Houston Comets Head Coach Van Chancellor Nominated for Basketball Hall of Fame

Published on February 17, 2006 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Houston Comets News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA - February 17, 2006 - Geno Auriemma, women's coach of the University of Connecticut, former NBA Stars Charles Barkley, Joe Dumars and Dominique Wilkins and ESPN Sportscaster Dick Vitale highlight a list of 16 individuals named as Finalists for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2006. The announcement was made today in Houston, Texas, site of the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend.

The complete list of Finalists includes 10 candidates from the North American Screening Committee - players Charles Barkley, Ralph Sampson, Chet Walker, Adrian Dantley, Dumars, and Wilkins, coaches Don Nelson and Gene Keady and contributors David Gavitt and Vitale. Two candidates each comprise Finalists from the Women's Screening Committee - coaches Van Chancellor and Auriemma - International Screening Committee - coaches Pedro Ferrandiz and Sandro Gamba - and the Veterans Screening Committee - player John Isaacs and contributor Ben Kerner.

The Class of 2006 will be announced on Monday, April 3 at a news conference in Indianapolis, Indiana prior to the NCAA's Men's Championship game. A Finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Auriemma, Barkley and Gavitt are Finalists in their first year of consideration by their respective Screening Committees. Kerner, Nelson and Sampson are first-time Finalists who have previously been reviewed by screening committees.

The Class of 2006 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, MA September 7-9. Tickets to the 2006 Enshrinement Gala and Induction Celebration are available by calling the Hall of Fame at (413) 781-6500.

NORTH AMERICAN FINALISTS

CHARLES BARKLEY, a native of Leeds, Alabama and graduate of Auburn University in Alabama, Barkley averaged 14.1 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game in his career at Auburn. During his career with the Philadelphia 76ers (1984-1992), the Phoenix Suns (1992-1996) and the Houston Rockets (1996-2000), Barkley was selected to 11 NBA All-Star games as well as the All-NBA First Team five times and the All-NBA Second Team five times. He won an Olympic gold medal with the 1992 United States Olympic Dream Team and was the NBA's Most Valuable Player in the 1993 season. A member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary team, Barkley averaged 22.1 points per game and almost 12 rebounds per game in his 16-year NBA career. He shares the single game record for most offensive rebounds in one quarter (11 in 1987).

ADRIAN DANTLEY, a native of Washington, D.C., was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. He had a stellar 15-year NBA career with seven different teams (Buffalo Braves, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Maverick and Milwaukee Bucks), the majority of the time spent with the Jazz (1979-86). At all levels, Dantley enjoyed success - as a scholastic All-America player at DeMatha Catholic High School (Md.), as a collegian at Notre Dame (1973-76), as the leading scorer (19.3 ppg) of the gold medal 1976 Olympic team and as a professional where he was Rookie of the Year in 1977. His 23,177 career points ranks 18th all-time in the NBA. He scored 2,223 points in three seasons (25.8) at Notre Dame, ranks second in Irish career scoring and made The Sporting News First Team All-America list in 1975 and 1976. In all but four seasons as a professional, Dantley averaged 20 points or better, including topping the 30-point mark four straight years (1981-84). The six-time NBA All-Star (1980-82, 1984-86) was named NBA Comeback Player of the Year in 1984, the year he led the league in scoring (30.6).

JOE DUMARS, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons, becoming a key component of the squad that went on to win back-to-back NBA Championships (1989 & 1990). After being drafted by the Pistons out of McNeese State, he immediately made a name for himself as a defensive stopper and steady offensive performer in the NBA by being named an NBA All-Rookie Selection (1986). His defensive skills were honored by being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team four times (1989, 1990, 1992, 1993), and his overall play was rewarded by being named a six-time NBA All-Star, and the MVP of the 1989 NBA Finals. Dumars is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons, credited for assembling the team which won the 2004 NBA Championship.

DAVID GAVITT is a native of Westerly, Rhode Island and began his contributions to the game as a head coach at Providence College where he would lead the team to eight consecutive 20-win seasons, five NCAA Tournament appearances and one Final Four. He would serve as the Chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee (1982-1984) and is responsible for the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams, the use of domed stadiums for the Final Four, and expanded the CBS television coverage with the first contract. Gavitt became the President of USA Basketball (1988-1992). He is the 1995 recipient of the Conference Commissioners Association Merit Award and served as the Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors until 2003.

