CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Kathy Delaney-Smith, who recently retired after a 40-year run as The Friends of Harvard Women's Basketball Head Coach, and Keith Wright, a member of the Crimson's men's basketball Class of 2012, have earned selection as Legends of Ivy League Basketball, the Ivy League conference office announced on Thursday.
The Ivy League will honor this year's class of legends at the 2023 Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments from March 10-12 at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey.
Kathy Delaney-Smith, Harvard Women's Basketball
The winningest head coach in Ivy League history, The Friends of Harvard Women's Basketball Head Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith retired at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season after 40 years with Harvard basketball. Delaney-Smith put Harvard basketball on the map and expanded its reach both nationally and internationally as one of the longest tenured coaches in collegiate women's basketball. Delaney-Smith owned a 40-year coaching record at Harvard of 630-434 with a 367-168 record in Ivy League play. Those marks included 12 20-win seasons, 11 Ivy titles, a .500 record or better in 31 of her last 33 campaigns and 16 postseason appearances. Her 630 career wins and 367 Ivy League victories are the most of any head coach – men's or women's – in the Ivy League. With Delaney-Smith leading the way, Harvard finished lower than fourth in the Ancient Eight only four times and finished in the top three in the league standings in 15 of her last 17 years, including shares of the Ivy title in 2005 and 2008 and outright titles in 2002, 2003 and 2007. She coached eight Ivy League Players of the Year, six Ivy League Rookies of the Year and 41 first-team All-Ivy League selections. Additionally, all 21 members of Harvard's 1,000-point club have been coached by Delaney-Smith. Delaney-Smith and the 1997-98 team turned in one of its finest seasons with a record-setting 23-5 overall mark and the first-ever NCAA tournament victory for an Ivy League women's basketball team with a win over Stanford. The Crimson became the first No. 16-seed to knock off a No. 1 seed in the history of the men's or women's NCAA basketball tournaments.
Keith Wright, Harvard Men's Basketball
The 2011 Ivy League Player of the Year, Keith Wright '12 collected numerous individual accolades during his time at Harvard, while propelling the Crimson into a new era of team success that included three postseason appearances, two Ivy League titles, and a berth in the NCAA tournament. A two-time team captain for Harvard, Wright gained Honorable Mention AP All-America accolades as a junior, while earning First Team All-Ivy and First Team NABC All-District during that same season. In 2010-11, the team's Raymond P. Lavietes '36 Most Valuable Player Award winner averaged 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as Harvard won the Ivy League and advanced to the NIT for the first time in school history. As a senior in 2011-12, he captured First Team NABC All-District and Second Team All-Ivy, while helping lead the Crimson to the Ivy League title and the team's first NCAA tournament berth since 1946. A 1,000-point scorer for the Crimson (1,178 career points), he ranks second in school history in career blocks (146), fifth in career rebounds (743) and eighth in career field goal percentage (56.0). Over his final three seasons, he helped the Crimson total a 70-20 overall record and a 34-8 Ivy League mark as Harvard tallied at least 21 victories overall and at least 10 Ivy wins over each year from 2009-12. Following his collegiate playing days, Wright has continued his basketball career at the professional level both overseas and in the NBA G League. His global basketball journey has included stops in Sweden, Poland, the Philippines, Greece, Canada, Germany, and France.
