Warriors legend Attles saluted with event named in his honor
SAN FRANCISCO » Al Attles, the Golden State Warriors’ 83-year- old legend, was a toddler the last time a neutral-site college basketball game was held within the city limits of San Francisco.
Now, just months after Attles’ induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, the Warriors have added to his legacy by creating the Al Attles Classic, a college basketball quadruple-header set for Chase Center on Saturday.
When Stanford (10-1) tips off against San Diego (6-7) at noon, it will mark the first neutral- site matchup in the city since the 1939 NCAA tournament West Regionals were played at the California Coliseum on Treasure Island. Oregon defeated Oklahoma 55- 37 and went on to win the first NCAA basketball championship.
The Treasure Island facility was built as part of
the Golden Gate International Exposition, a World’s Fair celebrating the opening of the San FranciscoOakland Bay and Golden Gate bridges.
The Warriors, looking to create events for their new Chase Center, worked handin-hand with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to schedule a day of college hoops.
The remainder of the two-session event includes Cal (6- 5) against Boston College (7- 5) at 2:30, Arizona (10-2) vs. St. John’s (10-2) at 7 p.m., and Saint Mary’s (11-2) vs. Nevada (84) at 9 p.m.
Brandon Schneider, chief revenue officer for the Warriors, said the franchise wants the event to shine a spotlight on Attles, their former player, coach and general manager.
“We thought it would be awesome to put his name on it,” Schneider said. “It’s a great tribute to Al. Very
Bay Area.”
No Bay Area sports figure has been more enduring than Attles, who came with the Warriors from Philadelphia and made his local debut on Oct. 23, 1962 — more than 57 years ago. The Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons 140-113 at the Cow Palace in Daly City as Wilt Chamberlain had 56 points and 29 rebounds. Attles contributed 10 points and eight assists.
Attles became the team’s coach during the 1969-70 season and directed the franchise to its first local NBA championship in 1975.
After scoring 6,328 points and coaching the team to 557 victories, Attles has remained active with the franchise in various front-office capacities. His jersey No. 16 has been retired and he is a member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
A Warriors spokesperson said Attles hopes to attend the early session Saturday, depending on how he is feeling.
The Warriors have generated a range of events for Chase Center, including concerts featuring Metallica, Elton John, Eric Clapton and The Who.
“We wanted college basketball to be a big part of that,” Schneider said.
The USF men’s and women’s teams were the first college teams to play at Chase, early last month, but the plan all along was to stage a bigger event involving Bay Area teams. Schneider said the Al Attles Classic began as a doubleheader but expanded when more teams showed interest.
The Hall of Fame has significant experience assembling these types of events, so the Warriors reached out. Greg Procino, vice president of basketball operations for the Hall of Fame, said it was an easy call to partner with the Warriors.
“Not everyone makes it to Springfield ( Mass.) to see the Hall of Fame, and given our mission of promoting the game of basketball at all levels all around the world, we’ve expanded our college basketball series,” Procino said.
Saint Mary’s, for instance, played at the Hall of Fame Showcase event at Phoenix on Wednesday night, beating Arizona State 96-56.
Procino, who expects attendance Saturday to be between 10,000 and 12,000 combined for the two sessions, explained that St. John’s was invited when former Warriors’ star Chris Mullin was the Red Storm’s coach. Mullin now does TV work on Warriors games for NBC Bay Area, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he shows up to watch his alma mater. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he plans to be on hand for Arizona, his old school.
Both the Warriors and Hall of Fame hope this becomes an annual fixture on the college basketball calendar, although nothing is official beyond this year.
“This is where we’re starting,” Schneider said. “We’ll learn a lot, get feedback from the schools and everyone who is involved.
“We’ve chosen to take it one year at a time. But beyond a contract, there’s a commitment that we want to see this going forward.”