Cuttino Mobley, Antonio Reynolds Dean, Tyson Wheeler Go Into URI Ring of Honor Wednesday

Rhode Island men’s basketball legends Tyson Wheeler, Cuttino Mobley and Antonio Reynolds Dean will return to Kingston to formally be inducted into the Rhode Island Athletics Ring of Honor on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

As members of the Ring of Honor, Wheeler, Mobley and Reynolds Dean will have their names unveiled in the Ryan Center rafters as part of a special ceremony at the men’s basketball home game against Brown on Dec. 6. All three men were announced last season as part of the initial Ring of Honor selections, but they were unable to attend.

“Tyson, Cuttino and Antonio are names that are forever woven into the fabric that is Rhode Island basketball,” Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn said. “What they achieved during their time here as players had a profound impact on the program and on the University as a whole. ”

Wheeler, Mobley and Reynolds Dean led Rhode Island to an Elite Eight run in the 1998 NCAA Championship. Along the way, the Rams defeated Murray State, top-seeded Kansas and Valparaiso before a 79-77 loss to Stanford, capturing the hearts of basketball fans around the country along the way.

All three men are two-time Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame inductees. Wheeler (2011), Mobley (2009) and Reynolds Dean (2017) were inducted again last year as members of the 1997-98 team.

Now they will officially join Carlton “Silk” Owens, Tom Garrick and Kenny Green as members of the Ring of Honor.

Rhode Island Athletics
Ring of Honor Inductees
Tyson Wheeler (1994-98)
The school’s second-leading scorer behind Carlton Owens with 1,918 points, Wheeler still holds the program record for assists with 712. He also graduated as URI’s all-time leader in steals (205) and 3-point shots (302), and he holds the top two single-season assist marks (205 in 1997-98 and 203 in 1995-96). He made the All-Atlantic 10 Team every season of his career, earning First Team honors twice, Second Team once and the All-Rookie Team. A second-round pick of the Toronto Raptors during the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Wheeler played several seasons in the Continental Basketball Association, earning Second Team All-League honors in 2002-03. Following a lengthy professional career overseas, he turned to coaching and is an assistant at Brown today.

Cuttino Mobley (1994-98)
No player benefited more from the arrival of Jim Harrick than Mobley, who emerged as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 1997-98. He finished his career with 1,334 points and graduated as URI’s career leader in free throw percentage (.821). Spurred by his performance in Rhode Island’s Elite 8 run, Mobley was a second-round draft pick by the Houston Rockets and earned Second Team All-Rookie Team honors in his first NBA season. He played 10 seasons in the NBA, finishing his career with 11,964 points in time with the Rockets, Orlando Magic and L.A. Clippers. Today he remains active in the BIG3 league.

Antonio Reynolds Dean (1995-99)
The only person to both play and coach for Rhode Island in the NCAA Championship, Reynolds Dean led the Rams to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances as a player. A dynamic power forward, he made a splash as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in the 1995-96 season. With 1,576 career points, he still ranks 14th in program history and he is one of only two Rams with both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. His 235 blocked shots are third in team history. His long professional career overseas included First Team All-IBA and IBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2000, two All-Star appearances in Liga Espanola de Baloncesto, where he also won a league title in 2003. Since his playing ended, Reynolds Dean has been coaching in the college ranks and he is currently the associate head coach at Georgia.