Tag: basketball hall of fame

Notre Dame coaching legend Muffet McGraw laments NIL

Try as the Hall of Famer might, she can’t stop the winds of change in college athletics.

As far as Notre Dame legend and Basketball Hall of Famer [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] is concerned, she got out of coaching at the right time. With the emergence of NIL, one more layer has been added to a college athletics landscape that’s becoming as complicated to understand as tax law.

A few months after receiving the NCAA’s Pat Summitt Award, McGraw sat down for an interview with Andy Katz and discussed various topics. When Katz asked her opinion on NIL, she didn’t hold back:

McGraw seems to begrudgingly accept that today’s college athletes are a different breed. Not only are they looking to get paid, but they no longer have the patience to spend their first season or two on the bench. Loyalty in college sports has become as fragmented as it is at the professional level. The days of simply being happy to get a free ride at a prestigious university through an athletic scholarship are over.

No one can predict how this all ends, but we’re at a real crossroads with college athletics. We probably will see a different landscape in five years, let alone 10. College athletes will go where the money and playing opportunities are, and there’s nothing any coach, recruiter, athletic director or administrator can do about it. The balance of power has shifted at long last, and it’s time to accept that.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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Notre Dame coach Mike Brey previews season at ACC media day

Excited about the Irish’s chances this year?

If you had written off Notre Dame before ACC play began last year, no one would have blamed you. After all, the program hadn’t been that good in a while, and the Irish didn’t exactly impress in their nonconference slate other than a win over ranked Kentucky. Then, longtime coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] proved he had a little magic left in him and guided the Irish to their first NCAA Tournament in five years. They even won a couple of games in the tournament and nearly made it out of the first weekend.

Now, Brey is focused on how to make the 2022-23 Irish even better. Here’s what he said at Wednesday’s ACC media day in Charlotte, North Carolina:

Jay Wright, coach of ex-Notre Dame Big East rival Villanova, retiring

A college basketball legend is hanging it up.

Few coaches have established such a legacy in the 21st century like Jay Wright. Between seven seasons at Hofstra and then 21 more with Villanova, he had a 642-282 record, made 18 NCAA Tournaments and won two national championships. Now, the 60-year-old Hall of Famer is retiring. Not often has a college basketball coach achieved so much and yet flown under the radar almost the entire time, but that’s Wright in a nutshell.

Notre Dame first faced Wright during his first season at Hofstra in 1995 and won, 63-52. The Irish would split the next 14 games in which Wright was on the Villanova sidelines between 2002 and 2016. All but the last of those contests were played when the schools were Big East rivals. That last game was a battle between undefeated teams, and the Irish lost to the top-ranked defending national champion Wildcats, 74-66.

Here’s to a great career, and best wishes to Wright in whatever he decides to do in this next stage of his life.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Boston Celtics legend, Hall of Famer Sam Jones dies at 88

Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones has died at age 88, according to the team.

Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Sam Jones, 88, died Thursday night of natural causes, according to the team. Jones was a 10-time NBA Champion, second only to teammate Bill Russell in league history.

“Sam Jones was one of the most talented, versatile, and clutch shooters for the most successful and dominant teams in NBA history. His scoring ability was so prolific, and his form so pure, that he earned the simple nickname, “The Shooter,” the Celtic said in their statement. “… The Jones family is in our thoughts as we mourn his loss and fondly remember the life and career of one of the greatest champions in American sports.”

Jones’ Celtics career spanned 12 years as a player. From the time he was drafted No. 8 overall in the 1957 NBA Draft to when he played his last game after winning his 10th ring in 1969 for the Celtics, Jones suited up for 1,025 total games for the team, including regular season and playoff games. His No. 24 has been retired by the team since 1969 as well.

Jones was a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA player. He was listed on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team this past year as well.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Notre Dame legend Adrian Dantley snubbed for NBA 75th Anniversary Team

Did the NBA get this wrong?

It’s been 75 years since the NBA tipped off, so the league is going all out in celebrating. Just as it did for its 50th anniversary, the NBA has released a list of its best players, one for each year of its existence. With the list out, the debate about who should have made the cut but didn’t began. One graphic from “Inside the NBA” listed a name familiar to longtime Notre Dame fans:

Yes, Adrian Dantley had quite the NBA career after leaving Notre Dame as the program’s second-leading scorer and a two-time first-team All-American. It was good enough that he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. In fact, he’s the only Hall of Famer to play in the NBA after going through South Bend.

Here are some of his NBA achievements over a 15-year career:

  • 1977 Rookie of the Year
  • Six-time All-Star
  • Two-time scoring champion
  • Two-time All-NBA Second Team member
  • 10th all-time in free throws (6,832)
  • 18th all-time in scoring average (24.3)
  • 29th all-time in points scored (23,177)
  • 35th all-time in field-goal percentage (.540)

So yeah, Dantley had the accolades to merit consideration. Maybe a championship would have put him over the top? However, it’s more likely that the competition just had too many achievements for him to compare to. He’ll have to settle for being one of the players many feel should have listed among the best of the best.

