HOOP HEROES HONOURED
Leaders including Steve Nash to be inducted into B.C. Hall of Fame.
The man who brought the NBA to Vancouver for the Grizzlies’ short, lamentable run and the Victoria product who paved the way for the current crop of Canadian hoops talent headline the 2016 class being inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
Steve Nash, the incomparable passing wizard who won backto-back league MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 while with the Phoenix Suns, is one of five athlete inductees who will be formally honoured at a banquet June 9.
A three-time Canadian male athlete of the year, Nash was such a slam-dunk (pardon the pun) nomination that the hall waved the three-year, postretirement waiting period to include him in the class of 2016.
Nash wasn’t at the Thursday announcement at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame where the likes of football’s Wally Buono (builder) and Dave Cutler (athlete) and soccer’s Carl Valentine (athlete) and Geri Donnelly (athlete) were confirmed as new inductees. But he sent a message, saying he was honoured to be included in a group with people who have “set the bar for athletics in B.C.”
“I’ve been in love with sport forever, made most of my best friends on fields and courts and rinks. And I hope that this Hall of Fame class will help leave a legacy that engages British Columbia in the same spirit of teamwork and passion to always improve that’s given me so much joy.”
Going in with Nash is Arthur Griffiths, who is being honoured with the W.A.C. Bennett Award, bestowed intermittently for extraordinary contribution to sport in B.C.
Griffiths, who took over ownership of the NHL Vancouver Canucks in the mid-1980s from his father until selling the team in 1997, financed the building of General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in 1995, which helped secure the Grizzlies. He was also chair of the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Bid Society, which in 1998 obtained the Canadian Olympic Committee’s endorsement to bid to host the 2010 Olympics.
Previous Bennett Award recipients include Arthur’s father, Frank Griffiths, Rick Hansen, Terry Fox, Nat Bailey, Pat Quinn, Erwin Swangard and John Furlong.
“Never in my wildest imagination did I dream that I could be inducted into this hall,” Griffiths said. “To know that I’m sharing an award that my father received is even extra special. Of course, (former Canucks coach and GM) Pat Quinn as well. For me, it’s without question the top of the pile.”
One of Griffiths’ regrets is that financial troubles forced him to give up ownership of the Canucks and Grizzlies. And of course, any reference to Nash, who played 18 NBA seasons, mostly with Phoenix and Dallas, always comes with speculation about how his presence in a Grizzlies’ uniform might have impacted the franchise.
“It’s a likelihood they would (still) be (here),” Griffiths said. “The reality is, though, that you can’t change history. Steve had a great career with a great basketball team. I know some players can carry a team on their back, but we weren’t playing at the level of some of the teams he was successful with.
“I’m delighted he was able to go to a team that could take advantage of his talent and, more important, he could succeed as he did.”
The six-foot-three Nash in 2005 became only the third point guard, after Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy, to be named MVP (subsequent guards Derek Rose and 2014-15 MVP Stephen Curry also play the point). Nash owns the third-leading assist total in NBA history and is the all-time leading free throw shooter at 90.4 per cent.
Continuing with the basketball theme, one of those inducted into the builder/coach category was Allison McNeill, whose Simon Fraser University women’s teams made 11 trips to the NAIA national championships from 1988 to 2001 and who guided the Canadian women’s national team from 2002 to 2012.
“It’s awe-inspiring to go in with this class,” said McNeill, who led Canada to the quarter-finals of the 2012 Olympics. “It makes you proud to be from B.C., proud to be inducted.”
She remembers watching Nash on Under-15 and Under-17 provincial teams coached by her husband, Mike. “I’d never seen anybody handle the ball harder. And I used that as an example. I’d say, ‘You’re not handling it hard enough, you’ve got to push the ball harder.’”
One of her most enduring memories of Nash was during the 2000 Olympics, when he almost single-handedly got Canada into the quarter-finals.
“I remember just how much France beat him up and how hard he worked for Canada.
“And it’s funny, the other night in bed, neither Mike nor I could get to sleep and we were watching some Nash clips on YouTube. How crazy is that? To have someone like him come through and play the way he did … it’s way better than any other player because he’s Canadian. We saw him grow up.”
McNeill helped lay the foundation for a Canadian women’s team that won gold this summer at the Pan Am Games, beating the U.S., and also won the America’s Olympic qualifier by beating Cuba.
“We had some friends over, sitting watching the games with our Canada gear on, screaming at the TV. It’s been a lot of work by a lot of people. I know I dedicated a lot of time and pushed a lot of doors open. I think this is where I thought we’d be.”
It’s where many think the Canadian men’s team, with Nash serving as the general manager, will be at some point as well.