Full Text of SR0194 103rd General Assembly
SR0194 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0194 | | LRB103 31882 LAW 60550 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | 3 | | congratulate Billy McKinney on the occasion of the retirement | 4 | | of his Northwestern University basketball jersey; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Northwestern University Athletics and Recreation | 6 | | and the men's basketball program announced that Billy | 7 | | McKinney's jersey would be retired during the 2023-24 | 8 | | basketball season at Welsh-Ryan Arena; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Billy McKinney scored 1,900 career points while | 10 | | playing for the Northwestern Wildcats, a school record that | 11 | | stood for 35 years, and led the team in scoring each season of | 12 | | his career; his total of 768 field goals still stands as the | 13 | | program's all-time record; he earned All-Big Ten recognition | 14 | | in all of his four seasons and garnered First Team | 15 | | All-Conference and All-America honors as a senior when he | 16 | | averaged 21.3 points per game; from 1975 tp 1977 under Head | 17 | | Coach Tex Winter, he was named the first three-time team MVP in | 18 | | program history; he also played for the Northwestern | 19 | | University baseball team; he earned his degree in education in | 20 | | 1977 and was inducted into the Northwestern University | 21 | | Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, From 1978 to 1985, Billy McKinney enjoyed an |
| | | SR0194 | - 2 - | LRB103 31882 LAW 60550 r |
|
| 1 | | eight-year playing career in the NBA with the Kansas City | 2 | | Kings, the Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets, the San Diego | 3 | | Clippers, and the Chicago Bulls; he averaged 8.0 points, 1.4 | 4 | | rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, eclipsing 3,800 career | 5 | | points and 1,600 career assists; he still holds the NBA rookie | 6 | | record for most field goals without a miss, converting 14 | 7 | | straight attempts in a 30-point outburst against the Boston | 8 | | Celtics; due to his quickness, he was nicknamed "The Crazed | 9 | | Hummingbird"; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Following his professional playing career, Billy | 11 | | McKinney served as an executive and scout for the NBA front | 12 | | offices for over 30 years, becoming the first African American | 13 | | front office executive in franchise history; while working as | 14 | | a Chicago Bulls scout, he was the only scout to watch Scottie | 15 | | Pippen play in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, guiding the team to | 16 | | trade for Pippen in 1987 and forming one of the NBA's greatest | 17 | | dynasties with Michael Jordan; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Billy McKinney became the first general manager | 19 | | of the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in 1992; he later | 20 | | worked as the general manager for the Detroit Pistons and the | 21 | | WNBA's Seattle Storm; as the director of scouting for the | 22 | | Milwaukee Bucks, he was instrumental in drafting Giannis | 23 | | Antetokounmpo in 2013; and
|
| | | SR0194 | - 3 - | LRB103 31882 LAW 60550 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Since 2019, Billy McKinney has served as the | 2 | | Mayor of Zion, his hometown; he remains heavily involved with | 3 | | the Northwestern University men's basketball program, serving | 4 | | as the team's radio color analyst alongside Dave Eanet on WGN; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Billy McKinney will be the first student-athlete | 7 | | in school history to have their jersey retired; therefore, be | 8 | | it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 10 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Billy | 11 | | McKinney on the retirement of his basketball jersey at | 12 | | Northwestern University; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to Billy McKinney as an expression of our esteem and | 15 | | respect.
|
|