Tomjanovich earns finalist spot again
Former Rockets coach could be part of elite class
CHICAGO — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 on Friday moved a step closer to becoming perhaps the most celebrated group of inductees ever. That could at last include former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich.
After a season in which Tomjanovich was not a finalist, he moved on to the next step along with expected finalists Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and the late Kobe Bryant, all newly eligible and considered shoo-ins for induction.
In addition to Bryant,
Duncan, Garnett and Tomjanovich, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, former Kentucky, Arkansas and Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, former Indiana Fever star Tamika Catchings and Bentley coach Barbara Stevens were named as finalists.
Tomjanovich, who had been a finalist in the previous two years before being excluded last season, is the only coach to lead teams to Olympic and NBA championships who is not in the Hall of Fame.
Tomjanovich, Bill Russell and K.C. Jones are the only coaches to have won more than one championship (excluding active coaches Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich) to not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Jones and Russell are in as players.
Tomjanovich is also the only coach to lead the USA Basketball team to Olympic gold medals since 1960 — a group that also includes Mike Krzyzewski, Lenny Wilkens, Chuck Daly, Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Henry Iba and Pete Newell — to not be voted into the Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2020 will be named April 4 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Atlanta.
“I’m used to it,” said Tomjanovich, who was inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame last month. “Again, I’m very hopeful and honored to be considered. Hopefully, we get a good result.”
For Tomjanovich, 71, the annual announcements during the NBA All-Star Weekend and often the Final Four championship day can increase hopes, and a rush of well wishes.
“It’s something I’ve gotten used to,” he said. “It’s all positive. It touches me when I hear that somebody is asking about the situation and some really nice things are said. It’s humbling.”
Coaches have long advocated for Tomjanovich’s inclusion, from Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle calling Tomjanovich “one of the great coaches in history” to Wizards coach Scott Brooks saying no coach should be inducted until his former coach with the Rockets is honored.
“It’s long overdue as I’ve said before each season (when) people ask me,” Popovich said. “He’s got the credentials for it. He’s had those credentials for quite a while. So, it’s sort of a mystery why he’s not in. Hopefully, that will be taken care of.”
Tomjanovich led the Rockets to a 503-397 (.559) regular-season record and
a 51-39 playoff record, including championships in 1994 and ’95. He led the USA Olympic team to the 2000 gold medal in Sydney, Australia, and a team of players unsigned by an NBA team to a world championship bronze medal in 1998 in Athens.
Tomjanovich was an AllAmerican at Michigan and a five-time All-Star with the Rockets. He is the only person in NBA history to score 10,000 points as a player and win 500 career games with two championships as a coach.
Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash last month, was an 18-time All-Star, fivetime NBA champion and 2008 MVP.
Duncan was a 15-time AllStar, five-time champion and 2002 and 2003 MVP.
Garnett was a 15-time AllStar, an NBA champion and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.
Sutton was a four-time NCAA coach of the year and the first to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Catchings was a 10-time All-Star, WNBA champion, four-time Olympic champion and 2012 WNBA MVP.
Mulkey has led Baylor to three NCAA championships, ranks third in all-time winning percentage and is the only person to win NCAA titles as a player (Louisiana Tech), assistant
coach and head coach.
Stevens is a five-time NCAA Division II coach of the year and won a championship at Bentley.
Dr. Tim Nugent, the founder and original commissioner of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, was named to be given the John Bunn lifetime achievement award.
Michael Wilbon, the former Washington Post columnist who is now an ESPN analyst, was named the winner of the Curt Gowdy media award for print journalism. ABC/ESPN play-byplay broadcaster Mike Breen was named as the Curt Gowdy winner for broadcasting.
TNT’s “Inside the NBA” broadcasters — Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal — were named the inaugural Transformative Media award winner. Jim Gray was named the first Insight Media winner.
The class of 2020, however, is expected to be regarded as one of the greatest and could include the most successful Rockets coach ever.
“Any year would be great,” Tomjanovich said. “I just have patience and wait for the call and go from there.”