Three-time basketball Hall of Fame inductee leaves lasting legacy

Inducted into three HOFs for his basketball prowess, including the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, Gregory “Greg” A. Carney Sr. ’70 double-majored in speech and sociology at Wichita State, where he netted 1,545 points for the Shockers. At the time of his graduation, his average of 20.1 points per game stood second in school history for highest career scoring average.

Renowned for his speed and athletic drives to the basket, Carney proved to be one of the most effective guards ever to play at WSU. His senior year, he was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference Team and selected to the Small Man All-American Team his senior year. After graduating, the 5’9” guard was drafted by the American Basketball Association’s Kentucky Colonels and then played for the minor league Eastern American Basketball’s Beloit Bucks before changing career paths.

Carney attended graduate school at Roosevelt University in Chicago and worked as a mathematics teacher at Fiske Elementary School, which he had attended. His work history also includes serving as a magazine publisher, an administrator for federally funded social and economic programs, and, as a certified Illinois Assessing Official, the deputy assessor of taxpayer services for Cook County. He also served as founder and president of the Chicagoland Sports Foundation, which hosted a summer basketball classic that featured a number of former NBA All-Stars.

In retirement, Carney continued to work as a substitute teacher. For the past decade, this basketball standout, math teacher, administrator, husband and father of four, enjoyed life in Arizona. He died Nov. 16, 2025 in Phoenix.