Bob Dandridge

Bob Dandridge starred for Norfolk State in the CIAA, later becoming the first HBCU-only alum inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Robert Luther Dandridge Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1947. He attended Norfolk State University — a historically Black institution in the CIAA conference competing at the Division II level. His four-year career produced 21.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He was a CIAA Player of the Year and an NAIA All-American. Milwaukee Bucks selected him in the fourth round of the 1969 NBA Draft. He went on to win NBA championships with both Milwaukee in 1971 and Washington in 1978, and was a four-time NBA All-Star. His path from Division II Norfolk State to two NBA championships is one of basketball's great small-school stories — ranking alongside Jerry Rice's Mississippi Valley State career as evidence that elite talent can emerge from any level of competition. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 — a recognition many felt was decades overdue given the quality of his professional production. His Norfolk State career demonstrates that the size of a programme has no bearing on the ceiling of an individual player.

Dandridge was known as a smooth, fundamentally sound forward with excellent shooting ability from mid-range. He possessed good court vision and was an intelligent player who could score consistently while also contributing as a passer and rebounder.

Dandridge helped elevate Norfolk State's basketball program and later became one of the more underrated players of his NBA era, demonstrating that players from smaller colleges could excel at the highest level.

• CIAA Champion 1968
• CIAA Tournament MVP 1969
• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 2021