Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1990
Tough, hard-nosed, aggressive. When there was a loose ball, he would grab it. When a rebound was needed, he would throw his 6-foot, 6-inch body into the fray to retrieve it.
The forward from Woodbury, N.J., started for three consecutive years from 1958 through 1960. As a sophomore, he earned second-team All-ACC honors by leading the Deacons in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage. He nearly matched those figures the following year as the club's top scorer and rebounder.
In 1960, his senior campaign, Budd captained one of Wake Forest's most popular squads, leading the team to the school's only Dixie Classic championship and a 21-7 record. That set the stage for back-to-back ACC title-winning years to follow. He was named to the all-league second unit in 1960 as well.
For his career, Budd ranks among Wake Forest's leaders in rebound average at 9.1 per game, total rebounds and free throws attempted and made. He is one of only 23 players in school history to total more than 1,000 points and more than 500 rebounds in a career.
After playing five years with the NBA's New York Knicks, Budd returned to his hometown and became a very successful businessman by serving as president and sole owner of the Gloucester County Packing Company. The Demon Deacons' practice court in the Miller Center is named in Budd's honor.
