We’ve feted Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Bill Russell, Rick Adelman, Jay Wright, Lauren Jackson, Yolanda Griffith, Chris Bosh, and Chris Webber this week for their induction into the hoops Hall of Fame. Now, we take a look at the rest of the Naismith entrants today who deserve their just dues as well. Veterans Committee: Pearl Moore and Bob Dandridge source: AP Pearl Moore is a real OG. She averaged 30.6 points per game in four years at Francis Marion College without a three-point-shot, making her one of the great college scorers we’ve ever seen. She netted 4,061 career points while at Francis Marion, which is the record for the most points ever by a woman in college basketball at any level. She is also a four-time Association for Intercollegiate Athletics Small College All-American. After graduating in 1979 she was drafted in the first round of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, and played until the league folded in 1981. She’s also a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame after being inducted in 2011. Before starring in the NBA, Bob Dandridge led Norfolk State, then a Division II program, to the 1968 Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. source: AP He was a fourth round draft pick in 1969, and the 6-foot-6 small forward quickly became the third best player, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, on the Milwaukee Bucks. The trio led a 1971 NBA Championship, the Bucks’ first and only title until Giannis Antetokoumnpo led them back this year. Dandridge played in the NBA from 1969-1982, making four All-Star appearances, one All-NBA, one All-Defensive, and won a second title with the 1978 Washington Bullets, where he was their second leading scorer behind Elvin Hayes. At his statistical peak from 1970-1979, Dandridge posted 19.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Also, at a young 73 years of age, he sounds tremendous. Contributors: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons and Howard Garfinkel source: AP Val Ackerman was the WNBA’s first President in 1996, and held the role until 2005. In May of that year, she became the first female President of USA Basketball, a role she led until 2008, which is where, perhaps most notably, the men’s “Redeem Team” won their first gold medal since 2000 following their infamous 2004 blunder. Since the Big East restructured in 2013, Ackerman’s been the conference’s commissioner as well. The late Cotton Fitzsimmons was a head coach in the NBA for 21 seasons between 1970-1997, leading the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Buffalo Braves, Kansas City Kings, San Antonio Spurs, the Suns again, and the Suns one last time. source: AP Over his career, he compiled an 832-775 record, and reached two conference finals with the Suns in 1989 and 1990 led by Tom Chambers, Eddie Johnson, Kevin Johnson, and Jeff Hornacek. His 832 regular season victories are the 16th most in NBA history, and his team’s went 35-49 in 84 playoff games. source: AP Howard Garfinkel will also be inducted posthumously for his contributions, helping grow the game on a grassroots level with the famed Five-Star Basketball Camp. The Five-Star basketball camp was founded in 1966, and its website indicates that “over 10 percent of Naismith Hall of Fame Coaches have either worked or lectured at Five-Star,” a list that includes Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams, Bob Hurley Sr., and Jim Calhoun, among many others. Before that, he started High School Basketball Illustrated, the first ever high school scouting report. Early African-American Pioneers: Clarence ‘Fats’ Jenkins credits: Courtesy: YouTube/The Black Fives Foundation Clarence ‘Fats’ Jenkins was a two-sport athlete in basketball and baseball in the 1920s and 1930s. In baseball, he was a leftfielder who played in the Negro Leagues, and was a career .339 hitter, according to his baseball reference. In basketball, he starred for the first teams named “Colored Basketball World’s Champions” in 1917, 1918 and 1919 consecutively. He also played for the New York Renaissance, who were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1963, and Hall of Fame’s website lists the all-Black club as “One of basketball’s first true dynasties.” International Committee: Toni Kukoč source: AP Toni Kukoč helped kick in the door for other international players to follow. He wasn’t the very first, but he was one of the most known, because in the 1990s, players weren’t coming into the NBA from all over the world nearly at the rate they are now. Kukoč was a famed example because of where he went, the Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson-led Chicago Bulls, but also who he was beforehand. Kukoč was the second overall pick in round two of the 1990 NBA Draft, and remained a Eurostash before coming into the NBA in time for the 1993-94 season. But in the meantime, he had been torching the greatest league in the world outside of the NBA, winning a laughable amount of awards, a few of which run through. Olympic Silver Medalist in 1988 with Yugoslavia and in 1992 with Croatia. FIBA World Cup gold medal and MVP in 1990. Yugoslav League Champion from 1988-1991 (and Cup Winner from 1990-1991). Three EuroLeague titles from 1989-1991. Three EuroLeague Final Four MVP Awards in 1990, 1991, and 1993. FIBA EuroBasket MVP in 1991. Named to FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players ever in 1991, and voted fifth overall, the year he turned 23 years old (!!) You get the idea. And here, he was damn good; would’ve been even better in this era that embraces European basketball more than it did nearly 30 years ago. In the NBA, Kukoč played from 1993-2006, with career averages of 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. His peak years came in 1994-2000, all but half the 1999-00 season with the Bulls, and the latter of which was spent with the Philadelphia 76ers. In those six peak seasons, he posted 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on 46 percent shooting, and he made about a three per game before the league was what it became today in terms of shooting. He won three-NBA Titles with the Bulls from 1996-1998, and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 1995-96 season. One of the most accomplished and overlooked players we’ve ever seen, who helped usher in an era of basketball he himself would have benefited immensely from. Relatedbest football betting sitesnfl online betting sitesbet on college footballnba betonline mlb bettingonline nhl betstop ufc betting sitessoccer bettingbetting sites for copa america
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Outstanding.
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