Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame announces 12 finalists (Part – 1) (fixed headline)
It has now become a sort of tradition to announce the finalists for the year’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame during the All-Star weekend. On Friday, twelve finalists for the class of 2011 were announced by the Hall of Fame spokesman Rick Kamla.
The list of finalists was led by former NBA All-Star and five-times champion Dennis Rodman. The other basketball legends who made the cut were Jamaal Wilkes, Tex Winter, Maurice Cheeks, Chris Mullin, Ralph Sampson, five-time Olympian WNBA great Teresa Edwards, Stanford women's coach Tara VanDerveer, former NBA coach d**k Motta, Philadelphia University coach Herb Magee, college referee Hank Nichols, and Al Attles, the current vice president and assistant general manager of the Golden State Warriors.
To be inducted, a finalist needs at least 18 of 24 votes from the Honours Committee. The winners of the coveted honour will now be announced April 4 at a news conference in Houston, prior to the NCAA’s Men’s Championship game. The one’s chosen will then be enshrined at the hall in Springfield, Mass., from Aug. 11-13.
The more noticeable nominees though were the ones who got excluded. Long-time Pacers guard Reggie Miller didn't make it in the final dozen his first attempt since retiring in 2005. Miller, a five-time All-Star, scored 25,279 points in his illustrious (what?). He held the record for most three pointers in the NBA till the last week when his ex-team-mate and now a Celtic’s player Ray Allen eclipsed that feat. In addition to that he is one of the only five players in the elite 50-40-90 shooting club.
The next big surprise omission was the legendary NBA coach Don Nelson. The coach, who has garnered the most victories in the history of NBA, was omitted from the list despite being a finalist last year. Nelson was a three-time Coach of the Year and named as one of the 10 Greatest NBA Coaches of All-Time.
Here is a breakdown of the players and officials who got selected.
Dennis Rodman
Arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history, Dennis Keith Rodman was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities. Having won the NBA All-Defensive First Team honours seven times in his glittering career Rodman led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years during which he led his franchises to five NBA championships.
He was combustible, wildly energetic, bizarre looking. His behavior on the court and off was by turns brilliant, repellent and hilarious. The prototypical “bad boy of NBA” was not present at the ceremony but his agent Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, delivered his feelings.
"He's really more excited for his children and to secure a legacy for them. They're at an age where they're starting to know who their dad was," Prince said. "He's taken aback a little bit because he's not used to being isolated as an individual for what he's done. He was the most unselfish teammate."
Jamaal Wilkes
One of the smoothest, steadiest and most productive forwards to ever play in the NBA, Jamal Wilkes won four r NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Renowned for his deadly accurate jump shot from the corner, Jamal won championships at the scholastic, collegiate and the professional level.
Tex Winter
Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter, the coach who was inducted in the College basketball Hall of Fame last year, is considered to be the pioneers of the modern game and the innovator of the triangle offense. In a coaching career spanning over 57 years, the legendary coach guided five college teams and three NBA franchises.
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