COLUMBIA - Mizzou Arena's rafters will soon see a seventh retired men's jersey.
A poorly kept secret for the last two weeks, Missouri officially announced Wednesday that Derrick Chievous' No. 3 will be retired Tuesday, Feb. 19 during halftime of the Tigers' game against Kentucky.
Chievous, who holds several program records including being the all-time leading scorer with 2,580 points, left as a senior for the NBA after the team won both the 1987 Big 8 regular season title and postseason tournament, and was selected 16th overall by the Houston Rockets.
A 6-foot-7, 200-pound small forward from Queens, N.Y., Chievous was also two-time All-Big 8 selection and a 1987 All-American. He was inducted into the Mizzou Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
"Derrick Chievous enjoyed one of the greatest careers ever in a Mizzou basketball uniform, and we look forward to honoring him later this month by permanently hanging his number alongside other Tiger greats in Mizzou Arena," athletic director Jim Sterk said in a statement. "Derrick is most-deserving of this honor, and I know that our fans will want to be there to share this special moment with him and his family."
His No. 3 jersey will hang alongside current Missouri Board of Curators chair Jon Sundvold (No. 20), his former head coach Norm Stewart (No. 22), Willie Smith (No. 30), Doug Smith (No. 34), Steve Stipanovich (No. 40) and Bill Staufer (No. 43).
The Tigers' game against No. 5 Kentucky will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2. Missouri's next game is Saturday when it hosts Texas A&M at 5 p.m.