BERKELEY – The late Mark McNamara, a Cal Athletics Hall of Famer who set numerous scoring records throughout his Golden Bear men's basketball career before playing eight seasons in the NBA, is the 2022-23 recipient of the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award. The presentation of the award will take place during halftime of Cal's home game against Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 11. Mark's sister, Lauren, will receive the award on the family's behalf. Tipoff from Haas Pavilion is at 5 p.m. PST.
 
The award honors the legacy of Cal's Hall of Fame basketball coach and the contributions Newell made to the program. The career achievement award is presented annually to a Cal men's basketball alumnus who has distinguished himself in his career accomplishments, upholding the highest ideals of Newell and the University of California.
 
McNamara passed away in 2020 at the age of 60.
 
"It is my absolute honor to accept the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award for my brother, Mark McNamara," Lauren McNamara said. "Mark died almost three years ago at age 60 of a heart attack and he had battled several illnesses over the past 20 years. When things were getting very tough for Mark in 2016, he was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame. It lifted him up, and he told our family that it was the best thing that had ever happened in his career and life."
 
McNamara played two seasons for the Bears from 1980-82 after transferring from Santa Clara and quickly etched his name into the program record books. He became the first Cal player to reach the 1,000-point mark in only two seasons, and his career scoring rate of 19.6 points per game is second only to Ed Gray at Cal while his 11.6 rebounds per game rank third in program history. His career field-goal percentage of 66.2% continues to top all Golden Bears.
 
McNamara set a school mark by scoring at least 30 points six times and shot a single-season program-record 70.2% from the floor as a senior. The 6-foot-11 big man averaged 22.0 PPG and 12.6 RPG as a senior and was named a third-team All-American by UPI. McNamara scored a career-high 37 points against Seattle Pacific and had 36 against UCLA – which is tied for the most ever by a Cal player against the Bruins. The two-time team MVP was also a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a senior when he led the conference in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage – a feat matched only by three others in conference history.
 
McNamara graduated from Cal with a degree in political economics of natural resources in 1982, the same year in which he was selected 22nd overall in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In his first season in Philadelphia, McNamara helped guide the 76ers to an NBA Championship. His decade-long pro career also included stops with the San Antonio Spurs, Kansas City Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.
 
McNamara went on to enjoy a short coaching career with the Toronto Raptors and in semi-professional leagues in the United States and Europe before health issues forced him to step away from the game.
 
In 2009, McNamara was announced as one of 30 players on the Golden Bears All-Century team in celebration of 100 seasons of Cal basketball.
 
Prior to his passing, McNamara resided in Haines, Alaska, where he conducted basketball camps and coached at Haines High School, where he led the Glacier Bears to divisional state championships in 2008 and 2010. He enjoyed the outdoors as a self-described "back-country kind of guy," and edited film for Twin Lions Productions, which focuses on ecological awareness and conservation.
 
About Pete Newell
Pete Newell served as Cal's basketball coach from 1954-60, guiding the Bears to the 1959 NCAA Championship and a national runner-up finish in 1960, the same season he was voted the national coach of the year. Cal also reached the NCAA regional final in 1957 and '58 under his leadership. Overall, he led the Bears to four consecutive conference titles (1957-60) while compiling a 119-44 record. Newell coached the 1960 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics and later served as Cal's Director of Athletics from 1960-68.
 
Newell was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a year later. The entire 1960 Olympic team, which included former Golden Bear Darrall Imhoff in addition to Newell as head coach, was enshrined into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010. Newell also earned entry into the FIBA International Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
 
Newell, who was born on Aug. 31, 1915, passed away on Nov. 17, 2008.
 
Pete Newell Career Achievement Award Recipients
2010-11 – Al Buch
2011-12 – Earl Robinson
2012-13 – Andy Wolfe
2013-14 – Earl Shultz
2014-15 – Russ Critchfield
2015-16 – Michael Pitts
2016-17 – Stan Morrison
2017-18 – Ned Averbuck
2018-19 – John Ricksen
2019-20 – Shareef Abdur-Rahim
2020-21 – no recipient selected due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 – no recipient selected due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022-23 – Mark McNamara
 
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