GENE KEADY, a native of Larned, Kansas, has coached 23 seasons at Purdue University, where he has won nearly 500 games and led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten Championships (1984, '87, '88, 1994-96). The winningest coach in Purdue history, Keady has coached his teams to 21 post season appearances in 23 years, including five trips to the Sweet Sixteen and two trips to the Elite Eight. A National Coach of the Year selection four times in his career, Keady has led Purdue to an AP Top Ten finish six times. Keady began his collegiate coaching career at Hutchinson Junior College where he won 80 percent of his games and led the school to five appearances in the NJCAA tournament. He was an assistant at Arkansas for four seasons before being named head coach at Western Kentucky (1978-80).

DON NELSON, a native of Muskegon, Michigan, began his career as an NBA player for the Chicago Zephyrs (1962-1963) and went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers (1963-1965) and the Boston Celtics (1965-1975), playing a record 465 consecutive games with the Celtics. He then went on to coach in the NBA leading the Milwaukee Bucks (1976-1987) to seven consecutive division titles (1979-1986) and recorded seven straight 50-plus wins. He coached the Golden State Warriors (1988-1995), New York Knicks (1995-1996) and the Dallas Mavericks (1997-2005). Nelson is one of only two coaches in NBA history to record 250 victories with three different teams. He is a three-time NBA Coach of the Year winner, and is the second winningest coach in NBA history with 1,190 wins. He was named to the NBA's Ten Best Coaches of All-Time in 1996 and owns 40+ years of NBA experience as a player, coach and general manager. He coached the second Dream Team to a gold medal in the 1994 World Championships and is one of only eight NBA coaches to register a better record in four consecutive seasons with the same team. As a player, he won five NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics and has his No.19 jersey retired by the Boston Celtics.

RALPH SAMPSON is a native of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Sampson was a three-time consensus collegiate All-America pick, a three-time National College Player of the Year winner, three-time Naismith Award winner and two-time Wooden Award recipient. Sampson received the Adolph Rupp Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy in three consecutive seasons. He played his college basketball at the University of Virginia where he led the team to the 1980 NIT Championship and the 1981 NCAA Final Four. He is the sixth player in NCAA history to collect 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds. He began his career as the number one draft pick by the Houston Rockets (1983-1988), and went on to play with the Golden State Warriors (1988-1989), the Sacramento Kings (1989-1991) and the Washington Bullets (1991-1992). Sampson would be selected to three NBA All-Star games, was named the All-Star game MVP in 1985, was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1985 in addition to being the Rookie of the Year in 1984. Over his nine-year NBA Career, he averaged 15.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Sampson is enshrined to the Virginia Basketball Hall of Fame.

DICK VITALE, a native of Passaic, NJ, has been synonymous with college basketball for more than 20 years as the lead color announcer for ESPN. A successful coach at the high school (East Rutherford), collegiate (University of Detroit) and professional (Detroit Pistons) levels, Vitale began his broadcasting career with ESPN in 1979 and has helped make the network an integral part of college basketball's popularity. His enthusiastic, upbeat style has resulted in a lexicon of now-familiar phrases as "Get a TO, "Awesome, Baby," and "PTP-er." An author of six books chronicling his love affair with basketball, Vitale was recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy electronic media award (1988) and won the NABC Cliff Wells Appreciation Award in 2000.

CHET WALKER, a native of Benton Harbor, Michigan, was The Sporting News First-Team All-America at Bradley University and led the Braves to a 69-14 record, a mark that included two trips to the NIT and the 1960 NIT title. Walker graduated as Bradley's all-time scorer (1,975) and rebounder (1,036), and then embarked on a 13-year professional career with the Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls. During his NBA career, Walker averaged 18.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Named to the NBA's All-Rookie team in 1963, Walker was a seven-time NBA All-Star (1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974). He helped lead the Philadelphia 76ers, considered one of the best teams in NBA history, to the 1967 NBA title. Walker missed only 21 games in 13 seasons, and, when he retired in 1975, was only the eighth player in NBA history to play in more than 1,000 games.

DOMINIQUE WILKINS was born in Paris, France before coming to the United States and becoming a Parade High School All-American, collegiate star at the University of Georgia and an NBA All-Star known for his amazing offensive power and high-flying above-the-rim game. During his career with the Atlanta Hawks (1982-1994), LA Clippers (1994), Boston Celtics (1994-95), San Antonio Spurs (1996-97) and Orlando Magic (1998-99), Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star (1986-1994), a two-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion and named to the All-NBA first team in 1986. Wilkins is one of only three Atlanta Hawks to have his jersey (21) retired, and his incredible dunks and aerial acrobatics earned him the nickname "The Human Highlight Film."

