Princeton University Athletics
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Thomforde '69, Rasheed '13 Named Ivy League Legends
January 17, 2019 | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
For the third consecutive year, the Ivy League Legends of Basketball will recognize a distinguished class of 16 individuals who embraced the pursuit of excellence in academics and athletics to make a lasting impact on their respective basketball programs, schools, communities and professions.
They will all be honored during the semifinals of the 2019 Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, Saturday, March 16, in New Haven, Conn. The Ivy League's announcement of the Legends can be found here.
Chris Thomforde, a member of the Princeton Class of 1969, helped Princeton to national success on the court before going on to a distinguished career in higher education.
Thomforde earned Converse second-team All-America honors in 1967, during a season that saw him and teammate Gary Walters (Legends of Ivy League Basketball Class of 2017) featured on the cover of the February 27, 1967 issue of Sports Illustrated under the heading "Princeton Builds a Basketball Dynasty." That year, Princeton was ranked as high as third in the nation by the AP and finished with a ranking of fifth after a run to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Thomforde went on to earn All-Ivy honors in all three of his seasons, being named to the first team in 1967 and 1968 and the second team in 1969. The winner of the team's B.F. Bunn Trophy as the most valuable player in 1969, Thomforde graduated as the program's fourth-leading scorer with 1,122 points. He endures as one of the best free throw shooters and rebounders in program history, graduating third with 382 career free throws, a percentage of .829 that was third-best in program history, and his senior-year free throw clip of .898 was the second-best such season in program history for anyone with at least 40 attempts. On the glass, Thomforde finished fifth in career rebounds with 709.
Princeton won the Ivy League title in all three of his seasons, adding an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1969 to their 1967 run.
After Princeton, Thomforde went on to earn a master of divinity degree from Yale before returning to Princeton for a doctorate in ministry. He held teaching positions at Colgate and Susquehanna Universities, as well as at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and went on to serve as president of St. Olaf College, Bethany College and finally Moravian College before retiring in 2013.
Thomforde put his divinity training to practice as a university chaplain at Colgate and Susquehanna, and as a parish pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dansville, N.Y.
Prior to Niveen Rasheed's arrival in Princeton, N.J., the women's basketball team had not claimed an outright Ivy League title in 31 years. Four years and four championships later, a dynasty was born and Rasheed graduated as one of the greatest players in Ivy history.
Rasheed started off her Princeton career in sparkling fashion, earning Rookie of the Year unanimously, All-Rookie and first-team All-Ivy honors in 2010. She became just the second Tiger to ever be named Rookie of the Year and the first to receive the award along with first team accolades. Rasheed led the team in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg), assists (2.8 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). She was second in the League in scoring, third in rebounding, third in field goal percentage, fifth in assists and second in steals.
As a sophomore, Rasheed only played in 12 games because of a knee injury, posting 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. Rasheed recovered from her ACL injury and was extraordinary as a junior, securing the 2012 Ivy Player of the Year award. She was just the third player in conference history to earn unanimous honors and was the first Tiger to win both the Rookie and Player of the Year selections. During that year, she was first in the conference in scoring (16.9), rebounding (8.8), field goal percentage (45.0) and second in steals (2.4). She also became the 21st member of the 1,000-point club.
During her senior campaign, Rasheed was voted unanimous Ivy Player of the Year for the second consecutive time, making her the second player in conference history to earn three postseason awards unanimously. She led the Ivies in scoring (16.7) and steals (2.7), while placing in the top five in five other categories. Along with earning seven of her 14 career Ivy Player of the Week honors in 2012-13, she was named to four national watch lists: the Wooden Award Women's Preseason Top 30, 50-player Naismith Watch List, 33-player State Farm "Wade Watch" list and 20-player Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch List.
Rasheed would later become the first Associated Press All-American in program history as she finished her career with 1,617 career points. She graduated third all-time in rebounds (860), fifth in scoring average (16.7) and field goals made (604), sixth in rebounds average (8.7) and among a myriad of other top-10 career and season records.
