Kankakee Times

State Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) recently attended an event honoring Jack Sikma, a former St. Anne High School basketball star inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

"This  evening, I attended a ceremony to honor St. Anne’s own Jack Sikma and all of his amazing accomplishments on and off the basketball court! Jack started his basketball career at St. Anne High School," the legislator said on Facebook. "He went on to play at Illinois Wesleyan University and was drafted into the NBA by the  Seattle SuperSonics. He also played for the Milwaukee Bucks. Jack went  on to be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2019. Proud of our hometown hero!"

Sikma, who stands at 6 foot 11 inches, played in the NBA from 1977-1991 for the Seattle Supersonics and the Milwaukee Bucks, according to the NBA.

Born in Kankakee, Sikma graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1977, Hoophall said.

Sikma is the school's all-time leading scorer (2,272 points) and rebounder (1,405)," the website said. "Iin each of his last three  seasons, the Titans won College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships and advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics  tournament in Kansas City."

As a professional player, he was an NBA all-star seven times, Hoophall said.

"Sikma scored 17,287 points and got 10,816 rebounds in the NBA and was a key player on Seattle's 1979 NBA championship team. He holds Seattle's  team records for rebounds (7,729) and free throws made (3,044)," according to Hoophall. "He is the only center to have led the NBA in free throw shooting percentage, converting 92.2 percent in 1987-88 with the Milwaukee Bucks  and his jersey has been retired both by Illinois Wesleyan and the  Seattle SuperSonics."