THE SAGE COLLEGES ANNOUNCES 2015 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS
Albany, NY--The Sage Colleges’ Department of Athletics proudly announces its class for the 2015 Hall of Fame induction. Entering in 2015 will be former Junior College of Albany men’s basketball standout, Sam Greco, Jr. (East Greenbush, NY), a 1964 JCA graduate, Russell Sage College women’s basketball star Karen (Harris) Ratigan (Latham, NY), a 1995 RSC graduate and former Junior College of Albany men’s basketball team MVP, Dwayne Barnes (Sturbridge, MA), a JCA class of 1999 graduate.
Tickets are available for $40/person, which includes cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, 2015. The event will take place at Hilton Garden Inn in Albany, NY.
Dwayne Barnes was a model student-athlete in his two years at JCA. One of the program’s all-time leading scorers, he led his team in scoring in the 1999-2000 season with 623 points, good enough for third all-time in a season and in points per game. He returned to carry the team the next season as the JCA team captain and led the squad to a 14-13 mark despite the limited squad size. He poured in 23.1 points per game and shot a blistering 55.0% from the floor with a 41.0% average from three-point range. He also had an impressive 77.0% free throw percentage and led the squad as well with his 8.7 rebounds per game average. He scored 40 points in a game as JCA faced FIT on January 31, 1999 and is ranked fifth all-time in points scored in a contest. Named an all-region performer, he was also tapped as the team’s Most Valuable Player and earned acclaim as a Dean’s List student at JCA.
After Sage, Barnes earned a full scholarship to Division I, Northeastern University, where he was named a team captain in his final season. He helped the Huskies as he started 10 of 24 games played, while connecting for a 7.6 ppg average on 183 points with a 3.2 rpg average. He has had a successful career as a realtor and youth probation officer.
A four-year letter winner in women’s basketball at Russell Sage College, Karen Harris Ratigan, led the Gators from 1991-1995 with a combination of torrid offense and outstanding offense. In her career, Harris tallied 940 career points and graduated as the program’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer. Twenty years later, she is still the program’s all-time steals leader with 335 steals and is second in assists with 402. Harris set the standard for most assists in a game (12) and is ranked in the top five in several single-season categories.
Active in her community, she has remained active with basketball having served as a coach with the Saratoga Sparks and the North Colonie Girls’ basketball programs. She works as a manager at Verizon and holds certification in her field for her excellent performances.
In his two seasons at JCA, Greco, Jr. distinguished himself on the hardwood with his speed and tenacity after starring locally for Ichabod Crane High School. A team MVP as a rookie in 1962-63, he was the squad’s leading scorer from the guard position while also setting a program rebounding record with 17 boards in a single-game. Ice in his veins, Greco also shot a record-setting 91.0% from the free-throw line. While at Sage, Greco earned Northeastern Collegiate Conference All-Star Team honors and served as President of the Student Council at JCA.
Following his time at JCA, Greco signed an offer to play baseball with the San Francisco Giants and had a tryout with New York Yankees and made it to the final cut of 25 players from 350. He was the recipient of the Roy Campella Award as the Best Catcher in the Dodger’s Baseball Camp.
A successful businessman and owner of Greco Construction, Greco has always remained active in his community and given his time and resources to assist Albany Medical Center, Habitat House and the Altamont Program, various youth programs in East Greenbush as well as Sage.
Please RSVP by November 23 by contacting Rosaire Murphy at the Sage Athletics Department at (518) 244-2283 or email athletics@sage.edu.