The CIAA has announced six inductees into its John B. McLendon 49th Hall of Fame class. These names include Jamie Waller (Virginia Union), Gregory Goings (Bowie State), Greg Jackson (Saint Paul’s), Dr. Beverly Downing (Livingstone), Andre Altice (Shaw) and Amba Kongolo (North Carolina Central).
Jamie Waller, Virginia Union
Jamie Waller was a standout basketball player for the Virginia Union Panthers from 1983-1987. He finished his college career as the team’s second-leading scorer with 2,568 career points and sixth on the CIAA all-time scoring list.
He was named to three All-CIAA teams and was part of two CIAA championship teams including in 1985 on a team that also featured future NBA All-Star Charles Oakley.
After briefly playing in the National Basketball Association, Waller went on to have an extensive professional career for numerous leagues around the world.
His best year came in 1988 in the now-defunct World Basketball League playing for the Las Vegas Silver Streaks where he was named to his first of three All-WBL teams, the season’s MVP and led the team to the championship.
Gregory Goings, Bowie State
Gregory Goings served as the Sports Information Director at Bowie State from 2003 until June 2021 when he announced his retirement.
Prior to his stint with Bowie State, Goings held this position with Virginia State from 1998-2000. During his time at Virginia State, he was also the President of the CIAA Sports Information Directors Association from 1993-1999.
In his career, he was named the John Halley CIAA Sports Information Director of the Year three times and was honored with the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award last year.
Not only was Goings a well-known sports information director, he was also a public address announcer as well providing his services to the CIAA Basketball Tournament since 1992.
Also read: Black College Football Hall of Fame announces Class of 2022
Greg Jackson, Saint Paul’s
Greg Jackson played college basketball for the Saint Paul’s Tigers from 1977-1981 where he was selected to two All-CIAA teams in 1980 and 1981.
In his 1980 campaign, Jackson averaged a country leading 30.5 points on his way to being named CIAA co-Player of the Year and was selected to be an All-American.
At the conclusion of his playing career, Jackson began coaching first at his alma mater as an assistant before moving on to North Carolina Central in 1984.
He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach with North Carolina Central until he was moved up to head coach in 1991.
In 2000, Jackson left North Carolina Central to become the head coach of the Delaware State Hornets. He had great success with the Hornets leading them to three consecutive regular-season titles and a MEAC championship in 2005.
Dr. Beverly Downing, Livingstone
Dr. Beverly Downing was a spectacular two-sport athlete with Livingstone playing basketball and softball from 1975-1978.
Downing was a member of the inaugural softball team at Livingstone while she was a two-time All-CIAA selection for the basketball team.
At the conclusion of her college career, Downing began coaching the women’s basketball and softball teams at St. Augustine’s in 1982.
In her time as basketball coach, she amassed 12 winning seasons leading the team to four division titles. Meanwhile, she led the softball team to two conference titles in 1989 and 1991 as well as three straight division titles from 1990-1992.
Andre Altice, Shaw
Andre Altice dominated as a baseball player for the Shaw Bears being named to the All-CIAA team in all four years with the team.
This included a 1993 season in which he was unanimously named CIAA Player of the Year pitching a 1.2 era and holding a perfect 10-0 record as starting pitcher.
Also, in the 1993 season, Altice led Shaw to the CIAA championship over Norfolk State being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Amba Kongolo, North Carolina Central
Amba Kongolo is one of the most notable players in the history of North Carolina Central’s women’s basketball program.
Playing with the team from 1999-2002, Kongolo averaged 17.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 90 career games.
She was named CIAA Player of the Year twice in her final two seasons. In addition, she was named to three All-CIAA teams and three All-Tournament teams.
In 1996, Kongolo played in the Summer Olympics as a member of the Zaire national team.
