UConn’s Allen among HOF picks

SAN ANTONIO — Former UConn great Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill are among the 13-member class that will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

The Hall of Fame made the announcement Saturday before the NCAA Final Four semifinals.

The inductees also include Maurice Cheeks, Tina Thompson, coach Lefty Driesell, Charlie Scott, longtime executive Rick Welts, NBA executive Rod Thorn, Katie Smith, the late Ora Mae Washington and Croatian star Dino Radja.

Allen will be the first former UConn men’s basketball player inducted.

“It’s very special,” Jim Calhoun, a Hall of Famer himself, told Hearst Connecticut Media on Saturday. “He is, if not the face, one of the faces of the program. Obviously, Kemba (Walker) is phenomenal, too. Donyell (Marshall) was our first All-American, and Ray’s our first male Hall of Fame player.”

Calhoun, who coached Allen for four seasons at UConn, spent Friday night with Allen and his wife, Shannon, at a dinner where current Hall of Famers greet members of the incoming class at the Final Four in San Antonio.

“I think the greatest thing about being here— I was talking to Lefty Driesell about this, even when you look at what Danny Hurley had to say — is where everybody else holds our program,” Calhoun said. “You look up at that wall with all those players, it’s pretty special. Twenty-five years ago, I don’t think we were up there where we are today.”

Allen is the most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history and a two-time league champion.

“I think Ray reinforces some of those things about our program,” Calhoun added.

Nash and Kidd were two of the greatest point guards

of their generation. Nash is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player from Canada and an eight-time All-Star. Kidd earned 10 All-Star selections.

Hill won two NCAA titles at Duke and seven NBA All-Star selections.

Thompson was the first

draft choice in WNBA history and a four-time league champion, while Smith is the top scorer in women's professional basketball history.

Driesell is the only NCAA coach to win 100 games at four different schools. Scott is a five-time

NBA All-Star who also excelled in the ABA. Cheeks is a four-time NBA All-Star and one of the greatest defensive point guards in hoops history.

Welts has worked in several aspects of the professional game, including the launch of the WNBA.

Thorn has a lengthy career as a player, coach and executive.

Radja was one of the greatest European players of his generation, and he played four seasons for the Boston Celtics.

Born in 1898, Washington was a spectacular athlete

who excelled at tennis but also played on 11 consecutive Women's Colored Basketball World's Championship teams.

Allen