The Corbin Comet crossed the firmament on Tuesday morning at his home in Simpsonville.
Frank Selvy was one of college basketball’s all-time greats. He was 91 years old.
Selvy, a native of Corbin, Ky., led the NCAA in scoring twice during his Furman career career (1952-54) and averaged 41.7 points per game his senior season, which included an NCAA Division I record 100-point performance in a 145-95 win over Newberry on Feb. 13, 1954, at Textile Hall in downtown Greenville.
The 6- 3 guard averaged 32.5 points per game over his 78-game college career and scored at least 40 points 22 times.
Named Southern Conference Player of the Year for the 1952-53 season while competing against West Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, and South Carolina — many of whom would later leave the SoCon to form the Atlantic Coast Conference — Selvy collected the honor a second time as a senior en route to being nameed 1954 United Press Player of the Year. He was a three-time All-America.
Selvy ld the Paladins to a 59-21 record over his three seasons, including back-to-back 21- and 20-win campaigns in 1953 and ‘54 under head coach Lyles Alley.
Selvy, whose NCAA records stood for years, was the No. 1 draft pick of the Baltimore Bullets in 1954. He averaged 19.4 points per game his rookie year, was a two-time all-star, and went on the spend nine years in the NBA, including his final five seasons with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers, where he played alongside Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Rod Hundley.
Following his professional career, Selvy returned to his alma mater in 1966, succeeding Alley, his former coach, as the Paladins’ mentor for four seasons.
He is a member of seven halls of fame, including the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame (1960), Furman Athletics Hall of Fame (1981), Corbin High School Redhound Hall of Fame (1982), Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame (1994), Southern Conference Hall of Fame (2009), Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (2021), and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (2022).
“We will miss Frank dearly but will remember him forever — a true Paladin legend,”
stated athletics director Jason Donnelly.
“Frank was both a mentor and a friend who had an incredible impact on Furman Basketball as a player and as a coach,” said head coach Bob Richey. “In addition to being a great basketball player, Frank was a phenomenal person. He was one of the best to ever wear the jersey, and he will be deeply missed.
Furman’s male athlete of the year award bears Selvy’s name, and his jersey No. 28 is retired.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, of 65 years, and two children, Valerie S. Miros (Mike) and Mike Selvy (Katherine); his brother, Marvin Selvy (Patty); 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Furman’s Christian Kraus and Slade Starnes were named Preseason All-Southern Conference in women’s soccer, and the Paladins were picked fourth in a tight conference race.
Kraus, a senior from Fenton, Mo., had a breakout season in 2023 with 10 goals and leading the Paladins with five assists. The forward, who netted a pair of match-winning goals, captured first team All-SoCon honors.
Starnes, entering his junior year, was limited to appearing in only 11 matches last season due to injury. He tallied match-winning scores in Paladin victories versus UNC Greensboro and VMI during the 2023 season.
Mercer, which defeated Furman in last season’s SoCon finals, was picked first in the preseason poll. Wofford was tabbed to finish second, followed by UNCG, Furman, ETSU and VMI. The Bears and Terriers received two first-place votes apiece from the SoCon head coaches while UNCG and Furman each received one.
Preseason All-SoCon Team
Forwards
Arnaud Tattevin, UNCG
Christian Kraus, Furman
Barzee Blama, ETSU
Midfielders
Basile Marc, UNCG
Jakob Andersson, Wofford
Carlos Santamaria, Mercer
Defenders
Bryce Peacock, Wofford
Slade Starnes, Furman
Sekou Agard, Mercer
Goalkeeper
Trevor McMullen, Mercer
High Point netted a pair of first-half goals to edge Furman, 2-1, in the exhibition opener for both schools Saturday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The Panthers took the lead in the 27th minute when goalkeeper Aaron Salinas was unable to keep Jefferson Amaya’s curling free kick from trickling over the line. High Point doubled the lead in the 39th minute as Lukas Kamrath laced a left-footed strike from outside the box into the upper left-hand corner.
Furman got on the board in the 57th minute. A pass down the right flank reached freshman Malachi Grant and his low cross was redirected into the net by Lloyd Wamu Snell near the back post.
Furman hosts Lees-McRae in exhibition play on Aug. 17 before entertaining UNC Wilmington in the regular season opener at Stone Stadium on Thursday, August 22, at 8 p.m.
Women’s golf coach Jeff Hull released the team’s schedule.
Again this fall, the Paladins open the season at the Cougar Classic, which will be held Sept. 9-10 at Yeaman’s Hall in Charleston, then return home to defend their title at the 50th Lady Paladin Invitational, which will feature 13 teams from Sept. 20-22 at the Furman University Golf Course.
Take a full look at the schedule here.
Pat Estepp has joined the Furman men’s basketball staff as assistant head coach, and Chad Warner has been promoted to associate head coach by head coach Bob Richey.
Estepp spent the past 24 seasons at Cedarville (Ohio) University, including the last 16 as head coach. He posted a 292-191 record and guided the NCAA Division II Yellow Jackets to three NCCAA national titles (2012, 2019, 2024). Last season, Cedarville notched its seventh 20-win season in Estepp’s 16 years by fashioning a 23-win campaign en route to the NCCAA championship.
A 1997 graduate of Cedarville, Estepp led the Yellow Jackets to their first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament during the 2021-22 season. His Cedarville squads captured their first G-MAC Tournament title in 2013 and claimed runner-up finishes in 2021 and 2022.
In addition to Estepp joining the Paladin staff, assistant coach Chad Warner has been promoted to associate head coach following Jeremy Growe’s departure earlier this summer.
Midfielder Nieva Gaither was named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team and the Furman women’s soccer team picked to finish fifth.
Gaither, a three-time All-SoCon choice, returns to the field after being limited to action in five matches a year ago due to injury. Named the league’s freshman of the year in the spring of 2021 and player of the year in the fall of 2021, the fifth-year senior has compiled 17 goals and 21 assists in 54 career matches.
Western Carolina was picked as the preseason favorite in the SoCon and received eight of a possible nine first-place votes. Samford was picked second and received a pair of first-place votes while ETSU, Mercer and Furman rounded out the top five in the preseason poll.
Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Western Carolina (8) 80
2. Samford (2) 72
3. ETSU 60
4. Mercer 57
5. Furman 46
6. Chattanooga 45
7. UNCG 39
8. Wofford 22
9. The Citadel 19
10. VMI 10
() denotes first-place votes
Preseason All-Conference
F Jada Moorman, Mercer
F Larkin Thomason, Mercer
F Isabella DeMarco, Western Carolina
MF Nieva Gaither, Furman
MF Whitaker Buchanan, Samford
MF Clarissa Salinas, Chattanooga
MF Naya Marcil, Western Carolina
D Sydney Somogyi, ETSU
D Ella Simpson, Samford
D Becca Campbell, Western Carolina
GK Ashton Blair, ETSU
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