Fort Worth ISD’s Robert Hughes Sr. named to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Robert Hughes Sr. 

Robert Hughes Sr., a Fort Worth ISD basketball coach for 47 years, has been named to the 2017 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honors international and American professionals, as well as American and international amateurs, and is described as the most comprehensive Hall of Fame among major sports.

Hughes ranks first on the all-time winning list for boys’ high school coaches. He led his Dunbar High School and, before that, I.M. Terrell High School teams to 35 District championships and five state championships. His overall high school coaching record is 1,333-247 (.844)

“Congratulations to Coach Hughes, Sr. on this well-deserved honor,” said Superintendent Kent P. Scribner. “In an era where the term ‘legendary’ is overused, Coach Hughes, Sr. truly meets and exceeds the definition of the word. He has led and inspired generations of Fort Worth students, their families, and the entire community, and continues to do so with his record of excellence.”

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Coach Hughes also served as head coach of the McDonald’s All-America Game West team in 2001. He was named the NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year in 2003 and was recipient of the Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Coach Hughes has been inducted into the Texas Basketball Hall of Fame (1993) and High School Basketball Hall of Fame (2003).

Two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady, Kansas coach Bill Self, former Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Krause and former UConn star Rebecca Lobo were also part of this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame class.

The Hall of Fame announced the 11-person class Saturday on Twitter.

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McGrady was a seven-time NBA All-Star who played 15 years in the league. Self is one of six coaches to lead three different schools to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. Lobo starred for the Huskies when they won a national championship in 1995 following an undefeated season.

Krause, who died last month, was the general manager during the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s.

Others in the class include Notre Dame women’s coach Muffet McGraw. – The Associated Press contributed to this report.