samikeyp
04-07-2008, 02:18 PM
Yes, its Basketball, not just the NBA Hall of Fame. :)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3333987
Ewing, Hakeem headline 2008 Naismith Hall of Fame class
SAN ANTONIO -- Coach Pat Riley, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, players Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, plus three others have been elected to basketball's Hall of Fame.
Also among the Class of 2008 are player Adrian Dantley, Immaculata coach Cathy Rush and NBA team owner Bill Davidson.
"It's unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable," said Riley, the Heat coach who won four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, then grabbed another two years ago with Miami. He also has one championship as an assistant and another as a player.
Vitale was overcome with emotion during Monday's announcement and admitted he "cried like a baby" upon learning he was in the Hall of Fame.
"I sit here in awe," Vitale said. "I can't run, can't jump, can't shoot but just have had a tremendous -- I'd like to think -- passion about the game."
It's a passion he shares with every member of the new class, which will be inducted Sept. 5 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Vitale, who missed two months this season as a result of vocal cord surgery on Dec. 18, returned Feb. 6 to call Duke at North Carolina. Prior to that, Vitale had never missed a game in his 29 seasons at ESPN.
Vitale, a former high school, college and professional basketball coach, has become one of the most well-known commentators in all of sports television and played a pivotal role in the development of the concept of "March Madness."
Olajuwon and Ewing both played in three Final Fours, with Ewing's Georgetown team beating Olajuwon's Houston squad for the 1984 national championship. Olajuwon got his revenge as a pro, leading the Houston Rockets to the first of two straight titles with a seven-game victory over Ewing's New York Knicks in the 1994 NBA finals -- a team coached by Riley.
"Growing up in Nigeria, I didn't really understand the magnitude of what it means to be in the Hall of Fame," 12-time All-Star Olajuwon said. "I still cannot believe I'm in the same company with all these great legends."
"It's special for me to go in with Patrick," Olajuwon added. "Because from the beginning, from college, we have history. I have tremendous respect for him and now going in together makes it more special."
Although Olajuwon won two titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, double Olympic gold medallist Ewing finished his illustrious career without a championship ring.
"This means a lot," Ewing said of his election. "I'm being recognized for all of the blood, sweat and tears I've put into my 17-year career.
"Growing up in Massachusetts and having field trips to the Basketball Hall of Fame, I never really realized that one day I'd be in there. This is a dream come true."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3333987
Ewing, Hakeem headline 2008 Naismith Hall of Fame class
SAN ANTONIO -- Coach Pat Riley, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, players Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, plus three others have been elected to basketball's Hall of Fame.
Also among the Class of 2008 are player Adrian Dantley, Immaculata coach Cathy Rush and NBA team owner Bill Davidson.
"It's unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable," said Riley, the Heat coach who won four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, then grabbed another two years ago with Miami. He also has one championship as an assistant and another as a player.
Vitale was overcome with emotion during Monday's announcement and admitted he "cried like a baby" upon learning he was in the Hall of Fame.
"I sit here in awe," Vitale said. "I can't run, can't jump, can't shoot but just have had a tremendous -- I'd like to think -- passion about the game."
It's a passion he shares with every member of the new class, which will be inducted Sept. 5 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Vitale, who missed two months this season as a result of vocal cord surgery on Dec. 18, returned Feb. 6 to call Duke at North Carolina. Prior to that, Vitale had never missed a game in his 29 seasons at ESPN.
Vitale, a former high school, college and professional basketball coach, has become one of the most well-known commentators in all of sports television and played a pivotal role in the development of the concept of "March Madness."
Olajuwon and Ewing both played in three Final Fours, with Ewing's Georgetown team beating Olajuwon's Houston squad for the 1984 national championship. Olajuwon got his revenge as a pro, leading the Houston Rockets to the first of two straight titles with a seven-game victory over Ewing's New York Knicks in the 1994 NBA finals -- a team coached by Riley.
"Growing up in Nigeria, I didn't really understand the magnitude of what it means to be in the Hall of Fame," 12-time All-Star Olajuwon said. "I still cannot believe I'm in the same company with all these great legends."
"It's special for me to go in with Patrick," Olajuwon added. "Because from the beginning, from college, we have history. I have tremendous respect for him and now going in together makes it more special."
Although Olajuwon won two titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, double Olympic gold medallist Ewing finished his illustrious career without a championship ring.
"This means a lot," Ewing said of his election. "I'm being recognized for all of the blood, sweat and tears I've put into my 17-year career.
"Growing up in Massachusetts and having field trips to the Basketball Hall of Fame, I never really realized that one day I'd be in there. This is a dream come true."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.