in the conference's history. Weatherspoon became the first Golden Eagle to have his jersey retired when his #35 was raised to the rafters on March 7, 1992, on the night of his final home game. As a collegian, Weatherspoon twice represented the US in international competition. In 1990, Weatherspoon was on the silver-medal winning USA team that participated in the Goodwill Games. In 1991, Weatherspoon was on the USA's team for the Pan-American games played in Cuba; the USA won the bronze medal, and in the tournament's seven games Weatherspoon averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds. In February 1991, Weatherspoon was the focus of a five-page feature in Sports Illustrated. While at Southern Mississippi, Weatherspoon had a trademark dunk called the "Spoon Feed." Weatherspoon was inducted into the Southern Mississippi Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 2007. NBA career Weatherspoon was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers (Round 1, Pick 9) in the 1992 NBA draft. He was drafted just three days after the Sixers had traded away Charles Barkley to Phoenix. The Philadelphia media, who had once called Weatherspoon the "Metro's Barkley" during one of USM's NCAA tournament appearances, instantly drew comparisons between the departed Barkley and the recently drafted Weatherspoon. Spoon, listed at 6-7 but appearing closer to 6-5, was, like Barkley, an undersized power forward with a strong desire for rebounding and operating down low. Weatherspoon was referred to as "Baby Barkley" at times during his early career. He is often remembered for multiple pump fakes under the basket when scoring down low. Weatherspoon quietly had an excellent rookie campaign for the struggling 76ers. He averaged 15.6 points per game, which placed him third on the team, and he broke Lee Shaffer's thirty-one-year-old record for most points in a season by a Sixers rookie (the record has since been broken by both Jerry Stackhouse and Allen Iverson). Spoon led the 76ers in rebounding, was fourth among rookies in scoring (trailing Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Christian Laettner), and scored a season-high 30 points in a nationally televised game at Denver. He was named to the all-rookie second team. Weatherspoon's second season was his finest as a professional. He led the 76ers in scoring at 18.4 points per game and averaged what turned out to be a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game. He was extremely consistent, scoring in double-figures in 80 of 82 games, and recording 46 double-doubles. He