Danny Ainge is Hall of Fame-bound. But former teammates want to know what took so long?

He’s been one of a kind all his life.

Put a ball, any ball, in his hand, and he’s automatically a natural.

Danny Ainge deserves induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, and the fact that it will happen Oct. 22 in Kansas City is actually a little late, according to former BYU teammate Devin Durrant. “It’s long overdue,” he said.

Ainge is the only athlete I’m aware of who earned high school All-America honors in three sports (football, basketball, baseball) while at North Eugene High in Oregon.

From his three-quarter-make at McArthur Court in a high school state playoff game to his remarkable full-court dash and lay-in against Notre Dame to advance BYU to the Elite Eight, Ainge’s highlight videos are a library of athletic wonder. Consistently, he played with intense passion, remarkable competitive spirit and a winner’s swagger.

From leading the NBA in 3-point shooting to title runs with the Celtics, Ainge engineered one of the most remarkable rebuilds in pro basketball history as the Celtics’ general manager.

I first began writing about Ainge when he committed to BYU’s Frank Arnold out of high school in 1977, 49 years ago.

He has always been a kind and friendly person. But he had a fuse when it came to playing sports. You lit it, and he simply exploded into passionate effort and skill.

It was one of those moments when he put on a show against Oral Roberts in the Marriott Center on Dec. 23, 1978. BYU won and scored 120. Ainge scored 40 in that game, the third most by any BYU player ever.

“Danny Ainge has to be considered one of the greatest athletes of our time,” said Durrant.

Durrant, who lives in Rexburg, Idaho, today, penned a piece in the Deseret News about playing with Ainge back in 2024 after the funeral of Coach Arnold.

Steve Craig, who shared the backcourt with Ainge, was thrilled with the induction of his old mate. Traveling home from Oregon in a motor home Friday, Craig declared: “I don’t think there is a more deserving person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame than Danny.”

Craig, a talented football and basketball player out of Beverly Hills High in Los Angeles, said Ainge had an “inner belief” that no other player he played with had.

“He just expected success,” said Craig. “I believe at a different level, the great players have a better understanding of the game than others playing it. Danny had a higher understanding of the game, similar to Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and other greats and that allowed them to perform at a higher level, where the game was almost in slow motion to them. It allowed them to excel above everybody else and that was Danny.”

Ainge’s BYU teammate Fred Roberts, who played 13 seasons as a power forward in the NBA, said Ainge has earned the honor. “He’s proved himself as a player and a front office guy. He’s been excellent in both roles.”

Roberts and his brother Glen both played with Ainge in the early ’80s while at BYU.

“He was not afraid to take chances and he was not intimidated by anything. He understood how to become special,” said Roberts.

“Whenever we went on the court, we had confidence because he had confidence. We felt like, ‘OK, let’s go out there. We’ve got a guy who can compete against anybody and we’ll just follow his lead.’”

Roberts said if you played against Ainge, he had an obnoxious competitiveness, but if you played with him, you loved his competitiveness.

Roberts said Michael Jordan remains one of the most competitive players who has ever lived. “So was Larry Bird, a guy who willed himself to win, a guy who loved the fight, and the tougher the fight, the more he loved it. Danny had a lot of that in him. He just didn’t want to be showed up by anyone.”

Roberts is currently in his 20th year of teaching school. This year, he’ll teach sixth graders at a charter school in Alpine.

Durrant has businesses in Rexburg, and spends a lot of time with grandchildren. Himself a high school All-American at Provo High, Ainge helped recruit him across the street to BYU.

“This honor is deserving for Danny. Maybe a little overdue, but I think Danny is the greatest athlete that’s ever come through BYU.”

Named the national Naismith Player of the Year his senior year at BYU, Ainge was the primary reason BYU made it to its last Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a run that ended after BYU lost to Ralph Sampson and Virginia.

Ainge had a remarkable ability to find space and put himself in a position to make plays on both ends of the court. He played before the NCAA counted the 3-point shot and was still one of the nation’s top scorers.

“You know, when I think of Danny Ainge, the word winner stands out. Followed by competitor,” said Durrant.

“As a teammate of Danny’s, we felt like we were in every game. Because we had Danny on our back. He was just a very personable guy and a great teammate. He was a friend to all of us.

“His competitive spirit came to the surface and he was able to make the rest of us confident in our saddles. He made life easier for us because he drew so much attention from the defense.

“I think Danny just had an instinct and a feel for the game that excelled above all others.”

Coach Arnold had times when he’d get after his prized star, “but he did that to everyone because he wanted to get the best out of us,” said Durrant.

“But he also recognized how gifted Danny was, so he gave him a little bit more rope, as any smart coach would do.”

Durrant isn’t surprised that Ainge remains involved in the game, helping out Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith.

“To Ryan Smith’s credit, he’s a smart man and as much as he can keep Danny Ainge around, I think it’s going to be to his advantage, but if you can’t have all of Danny, he’s smart enough to hire his son Austin, which is almost as good.”

Ainge in the college Hall of Fame? He joins Kresimir Cosic as the only Cougar to be inducted into the hall.

There’s been Jimmer, there’s been AJ Dybantsa; we’ve seen two Roberts brothers, a few Santiagos and the Haws clan, fathers and sons. Exciting all.

But there will never be another Danny Ainge in a Cougar uniform.