Basketball Hall of Fame Nominees for 2013

Parquet has seen many a Hall a Famer

 The Basketball Hall of Fame listed the players, coaches, refs, sports executives and contributors nominated for consideration as inductees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  Check later this month or in early February as The Blog (at) TerryLyons.com will list its choices for induction.

Here is the official list, courtesy of hoophall.com - the official site of the #BHOF

North American Nominations (31)
From this list, a candidate needs seven of nine votes from the North American committee to become a finalist.  Finalists will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, Texas.

Johnny Bach
Dick Bavetta
Gene Bess
Maurice Cheeks
Jack Curran
Bobby Dandridge
Lefty Driesell
Bill Fitch
Cotton Fitzsimmons
Travis Grant
Tim Hardaway
Spencer Haywood
Robert Hughes
Kevin Johnson
Marques Johnson (First-Time Nominee)
Gene Keady
Bernard King
Guy Lewis
Danny Miles
William “Speedy” Morris (First-Time Nominee)
Dick Motta
Curly Neal
Gary Payton (First-Time Nominee)
Rick Pitino
Mitch Richmond
Paul Silas
Eddie Sutton
Jerry Tarkanian
Rudy Tomjanovich
Paul Westphal
Gary Williams

Women Nominations (12) From this list, a candidate needs five of seven votes from the North American committee to become a finalist.  Finalists will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Leta Andrews
Jennifer Azzi
Laurie Byrd (First-Time Nominee)
Kathy Delaney-Smith
Sylvia Hatchell
Rebecca Lobo
Muffet McGraw (First-Time Nominee)
Kim Mulkey
Harley Redin
Theresa Shank
Dawn Staley
Theresa Weatherspoon

ABA (14)
The ABA Committee can vote in one candidate from this list as a Direct Elect into the Class of 2013.  This Direct Elect will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Zelmo Beaty
Ron Boone
Roger Brown
Mack Calvin
Louie Dampier
Donnie Freeman
Warren Jabali
Jimmy Jones
Bob “Slick” Leonard
Freddie Lewis
George McGinnis
Dennis Murphy (First-Time Nominee)
Charlie Scott
Willie Wise

Early African-American Pioneers (17)The Early African-American Pioneer Committee can vote in one candidate from this list as a Direct Elect into the Class of 2013.  This Direct Elect will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Clarence Bell
Wyatt Boswell
Zack Clayton
Nat Clifton
Chuck Cooper
Edwin Henderson
Johnny Issacs
Inman Jackson
Clarence Jenkins
Bucky Lew
Hudson Oliver
Cumberland Posey
Al Pullins
James Ricks
Paul Robeson
Eyre Saitch
William Smith

Veterans (25)The Veterans Committee can vote in one candidate from this list as a Direct Elect into the Class of 2013.  This Direct Elect will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Carl Braun
Charles Eckman
Leroy Edwards
Clarence “Bevo” Francis
Buck Freeman
Richie Guerin
Bobby Hall
Joe Hammond (First-Time Nominee)
Robert Harrison
Cam Henderson
Robert Hopkins
Johnny Kerr
Bobby Knight**
Jim Loscutoff
Loyola of Chicago
Willie Naulls
Philadelphia SPHAS (First-Time Nominee)
Mel Riebe
Glenn Roberts
Guy Rodgers
Holcombe Rucker
Ken Seusens
Paul Seymour
Tennessee A&I
Max Zaslofsky
**Note, this is not Robert M. Knight (Class of 1991)

International (13)The International Committee can vote in one candidate from this list as a Direct Elect into the Class of 2013.  This Direct Elect will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Mickey Berkowitz
Tal Brody
Jackie Chazalon
Vlade Divac
Nick Galis
Lindsay Gaze
Vladimir Kondrashin
Sarunas Marciulionis
Amaury Pasos
Manuel Sainz
Oscar Schmidt
Togo Soares
Ranko Zeravica

Contributor (21)The Contributor Committee can vote in one candidate from this list as a Direct Elect into the Class of 2013.  This Direct Elect will be announced in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Al Attles
Ed Bilik
Marty Blake
Vic Bubas
Ken Cochran (First-Time Nominee)
Harry Glickman (First-Time Nominee)
Curt Gowdy
Russ Granik (First-Time Nominee)
Del Harris (First-Time Nominee)
Tom Jernstedt
John Kline
Red Klotz
Jerry Krause
Johnny Most
Billy Packer
George Raveling
Jerry Reinsdorf (First-Time Nominee)
Gene Shue
Jim Valvano
Donnie Walsh
Frank Walsh (First-Time Nominee)

Ramble On ... Semi-Pro brings back the old ABA, but only semi-good stuff...

