SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Final Four coaches Mike Krzyzewski of
Duke and Lute Olson of Arizona are on the short list for induction
into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Krzyzewski and Olson were among 17 finalists -- seven players,
seven coaches and three contributors -- announced Wednesday. The
inductees will be voted into the hall in May and enshrined Oct. 5.
"It knocks you back a little bit," Krzyzewski said. "It's the
highest honor you can be considered for in your sport. It can't get
any better than this except being elected."
His team faces Maryland on Saturday in the NCAA semifinals.
Olson's team plays Michigan State in the other game.
Krzyzewski does not plan on making his Hall of Fame prospects a
topic of conversation with his players.
"I'm not going to tell them," he said. "They just need to
concentrate on playing. And being a parent, I know kids can only
take care of a few things at a time."
Other coaches among the finalists are Larry Brown, who won an
NCAA championship at Kansas and took six different teams to the NBA
playoffs; Temple's John Chaney, who has led the Owls to five NCAA
regional finals over the past 19 years and led Cheyney State to a
Division II championship; and Fresno State's Jerry Tarkanian, who
won an NCAA championship at UNLV.
Among the players were Moses Malone, who skipped college to play
21 years in the ABA and NBA; James Worthy, one of the game's
greatest fastbreak finishers; scoring star Adrian Dantley; and
defensive ace Bobby Jones.
Krzyzewski, who has led Duke to two national championships and
is making his ninth appearance in the Final Four, and Malone, a
12-time All-Star who ranks third in rebounding, fifth in scoring
and third in games played, were first-time nominees.
Active college coaches are eligible for election to the Hall of
Fame after 25 years in coaching. Players must be retired for five
years.
Nominees need 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for
induction.
Olson is the seventh winningest active college coach. He has a
739-246 record in 28 years of coaching at Long Beach City College,
Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona. He led Arizona to the 1997 NCAA
championship. The school's string of 17 consecutive NCAA tournament
appearances, including four trips to the Final Four, is the longest
current streak under one coach.
"Lute truly epitomizes what people who start out in this
profession dream of," Krzyzewski said.
Cathy Rush, whose three national championships at Immaculata
College in the 1970s brought national attention and scholarship
money to women's college basketball; and North Carolina State coach
Kay Yow, who ranks fifth with 611 career victories and has taken
the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament 15 times in the past 19 years,
also were nominated to the hall.
Also proposed as players were Earl Lloyd, who in 1950 became the
first black to play in an NBA game, and international stars Dino
Meneghin of Italy and the late Drazen Petrovic, who played in the
NBA and on the Yugoslavian and Croatian Olympic teams.
Nominated as contributors were Tex Winter, who has spent more
than 50 years coaching on the Division I or professional level;
Grady Lewis, who helped develop the low-cut canvas basketball shoe;
and the late Junius Kellogg, a wheelchair basketball pioneer.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
Dan Patrick: Lute endures Final Four without Bobbi
Vitale's Final Four focus: Arizona
Vitale's Final Four focus: Michigan State
|
