Men's Basketball | May 22, 2017

NEW YORK - La Salle University men's basketball alum and current TV analyst Bill Raftery has been chosen as one of three recipients of the 2017 Lapchick Character Award, it was announced recently. Davidson head men's basketball coach Bob McKillop and TV analyst Doris Burke are the other two award winners that will be honored on Friday, Oct. 6 at a luncheon in New York.

The luncheon will celebrate the life of Joe Lapchick, a Hall of Fame coach with St. John's and the New York Knicks, who was known for his compassion and integrity off the court.

Raftery, a three-year player for the Explorers from 1960-63, averaged 17.8 points as a sophomore and co-captained the team to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in his senior season. La Salle's first ever honorary inductee into the Hall of Athletes, he received an honorary doctorate from La Salle in 2001. 

One of TV sport's glibbest analysts, there are dictionaries to explain Raftery's catchphrases such as "Onions" and "The Kiss." It has been 25 years since Raftery became an analyst for ESPN and two years since he has been on the Final Four broadcast for CBS. From 1970-1981, he served as head coach at Seton Hall, where he led the Pirates to seven straight winning seasons and a record of 154-141. 

McKillop, who played at Hofstra and coached at Holy Trinity and Long Island Lutheran high schools on Long Island, has gone on to a stellar career at Davidson where he has compiled a 533-330 record. In 2015, Davidson's first season as a member of the Atlantic 10, the Wildcats won the regular-season title.

Burke has been with ESPN since 1991 and she has performed a variety of duties there. Whether a color analyst or a sideline reporter, Burke has worked both men's and women's college games as well as covering the NBA. A former standout at Providence College who held seven records upon graduation, Burke received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2005.

The Lapchick Award was first presented in 2008. Previous winners include Naismith Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski, Lou Carnesecca, Dean Smith, Pat Summitt, John Thompson Jr., Bob Hurley Sr., Pete Carril, Jody Conradt, Morgan Wootten, Pete Newell, C.M. Newton, Don Haskins and Kay Yow.