Ed Ratleff, who starred on the Long Beach State teams that reached the Elite 8 in 1971 and 1972, will be among five players who will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Friday in Kansas City, Missouri.
A 6-foot-6 forward, Ratleff averaged 21.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in his three seasons with the 49ers.
Ratleff holds the school records for single-game scoring, 45 points in a Dec. 10, 1970, game against St. Mary’s, and the single-season assist record, 189 in the 1971-72 season, when he also averaged 21.4 points per game.
Long Beach State lost to eventual national champion UCLA in the West Regional finals in 1971 and 1972.
Ratleff was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team that lost to the Soviet Union and has never accepted its silver medals.
He was selected by the Houston Rockets with the sixth pick in the 1973 NBA draft and played for the team for five seasons.
The other players to be inducted are John Havlicek, Charlie Scott, Rolando Blackman and Quinn Buckner. The coaches to be inducted are Lou Henson, Don Donoher and Zip Gayles.