2017 Racer Hoopalooza to Honor Popeye Jones

Murray State Basketball announced plans for Racer Hoopalooza in 2017 when MSU Hall of Famer and All-America Popeye Jones will be honored. 

The event happens Aug. 4-5, 2017 as Racer Basketball once again gets together for a reunion.

"We are excited to announce next summer's 2017 Racer Hoopalooza event, which will mark the 25th year since Popeye Jones concluded his illustrious playing career at Murray State," said Head Coach Matt McMahon. "This is the perfect time to celebrate and honor one of the all-time great Racers.  In addition to Popeye's incredible four seasons in Murray, he has enjoyed a 20-plus year career in the NBA as a player and a coach.  Popeye has brought so much attention and recognition to  Murray State since his arrival on campus in 1988 and he continues to serve as a great ambassador for our university.  This will be a fun weekend honoring Popeye with his family, friends, teammates, coaches, alums, and fans."

Jones led the Racers to the NCAA Tournament his senior season in 1991-92 and is still Murray State's all-time leading rebounder and fourth leading scorer. Jones led the nation in rebounding with 14.4 per game during his senior season. His jersey No. 54 is retired at MSU and hangs in the rafters at the CFSB Center.

After being drafted by the Rockets, Popeye enjoyed an 11-year career in the NBA playing for the Mavericks, Raptors, Celtics, Nuggets, Wizards and Warriors. Jones has since carved out a successful 10 years in the league as a coach and is currently an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers.

"The first event was obviously awesome because there were guys during my time there that I hadn't seen in a long time," said Jones from his home in Indianapolis. "It was a joy to catch up with not only the guys I played with, but the people that support Murray State. I'm looking forward to coming back to Murray again and seeing them laughing and giggling talking about the old times. It's always a joy."

The first Racer Hoopalooza was held in 2013 as former coach Steve Prohm (now at Iowa State) brought the idea to life.

"Coach Steve Prohm deserves all the credit for creating and building the special Hoopalooza reunion event recognizing the championship tradition at Murray State, the elite players and coaches to come through here, and the amazing fan base we call 'Racer Nation'" McMahon said. "We're looking forward to another memorable Hoopalooza celebrating No. 54 Popeye Jones next summer!"

Racer Hoopalooza 2017 will include a reception and dinner on the first night and a golf scramble and pick-up basketball games the second day.

Racer HoopaLooza is a gathering of Murray State basketball alumni and fans to celebrate the tradition which has made Racer Basketball the best in the Ohio Valley Conference and one of the top programs in the nation. They've won 24 OVC regular season titles and made 15 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Racers boast 29 consecutive winning seasons as they head into the 2016-17 season in November. The Racers' streak is the fourth-longest streak in NCAA D-I behind only Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona and tied with Connecticut.