When I heard about Semi-Pro, I stashed a note in my "Edit Posts" file to do a full column on some ABA memories. Of course, many of those memories involve my oldest brother Tim, especially a sad one - watching the local news coverage of a plane crash of an Eastern Airlines jet at JFK airport and seeing a NY Nets equipment bag amongst the wreckage. (the first sign of Wendall Ladner's death).

ANYWAY- HERE IS A QUICK ITEM FROM NEWSDAY, I PROMISE TO WRITE SOME REALLY GOOD STUFF IN THE WEEKS TO COME-


Semi-Pro Brings Back the Old ABA

BY Mark Hermann
Newsday

This is a special note for anyone who goes to the movies to see "Semi-Pro" and doesn't know that the beefcake/red, white and blue basketball photo of Will Ferrell really was inspired by none other than the New York Nets' Wendell Ladner.

This is a primer for the moviegoers who aren't aware that the bikini-clad ballgirls in the film are based on the real-life ballgirls once employed by the Floridians.

This is a pre-emptive quiz for any "Semi-Pro" ticket buyer who doesn't recognize that the fictional Flint Tropics' uniforms have a little Indiana Pacers in them, a little Carolina Cougars.

Consider this a public service to Ferrell fans, most of whom probably weren't born when the late and great American Basketball Association died in 1976. Take it from someone who watched a whole bunch of it from Section 218 of Nassau Coliseum (and various seats at Long Island Arena, Island Garden, Hofstra and the Felt Forum): You missed a heck of a show.

Kudos, maybe, to the producers of "Semi-Pro" for bringing the ABA back to life (Ferrell plays the owner/coach/player of the Tropics in the league's final season). They used the names of real teams, took pains to re-create the real uniforms (very short shorts), put the referees in authentic red-and-white striped shirts and broke out plenty of red, white and blue basketballs. They have Ferrell shooting free throws underhanded, a tribute to the ABA's first marquee star, Rick Barry.

"I've had a lot of hits," Arthur Hundhausen, a Denver attorney, said about traffic on his Web site -- remembertheaba.com. As for whether the movie is a tribute to the league's memory is an open question. Too bad the director cut out the cameos of ABA alumni George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and James Silas, and a one-minute history lesson from Bob Costas, then the kid broadcaster for the Spirits of St. Louis.

How does the ABA look on the big screen? "Like a circus, a really crazy circus," Hundhausen, a consultant on the film, said after he attended the premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

"The 'appearance' of the movie is authentic for sure, but there is nothing about the history of the ABA," he said. "Viewed in a vacuum, the movie does make the league appear kind of silly and pitiful. I guess the saving grace is that maybe the movie might prompt people to learn more about the 'real' ABA, and that can't be a bad thing."

Anything that spreads the word is fine by those of us who wish it were still around, those of us who agree with Hundhausen that the best basketball in the world in 1975-76 was played in the ABA. Look it up: One year later, when the Nets and three other franchises were absorbed into the NBA (which drives the plot of "Semi-Pro") a majority of the lowly Virginia Squires were on NBA teams, and some of them (Dave Twardzik of the champion Trail Blazers comes to mind) played quite well.

Casual basketball fans and the younger generation of fans know of the ABA through the legend of Dr. J. What they don't know is that the Julius Erving who played for Philadelphia wasn't anything close to the Dr. J of the ABA (think Michael Jordan with more funk and a huge afro).

What most people don't realize is that it was the ABA that popularized the three-point shot, now a staple of basketball everywhere. The ABA established the Slam Dunk Contest, which launched skills competitions at All-Star games in every sport.

Guess which league pioneered professional basketball in places that are now entrenched NBA outposts: Miami, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Utah, Indiana, San Antonio, Charlotte and New Jersey.

It launched or advanced careers of current NBA executives Dan Issel and Rod Thorn, and coaches such as Larry Brown, George Karl and Mike D'Antoni.

In other words, the league had some serious ball. It wasn't just a real crazy circus.

