Kansas City, Mo. – Former Georgia Tech All-America basketball player Roger Kaiser, whose stellar coaching career included NAIA national championships at West Georgia College and Life University, is one of 12 individuals elected to the Small College National Hall of Fame’s class of 2020.
Kaiser joined Bethel (Ind.) College coach Mike Lightfoot as one of two coaches elected, along with nine players and one contributor. The Small College Basketball and the National Hall of Fame Committee announced the National Hall of Fame Class of 2020 on Friday.
Kaiser coached West Georgia for 20 years, winning the NAIA National Championship in 1974. In 1990, he started the basketball program at Life University and won the NAIA National Championships in 1997, 1999, and 2000, and led Life to two additional appearances in the National Championship game. Kaiser was the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2000, and was selected to the NAIA’s 75th Anniversary Team, one of only 15 coaches. He is a member of the West Georgia Hall of Fame, the Life University Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
As a collegian, Kaiser led Georgia Tech’s very first NCAA Tournament squad in 1960, earning first-team All-America honors in the process. The Yellow Jackets went 22-6 and reached the Sweet 16 of the tournament by beating Ohio University in the opening round before falling to eventual champion Ohio State. The next season, Kaiser became Tech’s first consensus All-American, earning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors. He led the SEC in scoring as a junior (22.8 ppg) and a senior (23.4 ppg), and graduated with Tech career records for points and scoring average.
For more information, see smallcollegebasketball.com.
Kaiser is a member of the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a player and a coach.
SMALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020
Players
- Eric Brand, Bethel (Ind.)
- Corey Crowder, Kentucky Wesleyan
- Kenny Davis, Georgetown College
- Andre Foreman, Salisbury
- Stan Gouard, Southern Indiana
- Andy Panko, Lebanon Valley
- Archie Talley, Salem College (W.Va.)
- Dallas Thornton, Kentucky Wesleyan
- Larry Wilson, Nicholls State
Coaches
- Roger Kaiser, West Georgia & Life
- Mike Lightfoot, Bethel (Ind.)
Contributor
- A.O. Duer
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