The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced today the finalists for the 2007 election. Phil Jackson, who led the Lakers and Bulls to 9 NBA titles, Chris Mullin, the former St. John’s and NBA standout who played for the 1992 Olympic ‘Dream Team’, ESPN sportscaster Dick Vitale, legendary high school coach Bobby Hurley of St. Anthony’s and the 1966 NCAA Champions from Texas Western highlight a list of 15 named as Finalists for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2007.

The complete list of 15 basketball hall of fame Finalists includes a total of 10 candidates from the North American Screening Committee – players Adrian Dantley and Mullin; coaches Hurley, Jackson, Eddie Sutton and Roy Williams; contributors Bill Davidson and Vitale; referee ‘Mendy’ Rudolph and the team from Texas Western. Two candidates each comprise Finalists from the Women’s Screening Committee – coaches Van Chancellor and Harley Redin – and International Screening Committee – coaches Pedro Ferrandiz and Mirko Novosel, with player Richard Guerin representing the lone nominee from the Veteran’s Screening Committee.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Las Vegas, NV, the site of this year’s NBA All-Star Game. The Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2007 will be announced at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Atlanta, GA on Monday, April 2nd.

The Full Info

Phil Jackson, who led the Lakers and Bulls to 9 NBA titles, Chris Mullin, the former St. John’s and NBA standout who played for the 1992 Olympic ‘Dream Team’, ESPN sportscaster Dick Vitale, legendary high school coach Bobby Hurley of St. Anthony’s and the 1966 NCAA Champions from Texas Western highlight a list of 15 named as Finalists for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2007. The announcement was made today in Las Vegas, NV in conjunction with the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

The complete list of 15 Finalists includes a total of 10 candidates from the North American Screening Committee – players Adrian Dantley and Mullin; coaches Hurley, Jackson, Eddie Sutton and Roy Williams; contributors Bill Davidson and Vitale; referee ‘Mendy’ Rudolph and the team from Texas Western. Two candidates each comprise Finalists from the Women’s Screening Committee – coaches Van Chancellor and Harley Redin – and International Screening Committee – coaches Pedro Ferrandiz and Mirko Novosel, with player Richard Guerin representing the lone nominee from the Veteran’s Screening Committee.

Davidson, Jackson, Mullin and Texas Western are Finalists in their first year of consideration by their respective Screening Committees. Guerin, Hurley, Novosel, Rudolph and Williams are first-time Finalists who have previously been reviewed by Screening Committees. Chancellor, Dantley, Ferrandiz, Redin, Sutton and Vitale have been named Finalists in prior years.

The Class of 2007 will be announced on Monday, April 2 at a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia 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. The Class of 2007 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, MA September 6-8. Tickets to the 2007 Enshrinement Gala and Induction Celebration are available by calling the Hall of Fame at (413) 781-6500.

NORTH AMERICAN COMMITTEE HALL OF FAME FINALISTS

ADRIAN DANTLEY - Player (Finalist in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006), a native of Washington, D.C., was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA basketball 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 16th 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).

WILLIAM (Bill) DAVIDSON – Contributor, 84, is a lifelong Michigan resident born in Detroit, where he has created both NBA and WNBA dynasties. An owner of the Pistons since 1974 and the WNBA Shock since 1998, Davidson’s Pistons have captured three NBA crowns to go along with two WNBA titles for the Shock. Davidson has served as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, and has been an innovative business leader in the sports industry - building the revolutionary Palace of Auburn Hills, playing an integral role in structuring modern NBA salary cap and free agency standards, and even owning the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and capturing a Stanley Cup. His Pistons have featured several Hall of Famers, including Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Chuck Daly and Larry Brown.

ROBERT “Bob” HURLEY, Sr. – Coach, has spent his entire life in New Jersey, born in Jersey City and playing college ball at St. Peter’s before becoming the head coach at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City in 1972. Hurley has since compiled over 875 wins at St. Anthony’s while leading the team to 24 State Parochial Championships and two USA Today National Championships (1989, 1996). His legendary selflessness and dedication to St. Anthony’s and high school basketball is evidenced by all but one of his players in 33 years of coaching going on to college, including 100+ players receiving college scholarships and five becoming NBA first-round draft picks. Hurley was twice named National Coach of the Year by USA Today (1989, 1996), was elected to the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and, if elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, will become only the third person elected exclusively for their service to high school basketball (Morgan Wootten, Bertha Teague).

PHIL JACKSON – Coach, has been at the helm of not one, but two of the great dynasties in NBA history. A native of North Dakota, where he also starred in college before playing professionally for the Knicks and Nets, Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Championships (1991,1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) and the Los Angeles Lakers to three straight titles (2000, 2001, 2002). His nine Championships tie him with the legendary Red Auerbach, and he was the fastest coach in NBA history to reach 800 wins. Under Jackson the Chicago Bulls posted the best regular season record in NBA history at 72-10, and was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1996. Jackson also claimed a CBA title and coach of the year honors with Albany in 1984, and was a player on the NBA Champion New York Knicks in 1973.

CHRIS MULLIN – Player, a McDonald’s High School All-America from Brooklyn, NY, was a five-time NBA All-Star and collegiate standout at St. John’s, where he was named Big East Player of the Year an unprecedented three times. A two-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1992), Mullin played 16 NBA seasons for Golden State and Indiana, amassing 17,911 points while averaging more than 20 ppg for six consecutive seasons. He is one of only 17 players in NBA history to compile 17,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists, and was an NBA First Team pick in 1992. He is the all time scoring leader at St. John’s (2,440), where he was named the Wooden Award winner and Sporting News First Team All-America in 1985.

