Basketball Hall Not Slam Dunk
Yes to Phil Jackson, Mendy Rudolph, Wither Driesell and Stringer?
Some question the election of Roy Williams and others to the Basketball Hall of Fame, when other accomplished coaches, players, and pioneers remain on the bench.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced its Class of 2007. Among those inducted were no brainers such as longtime NBA refereee Mendy Rudolph, and dynastic Coach Phil Jackson. North Carolina Tar Heel and former Kansas Coach Roy Williams, Houston Comets pilot Van Chancellor, and veteran coaches Pedro Fernandiz of Spain and Mirko Norvosel of the great Yugloslav national teams were also named. The hoops shrine also inducted a team, the 1965-66 Texas Western University Miners, who started five Black players for most of the season they won the NCAA Men's championship. Arguments may be made against almost every member of this class save Jackson and Rudolph, and it seems the Hall of Fame shoots short every year in its effort to honor the sports greatest contributors. Williams, for example, does have one national championship to his credit, but is known better for teams, especially at Kansas (think Collison/LaFrentz/Pierce/Vaughn) that underachieved during the NCAA Tournament. Where is Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer, with her 19 tournament appearances, three teams who have reached the Final Four, three national Coach of the Year awards, international coaching, and 750 college victories? What about "Lefty" Driesell, who turned unlikely Davidson and Maryland into Top Five NCAA programs, and 768 wins? Does the spectre of Len Bias' death hang over the only coach to win at least 100 games at four different major colleges? Others merit mention as well.
Jim Phelan amassed 830 wins at Mount St. Mary's over a 49 year career. Certainly the man in the bow tie is a Hall of Famer. Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson, a YMCA coach when the "Y' was still heavily associated with basketball inventor Dr. Naismith, learned the game at the hand of its first teachers, and played on, coached and administered the YMCA and high school programs of eventual basketball hotbed Washington, D.C. Henderson was an influential force in public physical education, and played with or against, or coached some of the premier players of the 1910's before expanding his role. Some say the professional (and in some instances college) careers of the late Dennis Johnson, Artis Gilmore, Adrian Dantley, Chet Walker, Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, Richie Guerin, Jack Sikma, Gus Williams, Bobby Jones and Louie Dampier should be so honored. Others advocate champion ABA Coach Bob "Slick" Leonard, vintage stars LeRoy "Cowboy" Edwards, "Dolly" King and Inman Jackson, and international/Olympic stars Theresa Edwards, Arvydas Sabonis, Teofilo Cruz and super scorer Oscar Schmidt. Speaking of Olympics, a case could be made for Mexico City hero Spencer Haywood, a dominant high school and college post player, pro MVP and Rookie of the Year, an All-Star forward/center, and the first "hardship case". After all, there were teams prior to Texas Western that won national championships with lineups that were as racially progressive at the time (Loyola of Chicago and Cincinnati come to mind, and Tennesse State from 1957 through 1959 in the College Division), but there were no Moses Malone's, Kobe Bryant's and Kevin Garnett's in contemporary basketball prior to Haywood.
One could go on and on- Guy Rodgers, the great Temple and Warrior ballhandler who compared favorably to Bob Cousy, perennial winner Cynthia Cooper, college coaches Abe Lemons, "Zip" Gayles, Lou Rossini, "Bones" McKinney, Bruce Hale and Eddie Robinon's Grambling colleague Fred Hobdy. Oldtimers who are the basketball analogs to Nap Lajoie, Al Simmons and Charlie Gehringer- "Horse" Haggerty, Ed Sadowski, "Runt" Pullins, Nat Hickey and Mike Novak. If "Chick" Hearn's enshrined, why isn't Johnny Most? The Shery Swoopes (or if you prefer, Cheryl Miller) of the 1920's and 1930's, Ora Washington, never even registers a peep on the basketball Richter Scale when classes are elected each year. Ms. Washington was an athlete of the Babe Didrikson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee stripe for well over a decade. Her team, the Philadelphia Tribune (newspaper), as well as the industrial Phillips 66'ers, South Philly's touring Philadelphia Spas and the St. Christopher's "Red and Black Machine" of New York's jazz age, excelled over periods that deserve as much consideration as the single-season Texas Western unit, who could have easily met an all-white Duke team starring northern kids Bob Verga, Steve Vacendak and Jack Marin in the national final (Verga took ill before a national semifinal game in which the All-American only scored two baskets). Would Disney have made a film commemorating that event?
One hopes that basketball historians and journalists will implore the Naismith Hall to expand its scope in these manners. Its baseball counterpart has taken admirable steps toward doing so in the pst few years. Though not as old as baseball, and without the reverence baseball and football have for pre-World War Two stars, basketball boasts many players, coaches, and leaders who were not only accomplished in their day, but famous.
