Richard Jefferson, former University of Arizona basketball star, promised Friday to donate $3.5 million to the school's athletic department.

The gift from Jefferson, who now plays for the New Jersey Nets in the NBA, will be used toward finishing a $14 million basketball/volleyball practice facility.

UA officials say the new facility will bear Jefferson's name.

"I am pleased and blessed to be able to make this gift to an institution that has done so much to help me," Jefferson said in a news release. "For an Arizona kid like me to be able to give something back to the University of Arizona is very special."