MARVIN “Mendy” RUDOLPH – Referee, officiated 2,112 NBA games in his career, a record at the time of his retirement. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Rudolph was considered one of the greatest officials of all time, and was selected to referee eight NBA All Star Games and at least one NBA Finals game for 22 consecutive seasons – including the 1961 Finals, when along with Earl Strom, he officiated all seven games, the only time in NBA history the same officials worked an entire Finals series. As the NBA Head of Officials, Rudolph wrote the NBA Official’s Manual and Case Book, and was widely respected by fellow officials, coaches, players and members of the media. Mr. Rudolph passed away in 1979 at the age of 53.

EDDIE SUTTON - Coach (Finalist in 2002, 2003), 69, a native of Bucklin, Kansas, was a four-time national Coach of the Year (1977, 1978, 1986, 1995) and compiled a 798-315 record in his 36 seasons coaching at the collegiate level. In his Division I coaching career at four schools (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State), Sutton produced twenty-five 20-win seasons, three 30-win seasons and only one losing season (1989). He guided both Arkansas (1978) and Oklahoma State (1995, 2004) to the NCAA Final Four and had six Regional Final appearances and 12 Regional Semifinal appearances. An eight-time Conference Coach of the Year selection, Sutton has led his teams to 26 NCAA appearances in 36 years, won conference championships in the SEC, SWC and Big Eight and was named Coach of the Year in those three conferences in addition to the Big 12. He, along with Lefty Driesell and Jim Harrick, are the only coaches in NCAA history to lead four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

DICK VITALE - Contributor (Finalist in 2004, 2006), 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.

TEXAS WESTERN - Team, the 1966 NCAA National Champions, became the first team in NCAA history to win a title with five starting African-American players, beating an all-white Kentucky squad in the Championship game. Regarded by many as a key turning point in integration and increased equality in athletics, the highly publicized and inspirational Championship game also capped an amazing 28-1 season for Texas Western, led by Bobby Joe Hill and David Lattin. Coached by Hall of Famer Don Haskins, this true ‘team’ was comprised of African-American and white players, with seven different players leading the team in scoring. In 2006, thirty years after the Miners captured the national title, their story was made into a major motion picture, “Glory Road”, the team visited the White House and was honored at halftime of the 2006 NCAA Championship Game.

ROY WILLIAMS – Coach, a native of Asheville, NC, is the third coach in history to lead two schools to an NCAA National Championship game, and has led both Kansas and North Carolina to a total of five Final Fours (1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2005), three national title games (1991, 2003, 2005), and won an NCAA Championship with North Carolina in 2005. Williams also played on the freshman team at North Carolina and was an assistant in Chapel Hill before accepting the head coaching job at Kansas in 1988. His teams have made 17 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, winning at least one tournament game in each. Williams is a six-time National Coach of the Year, and in his 18+ years of coaching he has become the fastest coach ever to reach the 500 win mark.

WOMEN’S COMMITTEE HALL OF FAME FINALISTS

VAN CHANCELLOR - Coach (Finalist in 2005, 2006) , 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 to a 211-111 record (1997-2006), 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).

HARLEY REDIN – Coach (Finalist in 2002, 2003, 2004), a Texas native, spent a total of 25 years coaching the men’s (1948-57) and women’s (1955-73) teams at Wayland Baptist University. In 18 years as the women’s coach, Redin’s teams posted a 431-66 record, a mark that included six AAU National Championships (1956, ’57, ’59, ’61, ’70, ’71), two undefeated seasons (23-0 in 1955-56 and 29-0 in 1956-57), a 76-game winning streak from 1955-58 and 17 top-five AAU finishes. In addition to building the foundation for the one of the winningest collegiate women’s basketball programs in history, Redin coached the US National Team, was a member of the US Olympic Committee and a recipient of the Naismith Award for outstanding contribution to women’s basketball (2000) . Redin’s female players have won AlI-America recognition 65 times and 32 of those players were named to U.S. National Teams.

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE HALL OF FAME FINALISTS

PEDRO FERRANDIZ - Coach (Finalist in 2001, 2003, 2006) a native of Alicante, Spain, 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 was 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).

MIRKO NOVOSEL – Coach, born June 30, 1938 in Zagreb, led the Yugoslavian team to the 1980 Olympic gold medal, 1976 silver medal and a bronze in 1984 while compiling an overall national team coaching record of 99-11 from 1971-1993. While coaching on the professional level, Novosel has compiled a record of 494-224 and led Cibona to three national titles, a record seven Yugo-Cups, two Cup of Cup titles and captured the Cup of Champions in 1985. Novosel was named European Coach of the Year in 1985 and is one of only four coaches to win 3 or more Olympic medals.

VETERAN’S COMMITTEE HALL OF FAME FINALIST

RICHARD GUERIN – Player, was a six time NBA All Star (1958-1963) and scored 14,676 points, 4,278 rebounds and 4,211 assists during a pro career with the Knicks (1956-63), St. Louis Hawks (1963-67) and Atlanta Hawks (1968-70). Guerin was the first Knick to score 2,000 points in a single season, and averaged 20.1 ppg as a member of the Knicks. Born in Bronx, NY, Guerin played at Iona College, where as a senior he averaged 24.7 ppg and was named an All-America. Guerin was also a player/coach for both the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, compiling a 327-291 record while being named NBA Coach of the Year in 1968.