Upon graduation, Rasheed played basketball overseas before returning to the metropolitan area. She currently works at the National Basketball Players Association as the Director of Brand Communications.
They will all be honored during the semifinals of the 2019 Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, Saturday, March 16, in New Haven, Conn. The Ivy League's announcement of the Legends can be found here.
Chris Thomforde, a member of the Princeton Class of 1969, helped Princeton to national success on the court before going on to a distinguished career in higher education.
Thomforde earned Converse second-team All-America honors in 1967, during a season that saw him and teammate Gary Walters (Legends of Ivy League Basketball Class of 2017) featured on the cover of the February 27, 1967 issue of Sports Illustrated under the heading "Princeton Builds a Basketball Dynasty." That year, Princeton was ranked as high as third in the nation by the AP and finished with a ranking of fifth after a run to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Thomforde went on to earn All-Ivy honors in all three of his seasons, being named to the first team in 1967 and 1968 and the second team in 1969. The winner of the team's B.F. Bunn Trophy as the most valuable player in 1969, Thomforde graduated as the program's fourth-leading scorer with 1,122 points. He endures as one of the best free throw shooters and rebounders in program history, graduating third with 382 career free throws, a percentage of .829 that was third-best in program history, and his senior-year free throw clip of .898 was the second-best such season in program history for anyone with at least 40 attempts. On the glass, Thomforde finished fifth in career rebounds with 709.
Princeton won the Ivy League title in all three of his seasons, adding an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1969 to their 1967 run.
After Princeton, Thomforde went on to earn a master of divinity degree from Yale before returning to Princeton for a doctorate in ministry. He held teaching positions at Colgate and Susquehanna Universities, as well as at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and went on to serve as president of St. Olaf College, Bethany College and finally Moravian College before retiring in 2013.
Thomforde put his divinity training to practice as a university chaplain at Colgate and Susquehanna, and as a parish pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dansville, N.Y.
Prior to Niveen Rasheed's arrival in Princeton, N.J., the women's basketball team had not claimed an outright Ivy League title in 31 years. Four years and four championships later, a dynasty was born and Rasheed graduated as one of the greatest players in Ivy history.
Rasheed started off her Princeton career in sparkling fashion, earning Rookie of the Year unanimously, All-Rookie and first-team All-Ivy honors in 2010. She became just the second Tiger to ever be named Rookie of the Year and the first to receive the award along with first team accolades. Rasheed led the team in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg), assists (2.8 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). She was second in the League in scoring, third in rebounding, third in field goal percentage, fifth in assists and second in steals.
As a sophomore, Rasheed only played in 12 games because of a knee injury, posting 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. Rasheed recovered from her ACL injury and was extraordinary as a junior, securing the 2012 Ivy Player of the Year award. She was just the third player in conference history to earn unanimous honors and was the first Tiger to win both the Rookie and Player of the Year selections. During that year, she was first in the conference in scoring (16.9), rebounding (8.8), field goal percentage (45.0) and second in steals (2.4). She also became the 21st member of the 1,000-point club.
During her senior campaign, Rasheed was voted unanimous Ivy Player of the Year for the second consecutive time, making her the second player in conference history to earn three postseason awards unanimously. She led the Ivies in scoring (16.7) and steals (2.7), while placing in the top five in five other categories. Along with earning seven of her 14 career Ivy Player of the Week honors in 2012-13, she was named to four national watch lists: the Wooden Award Women's Preseason Top 30, 50-player Naismith Watch List, 33-player State Farm "Wade Watch" list and 20-player Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch List.
Rasheed would later become the first Associated Press All-American in program history as she finished her career with 1,617 career points. She graduated third all-time in rebounds (860), fifth in scoring average (16.7) and field goals made (604), sixth in rebounds average (8.7) and among a myriad of other top-10 career and season records.
Upon graduation, Rasheed played basketball overseas before returning to the metropolitan area. She currently works at the National Basketball Players Association as the Director of Brand Communications.
Princeton Women's Basketball Head Coach Lauren Gosselin
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