Bucknell to honor OKC Thunder forward Mike Muscala with jersey retirement

OKC Thunder power forward Mike Muscala will be honored this weekend when Bucknell University retires his jersey at half time.

There are a few benchmarks players look forward to over their careers. Winning a title is the penultimate goal but there are individual honors players also put on their career bucket list.

Things like gaining entry into the Hall of Fame, making All-Star teams or collecting individual hardware like All-NBA teams or Most Valuable Player Awards. Unfortunately, few players ever get the chance to collect these latter honors since they are earmarked for the elite of the league.

Another honor that isn’t always isolated to the elite players is jersey retirements. Case in point, Nick Collison never won any individual awards but he was a logical choice for the OKC Thunder to nab as the first player to have his jersey retired and hoisted into the rafters.

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Mike Muscala will also get to witness that honor for his alma mater Bucknell. As per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, the Thunder forward will retire his number 31 jersey this Saturday at halftime of the game versus American University.

While with Bucknell, Mike Muscala posted averages of 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and a heady 2.0 blocks per game. He played the full four seasons with Bucknell.

During those four years, Muscala amassed some impressive records as he became the all-time leading scorer (2,036 points). The big man was also MVP of the two Patriot League tournament championships the Bisons won in 2011 and 2013.

In his first season with the OKC Thunder, Muscala’s playing time hasn’t been consistent. With injuries at times to each of Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel, he’s gotten more run. However, his inability to connect consistently from the perimeter (34.6%) may be why he never fully carved out consistent minutes.

Granted, it’s noted often on T.I. getting consistent minutes and touches is important for players to develop a rhythm. That said, Muscala is a veteran who had to know this would be his role when he signed.

Regardless, this is a major accomplishment for the big man and TI congratulates Mike Muscala on this honor.