LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 11, 2010) – Saint Francis University Director of Athletics Bob Krimmel announced on Monday that the Red Flash athletics department will honor the late, great Norm Van Lier by hanging his No. 12 jersey in the Champions Room of DeGol Arena in the Maurice Stokes Athletics Center, during a ceremony this Saturday.
Van Lier, who starred at Midland High School in Pittsburgh and became an NBA prospect at Saint Francis University, was an NBA basketball player and television broadcaster, and will now take his place among the all-time Red Flash great basketball players. Van Lier passed away on Feb. 26, 2009.
Saturday's ceremony will take place during the Stokes Club dinner between basketball games at Saint Francis University. The Red Flash men will face Fairleigh Dickinson at 4 p.m., while the men will battle the Knights at 7 p.m. Those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by calling 814-472-3286. Cost of the Stokes Club dinner is $14, plus admission to the men's basketball game. Van Lier's jersey will be hung alongside those of Joey Anderson, Mike Iuzzolino, Maurice Stokes, and Jess Zinobile.
“Norm Van Lier played at the highest level while a student-athlete at Saint Francis, bringing constant excitement and success to the basketball program and the university,” Krimmel said. “Norm continued to make an impact in the world of basketball after leaving our Loretto campus, on and off the court. His NBA career as a player, and then with the Chicago Bulls radio and television team, set a standard for all to strive to achieve in pursuing the excellence of a professional. It is only fitting that his jersey be placed in the Champions Room at the Stokes Athletics Center, to forever remind people of the contributions Norm Van Lier made to the history of Saint Francis basketball.”
Van Lier played three years of basketball for the Red Flash, finishing third on the school's all-time scoring list. He still remains ninth on Saint Francis' all-time scoring list with 1,410 career points in only 75 games played (18.8 ppg). Van Lier is also 11th in rebounds (769) at SFU, 10th in rebounding average (10.3 rpg), and fifth in free throws made (376).
The Chicago Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the 1969 NBA Draft, but immediately traded him to the Cincinnati Royals, with whom he led the NBA in assists in 1971. The Bulls then reacquired Van Lier during the 1971-72 season, and he remained with the Bulls until 1978, appearing in three all-star games (1974, 1976, 1977) over the course of six seasons.
Nicknamed “Stormin' Norman” for his tenacity and aggression, Van Lier was one of the most popular Bulls players of the 1970s. During his ten year career, Van Lier was named to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974. Van Lier retired in 1979 with career totals of 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.
Van Lier held the record for the longest field goal in NBA history (84 feet) for 24 years until Baron Davis broke the record on Nov. 17, 2001 (89 feet).
From 1992 until his death in 2009, Van Lier was a television pre-game and post-game analyst for Chicago Bulls games.
