Basketball Program Retires Number 33 in Honor of Tom Sluby ‘80

At the basketball team’s annual banquet on April 14, the program retired the jersey of Tom Sluby ’80, one of the greatest players in the history of Gonzaga basketball.

Tom Sluby '80, Basketball Jersey Retirement

When Sluby enrolled at Gonzaga in the fall of 1976, the school didn’t have a gym, and was forced to play all of its games on the road. But it didn’t take the administrators long to realize that Sluby was special. “We started getting more and more people watching us and enjoying our games,” says Coach Myers.

The Carmody Center opened in 1977, and Sluby enjoyed a fabulous career at Gonzaga, scoring 2,069 career points—a record that stood for 37 years—and being named a McDonald’s All-American his senior year. He went on to star at Notre Dame and play for a season for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

John Williams ’80, Sluby’s classmate and teammate, remembers former Gonzaga Headmaster Joe Ciancaglini talking about Sluby’s impact on Gonzaga. “Ciancaglini would say that there were three major comings that saved Gonzaga: The coming of Father Dooley, the coming of the Metro, and the coming of Tom Sluby.”

At the banquet, legendary coach Dick Myers introduced Sluby, telling stories about his playing days and the extraordinary impact he had on Gonzaga basketball. “We’re lucky that Gonzaga had a man like Tom Sluby,” he said.

As Head Coach Steve Turner presented Sluby with a framed jersey, he said, “Thirty-three will never be worn on Eye Street. But it definitely won’t be forgotten.”

We hope you enjoy this short video recap of the ceremony:


To see more photos from the night, click here. Also, to read a story about Sluby that appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of The Good News From Nineteen Eye Street, click here.

Congratulations to Tom!
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