney stepped into the coaching ranks to begin a 22-year career at that level with nine seasons as a head coach with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.

Chaney led the Rockets during the 1990-91 season and guided the team to a 14-1 record in March on the way to a 52-30 record, the franchise's first 50-win season in five seasons. For his and his team's impressive efforts, Chaney was named the 1991 NBA Coach of the Year.

In addition to his NBA experience, Chaney was an assistant coach on the US National Team, which won the gold medal at the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto, winning every game by 15+ points.

He received the Athletics Department's highest honor when he was named to its Hall of Honor in 1981 and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Enjoying life in retirement with his wife, Jackie, Chaney earned the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Houston Alumni Association in 2024.

The University of Houston Men's Basketball program has a rich tradition and excellence throughout its history. Today's teams continue to build upon the foundation that was first laid by its greatest Cougars, like Don Chaney.

UP NEXT
• Following Wednesday's game, Houston hits the road to meet Kansas inside Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 25. That game can be seen on ESPN.
• Houston closes the month of January when it faces West Virginia for the second time this season, this time at 6 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, Jan. 29, inside WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. That game will air on ESPN+.
• From there, the Cougars open the month of February when they play host to Texas Tech at 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1. That game will air on ESPN or ESPN2. The Cougars will wear their Houston Blue uniforms for the first time against the Red Raiders.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC and the Varsity Network app.

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