Inaugural Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Legends

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – University of Dayton all-time great, Donald “Monk” Meineke, has been selected to be a part of the charter Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Legends Class. The A-10 Legends program salutes those who helped shape the basketball programs of A-10 member schools into what they have become today.

 "The A-10 Legends program honors those who made an impact on their respective basketball programs that lasts even today,” UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Tim Wabler said. “It is fitting that Monk Meineke, our first NBA player, our first 1,000 point scorer, and the top player on the first Dayton team to play in a national tournament and put the Flyers in the college basketball spotlight, is our first A-10 Men's Basketball Legend."

 The first NBA Rookie of the Year in 1953, Meineke was the top player on teams that generated the University of Dayton’s first 20-win season in 1950, its first NIT appearance in 1951 and its only season with NIT and NCAA berths in 1952. The Flyers advanced to the NIT championship game in 1951 and 1952, and also earned UD’s first NCAA tournament win in 1952.

 Meineke was the first member of UD’s 1,000-point club and remains the sixth-leading scorer in school history with 1,866 career points.  The 6-7 local product (Dayton’s Wilbur Wright High School) led the nation in field goal percentage as a junior and was named Third-Team All-America by the Helms Foundation and Converse.  As a senior, he averaged 21.1 points a game and was named Second Team All-America by the Helms Foundation, Look Magazine, and the Associated Press.

 Joining Meineke in the charter class of the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Legends are Butler’s Tony Hinkle, Charlotte’s Cedric “Cornbread Maxwell, Duquesne’s Chuck Cooper, Fordham’s Johnny Bach, GW’s Red Auerbach, La Salle’s Tom Gola, Massachusetts’ Lou Roe, Rhode Island Steve Chubin, Richmond’s Johnny Newman, St. Bonaventure’s Earl Belcher, St. Joe’s Mike Bantom, Saint Louis’ Anthony Bonner, Temple’s John Chaney, VCU Gerald Henderson and Xavier’s Skip Prosser.

 “The considerable contributions each of these gentlemen made to their institution and its basketball program played an important role in shaping the foundation of men’s basketball in the Atlantic 10,” stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “Each is a part of the fabric of A-10 history and we’re thrilled to be able to honor them.”

 The A-10 Legends will be honored on Saturday, March 16 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn during the Atlantic 10 basketball championships.