Not to say it didn't have, um, flavor. "The things we were doing," Silas, the former Spurs guard, said in an HBO special on the movie, "the NBA wasn't doing."

Not just anywhere can you see players on the bench wearing overcoats and gloves because the arena is so cold (Denver Rockets, Christmas night in Commack, 1968). You'd have to look pretty far to find a character like John Brisker, the Pittsburgh Condor who averaged 20 points between his brawls. It's a special circuit that could boast the likes of Ladner, whose coach, Babe McCarthy, once said, "Wendell doesn't know the meaning of the word 'fear.' But he doesn't know the meaning of most words."

Working against the league was that it never nailed down a network TV contract and it just couldn't stay on life support long enough for ESPN to come along. It didn't help that the Boston Celtics and their public relations machine stomped on the ABA's reputation at every turn. Nor was it good luck that the then-dominant UCLA players listened to an adviser who steered them to the NBA.

You do wonder how pro basketball, and Long Island, would have been different had the Commack-based Nets not flubbed their chance to sign Lew Alcindor in 1969 (before he changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

"There's no telling," Abdul-Jabbar said when this reporter asked him about it once. He said it with a smile big enough to suggest he wondered himself, sometimes.

A smile is just the right response to the ABA. It sure had style. Players had nicknames: Gene "Goo" Kennedy, Billy "The Whopper" Paultz, Roland "Fatty" Taylor, Marvin "Bad News" Barnes. Even the coaches had nicknames: Horace "Bones" McKinney, Bob "Slick" Leonard.

Connie Hawkins was a star (Pittsburgh Pipers). Wilt Chamberlain was a coach (San Diego Conquistadors). Willie Wise and Jimmy Jones (Utah Stars) were the two best players you never heard of.

Yes, it was run-and-gun, but there was defense, too. In several games during the Nets' 1974 championship postseason, neither team reached 90 points.

Long live the ABA. Basically, the whole thing was fun, as long as you weren't one of the league's accountants. In terms of basketball, this much is absolutely for certain. It was a heck of a lot more entertaining than anything you can see around here now.

***

One comment on the last line of the story: I love the way people romanticize about the ABA as though it was packed to capacity, great basketball every single night of the league's existence. I remember half-empty Island Garden dates where, I swear, they had swept the popcorn up from the floor from the prior game to sell it again. While the likes of Lavern Tart, Sonny Dove, Joe Dupree, Bill Melchionni and Willie Sojourner were pro level players, they were 'not exactly' the 'Wonder 5" of basketball entertainment.

***

Has anyone seen the British Bulldog fantasy basketball team in the annual Larry Bird NBA fantasy league?

***

The Phoenix Suns will miss Shawn Marion more than they realize.

***

In the category of "post Viet Nam war" progress, my official USOC Olympic hat came via mail today, promoting the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. The label inside the hat said: "Made in Viet Nam."

***

Early in November I predicted that St. John's would win 4 or 5 games in the BIG EAST this season. With two games left (ND, West Virginia), it looks as though the "five Ws" will hold true.

The clock is about to strike "Eleven" on Norm Roberts' tenure with the Redmen. The University A.D. Chris Monasch gave Norm a vote of confidence, stating they would honor the final year of his contract and that Norm's progress is being rated on more than wins and losses. Very nice move, to be sure. Time will tell if Roberts gets a second contract.

-30-

Ramble On ...

The item below ran in Friday's Sports Business Daily:

With the Patriots potentially being undefeated heading into their December 29 regular-season finale against the Giants on NFL Network, U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wrote a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and National Cable & Telecommunications Association President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow urging the two sides to reach an agreement. The letter states in part, “I am writing to express my concern on behalf of football fans across the country who find themselves caught in the middle of a corporate standoff. While the [NFL] and a few major cable companies continue to blame each other for the current state of NFL Network carriage, too many American football fans are being held hostage. Unfortunately, this disagreement has led to the use of what could potentially be an historic football game as leverage in a negotiation." Kerry added, "I do not wish to interfere with these negotiations, and I hope that the two sides can come to an agreement. … I urge you to reach an agreement as soon as possible.”... NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello said in a statement, “Commissioner Goodell welcomes the senator’s comments because we, too, want broad cable distribution for NFL Network. We agree that big cable companies should sit down and negotiate with us for distribution comparable to their own channels” (THE DAILY).

