Hoops of glory

Alumnus Jay Arnette is named to the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.

There aren’t many seventh graders who can boast that their grandfather was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team. But Jackson, Dr. Jay Arnette’s grandson, can. The highlight of Jackson’s life was attending the 2010 Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony with his grandfather, who graduated from Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry in 1971 and from the college’s orthodontic program in 1973. Arnette had an entire career in basketball before pursuing dentistry, and Jackson keeps a little piece of it — his grandfather’s Olympic basketball uniform — framed in his room.

It all started at the University of Texas, where 6’2” Arnette played guard for the Longhorns. The three-year letter winner helped his team win the NCAA Tournament “Sweet 16” in 1960 and went on to capture Olympic gold later that year in Rome before playing professionally for the Cincinnati Royals.

On Oct. 28 the Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognized Arnette, along with eight other individuals, as members of the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame, the first class to be inducted since 1995.

These days, Arnette can be found courtside, where he and family cheer for Jackson, now a player on the Hill Country Middle School basketball team. From the looks of this video, it appears the knack for the game may just run in the family.

—Jenny Fuentes