Basketball star Scott Wedman was a recipient and a presenter Tuesday night at the annual induction banquet of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
At the end of his acceptance speech as one of six inductees, Wedman presented a request to new University of Colorado basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik.
“Coach Bzdelik, bring a basketball championship to CU,” Wedman said. “It has been a long time since CU has won a basketball championship. Make us all proud.”
Wedman, who grew up in Denver and played basketball at Mullen High School, also played at CU from 1971-74 on teams that finished 7-19 in 1971-72, 13-13 in 1972-73 and 9-17 in 1973-74, made his request to Bzdelik, who was hired at CU last week.
Bzdelik moved to CU from Air Force, where his teams posted a 50-16 record in two seasons.
Wedman’s subject throughout was basketball. He brought his playing time into perspective by lauding the 1986 Boston Celtics team that included Larry Bird and Bill Walton.
“I can’t see any team in the NBA beating us today,” Wedman said.
The 2007 induction banquet included a wide variety of athletes and sports, including Andres Galarraga of the Rockies; Pat Bowlen, owner of the Broncos; Ben Dreith, whose NFL officiating career included three Super Bowls and 28 straight playoff assignments during a career of more than 30 years; tennis champion Carol Baily, winner of 28 national titles; and Hank Kashiwa, a national and world champion in skiing.
Galarraga took the audience back to the beginning of the Rockies as an expansion franchise in the National League in 1993.
He called Don Baylor, the Rockies’ first manager, a “special person in my career.”
Baylor helped Galarraga regain his baseball prowess with a new batting stance as he won the National League batting title that year, hitting .370.
Baily brought her and Kashiwa’s careers into perspective.
“When Hank came downhill fast, he got a medal,” Baily said. “When I came downhill fast, there wasn’t anything there for me.”
Bowlen remembered back 23 years when he became the owner of the Broncos. On his first trip to Denver, he consulted with Gerald Phipps, who had owned the team some years before Bowlen.
“He told me the fans owned the team,” Bowlen said. “I have learned that he was right. We live in the greatest sports town in the world.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
