Two of the greatest athletes the state of Colorado has ever seen were honored last night, and for all their differences, their one similarity is attending Colorado State University.
Becky Hammon first broke records in CSU and is now breaking down boundaries for women, while Rashard Higgins also took down some school records while seemingly almost breaking the sound barrier with his blazing speed.
On Thursday night, Hammon was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame for what she did at CSU and beyond. As a Ram, she was named an AP All-American in 1999, led her teams to three NCAA Tournament appearances and eventually had her No. 25 jersey retired by the school. Following college, Hammon went on to enjoy a stellar professional basketball career in the WNBA. In 2008, she played for Russia in the Beijing Olympics, propelling them to a bronze medal finish. In 2011, she was also honored by the WNBA, being named into their Top 15 players of all time list.
But maybe her biggest accomplishment was being named the first woman assistant coach in NBA history, working with the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in 2014. It was a groundbreaking hire by Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, a positive look on the league as a whole.
For “Hollywood Higgins,” it was the Colorado College Athlete of the Year award. Higgins was hot in 2014, his second year with the Rams' football team, amassing amazing reception, yards and touchdown totals. He totaled 96 catches for an NCAA Division I leading 1,750 yards and 17 touchdowns. Simply, Higgins was Colorado State's playmaker in 2014 and he was a major reason why the team was able to go 10-3 last year. He was also the team's first consensus All-American since Greg Myers in 1995.
Higgins' blazing speed helped him run away from defenders on bubble screens, while he could also burn opposing defensive backs on skinny posts or make them look silly with a jarring juke move. Not only is he a delight on the field, but he's a pronounced personality off the field, too. He loves to joke with the media, gave himself the nickname and sticks out with that high-top fade the 20-year old rocks.
Certainly, last night was a proud moment in the history of Colorado State athletics and the school is looking forward to more like it in the future.
