Shame on the Hall
Rudy T is again snubbed by the voters who seem to hold some grudge against Houston
This should be a time to celebrate the great Rudy Tomjanovich.
Correction: This should be a time for a belated celebration of the great Rudy Tomjanovich.
On Saturday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its class of 2018, and Tomjanovich is not on the list. Again.
He should have been inducted years ago.
What is it with this place and Houston coaching legends?
The late Guy V. Lewis of the University of Houston, who built a dynasty on Cullen and whose vision helped make the college game what it is today, was finally welcomed into the Hall in 2013, some 25 years after he should have been fêted in Springfield, Mass.
Bill Krueger, an unquestioned great who never had a losing season and retired from Clear Lake in 1996 as the all-time winningest coach in high school boys basketball history. Three coaches who later passed him on the list —Robert Hughes of Fort Worth Dunbar (2017), Morgan Wootten of DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., (2000) and Jersey City’s New Jersey St. Anthony’s Bob Hurley (2010) — have been inducted into the Naismith.
How many times must we write this column about righting this wrong?
Tomjanovich, 69, has been a finalist for the last two years, yet, inexplicably, he has not been voted in.
A college All-American and the second overall pick in 1970 by the then-San Diego Rockets, Tomjanovich was well on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame player when he was punched in the face by Kermit Washington during an in-game scuffle in 1977. Eventually, he was a five-time All-Star, in an 11-year career.
When he gets into the Hall, and eventually he will, it will be as a coach.
What he did with the Rockets, besides the on-the-court accomplishment of two NBA titles, was not only innovative, but ahead of his time. It is now how the best teams play.
Coach ahead of his times
Tomjanovich’s use of the 3-pointer with power forwards stretching the floor was seen as a fad by many and crazy by some.
Understandably, Hakeem Olajuwon’s dominance was the lead story from the Rockets’ first title run, but the Rockets also led the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted.
Rudy T’s Rockets were precursors to Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets, who lead the league by a wide margin in both wins and 3-pointers.
“What he has done for basketball is off the charts,” D’Antoni said before last year’s Hall of Fame announcement. “I find it hard to believe he's not in the (Hall).”
Tomjanovich finished his coaching career with a record of 527-416, with two NBA championships and an Olympic gold medal for leading Team USA in 2000.
His résumé is similar to that of 1994 inductee Chuck Daly, who went into the Hall with a 540-365 record, including two NBA championships and an Olympic gold medal for leading Team USA in 1992.
Under Tomjanovich, the Rockets won an NBA-record nine straight playoff road games and an even more impressive league-record six consecutive elimination games.
When his team’s season was on the line, Tomjanovich pushed the right buttons.
And, of course, he authored one of the great lines in basketball history: “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”
Tomjanovich’s Hall of Fame credentials are legitimate, and his candidacy would be even more of a no-brainer had it not been for that life-altering punch, or the bladder cancer that forced him to leave his job with the Rockets in 2003. He attempted to return a year later to coach the Lakers, but left at midseason — walking away from a five-year, $30-million contract —because the physical grind was too much.
Look, everyone who gets into the Hall of Fame is deserving. The belief that any and everyone gets into the Basketball Hall of Fame is one of the more inaccurate putdowns of the sport.
There are just 100 coaches in the Hall, just 14 who coached in the NBA. Tomjanovich is the only non-active NBA coach who won multiple championships not in the Hall.
A less well-known feat
Tomjanovich’s near-miracle work in guiding a group of stragglers to a bronze in the 1998 World Cup is another bright spot on his résumé. Not many coaches could have accomplished as much against that level of competition with the team that was thrown together because the USOC was unable to fashion another edition of the Dream Team because of the NBA player strike.
His Hall of Fame worthiness isn’t really debatable.
No doubt Tomjanovich will one day receive the long-awaited call from the Hall, but it’s a shame that he hasn’t.
Hey, Naismith Memorial Hall, why don’t you all give Bill Krueger a call too?