Staff and wire Reports

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Former Southside High basketball player Mike Rivers will receive a posthumous induction into the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Athletic Hall of Fame.

Rivers, along with Muntrelle Dobbins, will be recognized during the Trojans’ game against New Orleans Saturday night.

Rivers was an all-state player during his senior season at Southside, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. He and his twin brother, Ezelle, led the Panthers to a district title in 1980.

While in college, Rivers was a second-team member of the All-Trans America Athletic Conference team in 1983 and an honorable mention member as a senior in 1984. He also helped the Trojans win back-to-back TAAC (now Atlantic Sun) titles.

As a junior, Rivers averaged 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and a .645 field goal percentage. His junior season featured the best game of his collegiate career, as he put together a 41-point, 13-rebound performance to lead UALR to an 89-77 win over Centenary on Jan. 20, 1983. When his collegiate career ended, Rivers was ranked sixth in TAAC history for career points (1,304), fifth in made free throws (378) and second in field goal percentage (.595). Today, Rivers is 38th on the A-Sun’s all-time list for career points, sixth in career field goal percentage and 10th in made free throws.

After graduating from UALR with a degree in sports management, Rivers began playing professional basketball overseas. He eventually returned to Little Rock and was working for a waste management company when he died in an accident on the job in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, whom he married on Aug. 8, 1982, and their five children: Mizelle, Jr., Nicholas, Neidra, Meghan and Krista.