Now, a few things come to mind: The usual thought - Doesn't a United States Senator have better things to do with his time than worry about an damn NFL game? Why does he urge for a settlement in a football TV dispute when there has been a Hollywood writer's dispute that is far more impactful in the entertainment industry but probably doesn't have much of an effect on the voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?

And, if the Senate wants to get in on this debate, shouldn't they examine Pay per View ONLY availability of the major boxing matches? Boxing fans have one way to get the Mayweather-vs.-Hattan fight on Dec. 8th. Pay $54.99 to their local cable company. Senator Kerry is quoted as "they are holding fans hostage."

Well, what about the boxing fan in this country?

###

I bet you heard it here first, even though it was reported in places like ESPN.com and the International Herald Tribune: The Syracuse entry in the ABA folded shop on Dec. 6. They were known as the "Raging Bullz." ... The name had created a fiasco in Syracuse back in the summer when they were known as "The Bullies." ... Seems Syracuse likes the image of a pulpy, squished, fat Orange much better than the images conjured up by the former ABA franchise.

Everyone's favorite ABA team, the Vermont Frost Heaves, started the year 6-0 but have fallen twice to the Manchester Millrats of New Hampshire. The Millrats came from 27-points back to get the win.

The owner of the Millrats pulled the cord on the Cape Cod Frenzy earlier this year:

Cape Cod Frenzy To Sit Out 2007-2008 Season
The Cape Cod Frenzy of the American Basketball Association (ABA) have decided to sit out the 2007-2008 season, in anticipation of a better venue. One such possible location is the new Hyannis Recreation facility being built on the site of the old JFK ice rink.

“We played in several different high schools last season, which wasn’t ideal for us, and the team deserves to play in one venue for its long team survival,” explains former Frenzy GM Ian McCarthy. “We made great strides in fielding a very competitive team. I believe that the team can build on that success, and with a home venue, can succeed in the long term here on the Cape.”

The Frenzy finished 10-22 in the rugged Blue-North conference in 2006-2007, a schedule that saw them face the 2006 champion and eventual 2007 champion a combined twelve times (Rochester and Vermont). The highlight of the season was a 168-140 thrashing of the Maryland Nighthawks and 7’9 Sun Ming Ming at Barnstable High School, along with Frenzy forward Rob Sanders being named to the All-ABA First Team and All Star game.

The Frenzy are planning to stay active and participate in community events, and marketing and build their business during the year off.

I vote D-League over ABA every day of the week.

###

Only 20-something days until the Iowa Caucus. Best line ever - delivered by Marv Albert but written by esteemed colleague Ed Markey: As Marv's NBC sports production crew threw coverage of an NBA opener to its sideline reporter for a report and preview on game: "And now, we'll go to Ahmad Rashad, a man who thinks the Iowa Caucus is a CBA team."

###

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to get with a very good friend and long-time cohort to pick each and every bowl game. We do it for the grand prize of $1 for each game until Jan 1. Then $5 for each of the major bowls.

Big stakes, I know. I hope the Feds or the NCAA doesn't come after us. Try it with a good friend or family member. You will see how much fun it is. We use a NY Post listing. Start with one pick each (you could call it a 'territorial' pick or just a game you really care about and want to root for one particular team. Then, with that done, we just alternate games - each getting first choice. Spreads count.

This year, we'll hold a special meeting to choose the games on Dec 12th. I will post my "teams" for everyone to see.

###

The media is having some fun with Allen Iverson and George Karl, stating that Karl is calling Iverson "48" for his need to play the guard 48 minutes per game. Iverson seems to like the idea, although his teammates, Steven Hunter or Jelani McCoy, might not take to the nicknames of "4."

###

A dear friend brought forth the following bit of Ivy League logic to the BCS championship equation:

The buzz since Saturday has been all about Harvard's amazing victory over Big Ten opponent Michigan in basketball but the inimitable Paul McNeeley just sent an email with this amusing thought:

Why Harvard should get a shot at this year's college football national championship title . . .

Ohio State lost to Illinois
Who lost to Michigan
Who lost to Appalachian State
Who lost to Wofford
Who lost to Elon
Who lost to Furman
Who lost to Hofstra
Who lost to Northeastern
Who lost to URI
Who lost to Fordham
Who lost to Bucknell
Who lost to Cornell
Who Harvard beat handily 32-15