Villanova to retire Kyle Lowry’s college jersey in February

Villanova's Kyle Lowry (1) runs around Longwood's Michael Jefferson, left, during the first half in Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2005. (Tim Larsen/AP)

Another accolade is on the horizon for Toronto Raptors longtime guard and NBA champion Kyle Lowry.

The Villanova Wildcats announced Tuesday that it will retire Lowry’s college jersey in February.

Before being selected 24th-overall with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006, the Philadelphia native played 57 games of college basketball, earning All-Big East and Big-East All-Freshman nods during his two-year stint with the Wildcats from 2004 to 2006. In 2005-06, he had an average of 11 points and 3.7 assists.

“Kyle brought a toughness to our program that everyone has had to live up to in the years since,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright in a press release. “We’re so proud of all his basketball accomplishments, but mostly the man, father and husband that he’s become.”

The 32-year-old Lowry wore No. 1 with his alma mater, before eventually landing the famous No. 7 with the Raptors.

Since making the NBA, Lowry has been named an All-Star five times, and made the 2015-16 All-NBA team.

After seeing a championship banner raised at the Scotiabank Arena rafters, Lowry will get to see his college jersey go up on Feb. 26, when Villanova hosts St. Johns. The university is located in Villanova, Pa., on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.