Arkansas Renaming Street Near Basketball Arena For Nolan Richardson

Nolan Richardson is about as legendary to Arkansas basketball as they come. So it's only fitting that the former Razorbacks coach gets some sort of lasting tribute in Fayetteville, where the university is located.

As reported by the North Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville city council voted unanimously on Tuesday that Leroy Pond Drive will be renamed Nolan Richardson Drive.

Richardson, 79, coached the Razorbacks from 1985-2002, compiling an eye-popping record of 508-206. His run included a national championship in 1994. Overall, Arkansas made three appearances in the Final Four with Richardson as coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted in 2014.

The basketball court on campus already bears his name, as does a fitness center and a middle school in his native El Paso, Texas. Now he is getting a street too.

Fittingly, the street is located near the Arkansas basketball arena.

"As part of the proposal approved Tuesday, Government Avenue will be renamed as Lt. Col. Leroy Pond Avenue," the Democrat-Gazette wrote. "Pond was a Fayetteville resident and UA graduate who died in 1945 from combat wounds suffered while serving in the Army during World War II. The Fayetteville National Cemetery is on Government Avenue."

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Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.