Weber State University Athletics
Hall of Fame - Todd Harper
3/17/2015 7:35:00 PM | Wildcat Club
Todd Harper
Men's Basketball (1978-82)
Inducted October 2008
A key performer for Coach Neil McCarthy's Wildcats, Todd Harper made a name for himself in Weber State's storied men's basketball programs.
Harper, a native of San Diego, California and Santana High School, was an All-Big Sky Conference First Team performer in 1981 and 1982, and a member of two Big Sky championships squads in 1978-79 and 1979-80.
Harper, a 6-foot-4 swingman, finished his career as the seventh all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,382 points. Harper led the Big Sky Conference in scoring in 1980-81 at 19.4 points per game.
Harper also ranks second all-time at WSU in career free throw percentage at 79.5 percent (306 of 385). His career-high was a 31-points performance against Nevada-Reno.
A “rainbow jumper” is a basketball shot which describes a high arcing shot taken from long distance. No other player in WSU history had a better one than No. 44.
Coming out of high school as the San Diego Player of the Year, he played 30 games as the Wildcats' top reserve on a Big Sky championship team that went 25-9. He showed his tenacity by scoring 18 points off the bench in his first collegiate game, on the road at Alaska-Fairbanks.
In his sophomore season, Harper was the sixth man on a team featuring Bruce Collins, Mark Mattos, David Johnson, Richard Smith and Gerald Mattinson. He played in all 29 games, averaging 7.4 points per game en route to a 26-3 record. He was named Top Reserve in the Big Sky that season.
In 1979-80, Harper took over as team leader and led the squad in scoring at 18 points per game and was the Big Sky leader in free throw shooting, making nearly 86 percent of his shots. He averaged 38.5 minutes per game for Coach Neil McCarthy that season, and was named All-Big Sky First Teamer.
As a senior, the Wildcats rebounded from a 8-19 record to finish 15-13, and nearly knocked off league champion Idaho in the first round of the Big Sky tourney. Harper averaged 17.9 points per game and again was named First Team All-Big Sky.