<p>AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Southeastern great Dennis Rodman will have his No. 10 retired tonight by the Detroit Pistons tonight during a halftime ceremony.</p><p>“I thought it was an April Fools’ joke when they called me about it the first time,” Rodman told reporters at a special reception in his honor Thursday evening. “I was shocked. I don’t think I should have my jersey retired because I was probably the fifth most important guy on those teams.”</p><p>The eccentric rebounding and defensive specialist helped the Pistons win NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. The ceremony will take place at halftime as the Pistons host the Chicago Bulls, a team Rodman won three championships with from 1996-98.</p><p>Nicknamed The Worm, Rodman came to Southeastern and went on to earn earned NAIA All-America honors three times as he led Coach Jack Hedden’s Savages to the National Tournament on two occasions.</p><p>Rodman was named Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference and District 9 Player of the Year three times and was named Basketball Times College Division Player of the Year for 1985-86.</p><p>The Savages finished third nationally in Rodman’s senior year as he tied the National Tournament single-game record with 32 rebounds against St. Thomas Aquinas, New York. He also scored 46 points in that game.</p><p>Rodman pulled down 95 rebounds to miss the single-tournament record (96) by just one board. He earned All-National Tournament honors twice, second team in 1984-85 and then first team in 1985-86.</p><p>He was drafted and signed by the Detroit Pistons of the NBA and went on to play for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls, then briefly the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. </p><p>Rodman earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and was the league’s defensive player of the year in 1990 and 1991.</p><p>His Southeastern jersey (No. 10) was retired in 1987. </p><p><em><strong>The Associated Press and Harold Harmon contributed to this story.</strong></em></p><p align="center"><strong>-- GoSoutheastern.com --</strong></p><p />