Basketball Hall of Fame: Enshrinement presenters revealed for Paul Pierce, Bill Russell

A fellow Big 3 legend will present Paul Pierce on enshrinement night, while Bill Russell will be honored by a group of former NBA stars.

We’re one month away from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony on Sept. 11, and on Wednesday the presenters for each member of the Class of 2021 were revealed.

It will be a special night for Celtics fans, as 2008 NBA champion Paul Pierce enters the Hall of Fame, while franchise legend Bill Russell is inducted for a second time, honoring his achievements as a coach.

Pierce will be presented by Kevin Garnett, a member of the class of 2020.

Russell will be presented by a group of six Hall of Famers: Charles Barkley (class of 2006), Julius Erving (1993), Spencer Haywood (2015), Alonzo Mourning (2014), Bill Walton (1993) and Rick Welts (2018).

The full list of presenters, which you can see here, also includes Ray Allen and Michael Jordan. Allen will present former Heat teammate Chris Bosh along with Pat Riley, while Jordan will present Toni Kukoc.

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PHOTOS: Warriors in the Basketball Hall of Fame

Warriors Wire commemorates the 28 members of the Basketball Hall of Fame with ties to the Golden State/Philadelphia Warriors franchsise.

This past weekend, Chris Webber was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Webber was acquired by Golden State as the No. 1 overall pick in a draft-day trade with Orlando in 1993. He won Rookie of the Year in the 1993-94 season but was then surprisingly traded to Washington amid friction with Warriors coach Don Nelson. Webber also wrapped up his playing career in a nine-game cameo with the Warriors in the 2007-08 season.

Former Warriors head coach Rick Adelman also was voted into this year’s Hall of Fame class. Although he is better known for his years with the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets, Adelman coached the Warriors to a 66-98 record in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.

Webber and Adelman become the 28th and 29th members of the Hall of Fame with a direct tie to the Warriors franchise — not counting indirect ties such as former coach Dave Cowens, who is inducted as a player but not a coach.

Below, we celebrate the 29 Hall of Fame figures with ties to the Golden State/Philadelphia Warriors franchise in photos.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski calls out Hall of Fame for omitting Sonny Vaccaro

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski took issue with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s omission of Sonny Vaccaro over the weekend.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2021 on Sunday. Among the group were NBA greats Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce and Chris Webber, but one basketball pundit had an issue with one high-profile omission.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski took to Twitter following the announcement of the class to criticize the snub of Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro is best known for his work with Nike, but also co-founded the first national high school basketball All-Star game — The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic — in 1965.

“The list of powerbrokers determined to deny his impact on the game, but it’s impossible to write the history of basketball without Sonny Vaccaro,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “His imprint is massive. He deserves election to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor. It’s an embarrassing omission.”

While Vaccaro was left out of the Hall of Fame for another year, seven others were directly elected by committees. Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons, and Howard Garfinkel were inducted by the Contributor Committee, Clarence ‘Fats” Jenkins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Toni Kukoc from the International Committee, Bob Drabdrige from the Veterans Committee and Pearl Morre from the Women’s Veterans Committee.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 will officially be enshrined on Saturday, Sept. 11. For the first time in the history of the Hall of Fame, two different classes will be inducted in the same year after the Class of 2020’s enshrinement original ceremony was rescheduled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the first time in our history, we’ll enshrine two Classes in one calendar year,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Class of 2021 to Springfield – the Birthplace of Basketball – where we can celebrate them and honor their remarkable achievements and contributions to the game.”

Bill Russell voted into Basketball Hall of Fame as coach

Legendary Boston Celtics player and coach Bill Russell has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.

Bill Russell, the greatest champion in NBA history, has been voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.

Russell, who helped the Boston Celtics win 11 NBA championships as a player, originally was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1975. He became the first Black head coach in NBA history when he took over for Red Auerbach on the Celtics bench in 1966.

Russell served as player/coach in his final three seasons with the Celtics, winning the NBA title in 1968 and 1969. His coaching record with the Celtics was 162-83 in the regular season and 28-18 in the playoffs. He later served as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics from the 1973-74 season through 1976-77 and the Sacramento Kings in the 1987-88 season. His total record as an NBA head coach was 341-290 in the regular season and 34-27 in the playoffs.

Tommy Heinsohn is the only other former Celtics player and head coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in both roles.

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Chris Webber elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Former Philadelphia 76ers forward Chris Webber has been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Sunday.

Former Philadelphia 76ers forward Chris Webber has been voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The announcement was revealed as part of a televised special Sunday on ESPN. The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 also includes longtime Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce, former Detroit Pistons defensive great Ben Wallace and former Chicago Bulls sharpshooter Toni Kukoc.

Webber, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game over his 15-year NBA career and earned five All-Star selections. He played two-plus seasons for the Sixers, averaging 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 114 games.

Webber began his career with the Golden State Warriors and also played for the Washington Bullets, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons.