A great scorer and rebounder, Jim Naughton tonight joins the
Hall of Fame as one of the greatest basketball players in WPI
history.
The third all-time leading scorer behind 1991 Hall of Fame
inductee Orville Bailey and fellow inductee Ryan Cain, Naughton
totaled 1,543 points, 893 rebounds, 177 assists, 113 blocks, and
164 steals.
As a freshman, he played in all 27 games with 11 starts on a
team that defeated Clark at the Worcester Centrum and went 9-of-12
down the stretch before falling to Babson in the CAC
semifinals.
Naughton became the team’s leading rebounder in his
sophomore season and was the top scorer in three of the last six
games, including 24 points in a victory over Western New England.
He also hauled in 15 boards against Worcester State in the City
Finals.
"Jim was one of the premier big men not just in New England
Division III basketball but he was as talented as there was,
nationally,” comments Hall of Fame teammate Chris Dunn.
“Being able to score from anywhere on the court made him an
absolute match-up nightmare. Averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds
per game for three seasons is a testament to just how good Jim was.
This is an honor he truly deserves for all of his accomplishments
on the court as well as in the classroom."
In his junior season, Naughton finished second to Dunn in
scoring while he led the team in rebounds - a career-best 11.2 per
game to go along with 42 blocks. For his efforts he was tabbed
All-CAC for the first of two times in his career. The 1994-95 WPI
squad knocked off Clark and Worcester State for the Worcester City
Championship and posted a 19-9 ledger for the program’s
second-best record at the time, just behind the 1985 national
quarterfinalist team.
The CAC 1995-96 Player of the Year and first-team selection
topped the charts with career highs of 21.5 points per game and 56
steals. His 53 assists ranked second on the team in his final
season on Boynton Hill.
“Jim Naughton was one of the best all-around big man we
ever had,” quipped his Hall of Fame coach Ken Kaufman.
“He could score inside and outside, and he was a great
rebounder. It was a pleasure to coach this academically ranked No.1
student in his class at WPI.”
Jim graduated from WPI in 1996 with a degree in mathematics,
management and economics & technology. He worked in the Boston
area for 10 years, primarily in consulting, before returning to
graduate school. He earned a JD from Harvard Law School in 2010 and
a doctorate in business administration from Harvard Business School
in 2011.
He is currently a professor of business administration at the
Kellogg School of Management. He and his wife, Alyson, live in
Wilmette, Ill., with their children, Finn and Seamus.
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