Cal Basketball Hall of Famer Mark McNamara passes away

According to the Cal Athletics website — former California Golden Bears basketball star Mark McNamara has passed away. He was 60 years old.

McNamara long fought heart issues and passed away due to heart failure, according to Sports Illustrated.

We mourn with the McNamara family, his friends, former teammates and all Golden Bears worldwide.

From the Cal release:

McNamara played just two seasons for the Bears after transferring from Santa Clara (1980-81 and 1981-82), but quickly etched his name into the program record books. He set a school mark by scoring at least 30 points six times, while he shot a Cal-record 70.2 percent from the floor as a senior (231-329). That season, he averaged 22.0 ppg and 12.6 ppg and was named a third-team All-American by UPI. McNamara scored a high of 37 points vs. Seattle Pacific and 36 against UCLA, which ties for the most ever by a Bear against the Bruins. A two-time team MVP, he was voted first-team All-Pac-10 as a senior and led the Pac-10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage – a feat matched by only three others in conference history (UCLA’s Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton; Arizona State’s Ike Diogu).

A San Jose, Calif., product, McNamara finished with 1,041 points, becoming the first Cal player to reach the 1,000-point mark in only two years. His career scoring rate of 19.6 ppg is second only to Ed Gray at Cal, while his 11.6 rpg are No. 3 in school history. His career shooting rate of 66.2 percent continues to top the Cal record chart.

McNamara graduated from Cal in 1982 with a degree in Political Economics of Natural Resources, 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, appearing in 36 games while averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds and shooting 45.3 percent from the floor as a rookie. His decade-long pro career also included stops with the San Antonio Spurs, Kansas City Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, where he amassed 980 points in 278 games.

McNamara went on to enjoy a short coaching career, including with the Toronto Raptors and in semi-professional leagues in the U.S. and Europe, before health issues forced McNamara to step away from the game.

He was announced as one of 30 players on the Golden Bears All-Century team in 2009 and inducted into the Hall of Fame seven years later in 2016.