Texas, California Baptist, San Jose State, and Northern Colorado to compete in the 2021 Abe Lemons Classic
July 6, 2021 –
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Abe Lemons Classic featuring nationally ranked Texas along with California Baptist, San Jose State, and Northern Colorado will tip-off Wednesday, November 17.
“We are excited to compete in an event which will honor the legacy of the late Coach Abe Lemons, one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball and a member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor,” Texas head coach Chris Beard said. “I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Lemons and spending time with him during my first year as an assistant with Coach Knight. Coach Lemons was truly one of a kind. His sense of humor and personality were second to none. He was the ultimate winner as a coach, and his teams played innovative styles and with a commitment to teamwork. Coach Lemons is a Texas legend.”
“The Abe Lemons Classic is another early step to Unite the Texas Basketball Family,” Beard continued. “It is a great opportunity to honor Coach Lemons and his family while also recognizing and embracing all of Coach’s former players and staff.”
Known for both his success on the court and folksy humor off the court, A. E. “Abe” Lemons coached for 34 years in stops at Oklahoma City University (twice), The University of Texas and UT-Pan American. He registered an all-time mark of 599-343 before retiring after the 1989-90 season. Lemons began his career at Oklahoma City in 1955 and won more than 300 games in 18 seasons before moving to Pan American.
He served as head coach at Texas for five seasons (1977-82). During his time in Austin, Lemons led the Longhorns to an overall record of 110-63 (.636), including the 1978 NIT Championship and back-to-back Southwest Conference titles in 1977-78 and 1978-79. Inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1994, he passed in 2002.
The complete schedule is as follows (tip times and television networks will be announced at a later date):
—– Wednesday, November 17 —–
Northern Colorado at Texas
—– Thursday, November 18 —–
San Jose State at California Baptist
—– Saturday, November 20 —–
San Jose State at Texas
—– Sunday, November 21 —–
Northern Colorado at California Baptist
—– Tuesday, November 23 —–
Northern Colorado at San Jose State
—– Wednesday, November 24 —–
California Baptist at Texas
About the Gazelle Group
The Abe Lemons Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper, the Gotham Classic, the Sunshine Slam, the College Basketball Invitational, and the inaugural Holiday Face-Off hockey tournament. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.
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