WOMEN FINALISTS

GENO AURIEMMA was born in Montella, Italy and was raised in Pennsylvania where he was a graduate of Montegomery County Community College in Blue Bell (1974) and West Chester State College in Pennsylvania. Auriemma began his coaching career as an assistant girls coach at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Penn. (1976-1978) and went on to coach as an assistant women's coach at St. Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA) (1978-1979), assistant boy's coach, Bishop Kenrick High School (Norristown, PA) (1979-1981), assistant women's coach, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia (1981-1985). In 1995 he became the women's coach at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut and is in his 21st season. He has led the Huskies to an amazing five National Championships, eight Final Four appearances and two undefeated seasons. His teams have compiled more than 570 wins at UConn, where he has been named National Coach of the Year five times and captured 14 BigEast regular season and 12 Big East tournament titles. He has guided his team to 10 -30-win seasons, 17straight NCAA tournament appearances and an NCAA record 70 straight wins. Auriemma has also been the assistant coach of the United States Gold Medal Team in the 2000 Olympics, head coach of the United States gold medal team at the 2000 Junior World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Argentina, head coach of the United States Bronze Medal Team at the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championship in Czech Republic. He is enshrined in the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2005).

VAN CHANCELLOR, a native of Louisville, Mississippi, led the Houston Comets to four straight WNBA Championships (1997-2000) and won 439 games as the Head Women's Coach at Ole Miss (1978-1997). Chancellor coached the undefeated United States gold medal team at the 2004 Olympic Games, and has a spotless 38-0 record in international competition. In leading the Comets, Chancellor has been named WNBA coach of the year three times (1997, 1998, 1999). In addition, the 1998 Comets hold the record for the highest winning percentage in the history of NBA and WNBA basketball (27-3, .900 winning percentage). Chancellor was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year three times (1987, 1990, 1992).

INTERNATIONAL FINALISTS

PEDRO FERRANDIZ is considered one of the greatest coaches in European history and has compiled an overall coaching record of 437-90 while leading Real Madrid to a record 12 Spanish League titles, 11 Spanish Cup titles, and four European Cup championships. He recorded three undefeated Spanish League seasons and was known for bringing the concept of the "fast break" to the European game. Along with Cesare Rubini, Ferrandiz founded the World Association of Basketball Coaches and served as the organization's first president. He is the recipient of the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, the only such basketball coach in history to earn the award (1977). He is honored by the Central Board of FIBA and conceded Order of Merit (2000). Ferrandiz has also been awarded the Blue Cross of Mention in Sport (2002).

SANDRO GAMBA, a native of Milan, Italy, has coached in Europe for over 30 years; including Italian Division I professional league teams Simmenthal (1965-73), Ignis (1973-77), Turin (1977-1980) and the Italian National Team (1979-1992). Gamba has coached four Italian Olympic teams (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992), and led the 1980 squad to a silver medal. His Italian professional teams have won five Italian League championships, a European Championship, a Champions Cup and Cup of Cups title. In addition, his national squads captured a gold medal at the 1983 European Championship.

VETERAN FINALISTS

JOHN ISAACS, a high school standout from New York City, was a pioneer in professional basketball, playing with many touring teams including the New York Rens (1936-41), leading the Rens to a 112-7 record and the World Professional Basketball Tournament Championship in 1939. Isaacs and Hall of Famer William "Pop" Gates are credited for introducing the "motion offense" to basketball, and the "Boy Wonder", as he was known, went on to join the Dayton Rens in 1948, becoming a member of the first all-black team to play in the National Basketball League. Isaacs has been honored as a member of the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame and Harlem Professionals Hall of Fame, among others.

BEN KERNER, a native of Poland, was the sole owner of the St. Louis Hawks from 1946 to 1958, and his teams featured several members of the Hall of Fame including Cliff Hagan, Clyde Lovellette, Ed Macauley, Slater Martin, Bob Pettit, Andy Phillip and Lenny Wilkens. He also hired head coaches that included Hall of Famers Red Auerbach and Red Holzman and won the 1958 NBA Championship where his St. Louis Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics. Kerner passed away on November 22, 2000 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level - professional, collegiate, men and women. For more information, please visit our website at www.hoophall.com or call 1-877-4-



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from February 17, 2006


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