Jan. 5, 2009
NOTRE DAME, ind. – Former Irish great Pat Garrity, who retired in September 2008 following 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association, will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s Notre Dame-Seton Hall basketball game on Jan. 10. Garrity, the 1997 BIG EAST Player of the Year, played 10 overall in the NBA, including nine with the Orlando Magic.
Garrity appeared in 513 games for Orlando, second-most in franchise history, and 552 overall during his NBA career with both the Magic and Phoenix Suns. He averaged 7.3 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Garrity starred for the Irish from 1994-98 and started all 111 during his Notre Dame career. The Monument, Colo., native stands fourth on the all-time scoring list with 2,035 points, one of just six players in school history to score more than 2,000 points. He also finished with 776 rebounds and is one of just three players in school history with more than 2,000 points and 700 rebounds.
Garrity was the first Irish player to be named BIG EAST Player of the Year when he earned the award in ’97 after leading the Irish with 21.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. He capped off his senior season by averaging 24.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in league play and was named the BIG EAST/Aeropostale Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In his final season, Garrity earned All-America recognition from the Associated Press, Sporting News and Basketball Weekly.
A two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American, Garrity was named the national Academic All-American of the Year for men’s basketball in 1998 and had a 3.659 overall grade point average during his eight semesters at Notre Dame. He graduated from the University with a degree in pre-professional studies from the College of Science.
Following graduation, he was selected as the 19th pick overall in the ’98 NBA draft.