George Bucci & Leigh Ann Walker-Finley Named 2018 Manhattan College MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Inductees
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Manhattan College basketball legends George Bucci and Leigh Ann Walker-Finley will be inducted in the 2018 MAAC Honor Roll. Honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 15.
Each member institution of the MAAC honors one male and one female from its basketball “family” as part of the 2018 induction class. A dinner event takes place Saturday, September 15 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees.
Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2019 MAAC Basketball Championships and will be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”
George Bucci ‘75
George Bucci helped lead Manhattan to three-straight NIT berths during his impressive time in Riverdale. Bucci graduated as the program’s third all-time leading scorer and is currently 12th with 1,331 career points to go along with 679 rebounds. His averaged 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during his three varsity campaigns while helping the Jaspers to a winning record each year before being drafted by the Buffalo Braves in the third round of the 1975 NBA Draft. He would sign with New Jersey of the ABA and help lead the Nets to the 1976 league title before embarking on a 15-year career with Lega Basket Serie A in Italy. A member of the 1992 Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame, he also served as a councilman and later supervisor of the town of Newburgh, NY.
Leigh Ann Walker-Finley ‘91
One of the top rebounders in school history, Leigh Ann Walker Finley was one of the cornerstones in the first decade of Manhattan Women’s Basketball. She helped lead the Jaspers to their second MAAC Championship as a junior in 1990 before averaging a double-double (10.8 ppg & 10.5 rpg) in earning All-MAAC Second Team honors as a senior in 1991. The seventh player in school history to crack the 1,000-point mark in scoring, she finished with 1,072 career points to go along with a then school-record 986 rebounds (2nd all-time). The first-ever MAAC All-Rookie selection, she averaged 9.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in helping lead the Manhattan to an impressive 64-52 record during her time in Riverdale.
| 2018 MAAC Basketball Honor Roll Class (to date) |
| Institution |
Name |
| Manhattan |
George Bucci |
| Manhattan |
Leigh Ann Walker-Finley |
| Marist |
Sean Kennedy |
| Marist |
Kristin (Keller) Greiner |
| Monmouth |
Dave Calloway |
| Monmouth |
Ellen (Brennan) Schum |
| Niagara |
Alvin Young |
| Niagara |
Amy Getman |
| Quinnipiac |
Mike Buscetto |
| Quinnipiac |
Erin Kerner |
| Rider |
Ron Simpson |
| Rider |
Cindy (Ford) Gittens |
| Saint Peter’s |
Harry Laurie |
| Saint Peter’s |
Felicia (Harris) Sellers |
| Siena |
Tay Fisher |
| Siena |
Melanie (Halker) Moore |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.