Bennedict Mathurin is now a member of the Arizona basketball Ring of Honor.
Arizona inducted the wing during a ceremony at McKale Center on Saturday during a 77-71 victory over the UCLA Bruins. Mathurin now plays in the NBA for Indiana, and the Pacers flew straight to Tucson to attend the ceremony before visiting the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Sunday. Pacers guard and Arizona alum T.J. McConnell was there.
Officially in the rafters! Here’s Bennedict Mathurin’s @ArizonaMBB Ring of Honor induction. 🏀🏆 pic.twitter.com/kib0v69VEr
— AZ Band Cat Sports (@AZBandCatSports) January 20, 2024
“It’s great, just being one of the few guys to be inducted and I feel like it’s a great award,” Mathurin told reporters in a pregame press conference. “I worked really hard to get into that, and I’m pretty grateful for that.”
Mathurin spent two seasons in Tucson and racked up the hardware as a sophomore in 2021-22.
He won the Pac-12 Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American after averaging 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game in head coach Tommy Lloyd’s first year.
The Wildcats went 33-4 that season with a pair of NCAA Tournament wins before losing to Houston in the Sweet 16. Mathurin earned the Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award after scoring 27 points in the title game against UCLA.
He made the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 2020-21 under head coach Sean Miller.
The Pacers took Mathurin with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and he made the All-Rookie First Team. He is averaging 14.5 points per game and 3.7 rebounds this season.
homecoming 🐻
Bennedict Mathurin being inducted into the @ArizonaMBB Ring of Honor. pic.twitter.com/cvOykOJ6Wo
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 20, 2024
“It’s been pretty well, it’s been so many ups and downs, but it’s been great,” Mathurin said of his young NBA career. “We have a pretty good chance of making the playoffs this year, so it’s been pretty fun.”
Mathurin said he still keeps in touch with current Wildcats starters Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo, who played with the inductee before he left for the draft.
Arizona will induct Christian Koloko into the Ring of Honor on Feb. 17 and Kenny Lofton on March 2.
