DETROIT (1/12/14) -- Former Titan basketball player and 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Earl "The Twirl" Cureton was honored on Saturday night when he received the prestigious John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award from the University of Detroit Mercy Athletic Department.

Detroit Athletic Director Robert Vowels, Jr. along with John Conti made the presentation during the Titans Horizon League basketball game against Oakland at Calihan Hall.

Cureton played two seasons as a Titan after transferring to the University as a junior academically. After sitting out a year, he helped lead Detroit to a 36-19 record in his two active campaigns, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 1979. He averaged 20 points and 9.1 rebounds to lead the team in both departments. He finished his career ninth all-time on block list with 79.

Following his two seasons with the Titans, he was selected in the third round of the 1979 NBA Draft by Philadelphia and went on to play on two NBA Championship teams (Philadelphia and Houston) during his 12-year professional career.

Since retiring from the Toronto Raptors in 1997, Cureton has served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Raptors, made stops in the United States Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association, was an analyst for FOX Sports Detroit before serving as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

Today, Cureton is a member of the Detroit Pistons Game Changers Program, which is designed to recognize and reward unsung heroes throughout the state of Michigan.

The John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award was established by Anheuser-Busch to honor its long-time employee upon his induction into the Titan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. Conti was the captain of the 1949 Detroit football team that won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. At 6-1 and 300 pounds, he was an Honorable Mention All-American and the biggest man in college football. His spirit and charitable enthusiasm have always seemed to be even larger. In tribute to that spirit, the John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award is presented to former Titan varsity athletes who go above and beyond at work and in the community. Cureton is a reflection of those characteristics, much like the Award's first recipient, legendary Titans basketball coach Bob Calihan, and the honorees that have followed him.