2012 basketball hall of fame inductees

[adam@section118]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ey...fame-inductees
Reggie Miller, Ralph Sampson among 2012 Hall of Fame inductees


Reggie Miller, Ralph Sampson and Jamaal Wilkes headline the 2012 Naismith Hall of Fame inductees that were announced Monday.

Also inducted: Lidia Alexeyeva, Don Barksdale, Mel Daniels, Chet Walker, Phil Knight, Don Nelson, Hank Nichols, Katrina McClain and The All American Redheads.

Miller, who is now second all-time in 3-pointers made behind Ray Allen, is obviously an extremely deserving inductee. Miller didn't get in last season as a first ballot player (and wasn't even a finalist somehow), but was elected in his second go around. Miller, who retired in 2005, is known as one of the most clutch players in NBA history, killing teams with big shots late in games. Over his 18-year NBA career, all with the Pacers, Miller built quite the reputation for being a trash talker and big shot maker.

Sampson, a 7-foot-4 monster who only played nine seasons in the NBA, 15.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. One of the most dominant college players of all time, Sampson had his NBA career cut short by injuries. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 1983 and lived up to expectation winning Rookie of the Year, but a list of knee surgeries stopped what would've been a wonderful NBA career.

____________________

As a lifelong Pacers fan, all I can say is "Boom baby!". Awesome to see Reggie in the hall

[adam@section118]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/77...call-hall-fame

NEW ORLEANS -- Five-time All-Star Reggie Miller and longtime coach Don Nelson are among a dozen players, coaches and teams that will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2012 was announced Monday in New Orleans, the site of the Final Four.

Also elected were two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain, three-time college player of the year Ralph Sampson, four-time NBA champion Jamaal Wilkes, longtime referee Hank Nichols, and the All-American Red Heads, the female version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Five members of the class had already been announced: Nike co-founder Phil Knight, ABA star Mel Daniels, seven-time NBA All-Star Chet Walker, Olympian Don Barksdale and Lydija Alexeeva, who led the Soviet Union to two Olympic gold medals.

The class will be inducted Sept. 7 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

[pjfootballer]

Wow, Sampson only had 15 ppg and 8 rpg and gets in the HOF? Hope most of it was based on his college days. Hey boys and girls, you too can average less than 16 points a game in the NBA and sprint to the Hall of Mediocre.

[adam@section118]

Wow, Sampson only had 15 ppg and 8 rpg and gets in the HOF? Hope most of it was based on his college days. Hey boys and girls, you too can average less than 16 points a game in the NBA and sprint to the Hall of Mediocre.

I would imagine most of it is based off of college years.

Remember it is not the "NBA hall of fame".

[HooHog]

Wow, Sampson only had 15 ppg and 8 rpg and gets in the HOF? Hope most of it was based on his college days. Hey boys and girls, you too can average less than 16 points a game in the NBA and sprint to the Hall of Mediocre.

It's the "basketball" HOF, not NBA. And he's the only guy ever to be ncaa player of the year three consecutive times. His pro career didn't go the way it was supposed to, largely due to injury, but he deserves to be in.

[pjfootballer]

I would imagine most of it is based off of college years.

Remember it is not the "NBA hall of fame".

It's the "basketball" HOF, not NBA. And he's the only guy ever to be ncaa player of the year three consecutive times. His pro career didn't go the way it was supposed to, largely due to injury, but he deserves to be in.

That's why I said I hoped it was based on is college days. He was great at UVA. Used to watch ACC triple headers on Raycom every Saturday growing up in the 80s.

[HooHog]

I dig. Hope I didn't come off as snippy. Lifelong UVA fan (born in 85) and really, with the exception of a good year here or there, there hasn't been much else going on since he left (hoping Bennett can change that).

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The basketball hall of fame is bizarre. It's probably the most fun hall of fame to visit. Cooperstown is awesome, but it's like going to church. Canton is like spending time in a rec room that has not been remodeled since the 70s.

[pjfootballer]

I dig. Hope I didn't come off as snippy. Lifelong UVA fan (born in 85) and really, with the exception of a good year here or there, there hasn't been much else going on since he left (hoping Bennett can change that).

Nah, didn't take it like that. Ralph was a great college player. Like I said, I used to watch ACC BB every Saturday growing up as a teenager. I was watching Ralph Sampson, Worthy, Jordan, Len Bias, Chris Corchiani, John Salley, Brad Daugherty, etc. I grew up rooting for the Terps. But all I have to do is mention the word "Chaminade" and UVA fans go nuts.

[HooHog]

Chaminade? What's that? Is that a person or a place? I've never heard of Chaminade. I've never heard of Chaminade.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Still don't think Reggie should be in the HOF. Had a thread on that very thing awhile back. Read it if you want to know why.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthre...icle-B4-Voting)

[ABQCOWBOY]

Wow, Sampson only had 15 ppg and 8 rpg and gets in the HOF? Hope most of it was based on his college days. Hey boys and girls, you too can average less than 16 points a game in the NBA and sprint to the Hall of Mediocre.

Great college player. I never thought he was much in the NBA thou. Decent player, nothing more IMO.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Great college player. I never thought he was much in the NBA thou. Decent player, nothing more IMO.

He was really really good until he crippled himself.

Look at this stats. His first three years, he was healthy and he averaged 22/11, 21/10, and 19/11 per game.

He never had a healthy season after that.

That Rockets team could have been a dynasty. Hakeem - who was still Akeem - was already one of the best centers in the league when it still had centers. Sampson was basically a 7'4 small forward. John Lucas was 32 but could still play. Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins were both young guys with a ton of game.

Within a year of the '86 Finals, Lucas, Lloyd, and Wiggins were dealing with drug suspensions and Sampson had already started breaking down physically.

Imagine the Thunder if Westbrook suddenly developed a career-threatening knee injury while Ibaka and Harden were busted for cocaine.

[adam@section118]

Still don't think Reggie should be in the HOF. Had a thread on that very thing awhile back. Read it if you want to know why.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?345569-Is-Reggie-Miller-a-HOFer-(Poll-PLEASE-Read-Article-B4-Voting)

And as I said in that thread, I still disagree.

I was about to draw up a whole long post, then saw this the other night when visiting a Pacers site. Pretty much sums up how I feel

It's amazing how some people just don't get why Reggie Miller is in the HOF. It's not just because of what he did in the playoffs. It's more and because he was the best 3-point shooter - or shooter in general - of his era.

He was in the top 10 in 3 point fgs made 15 of his 18 seasons, 11 of which he was in the top 5. He's made the most 3 pointers in NBA playoffs history as well. He lead the league in FT shooting 5 times, was 2nd in 2 other seasons, and was in the top 10 in 14 seasons. He has the 6th best True Shooting % of all-time - better than great players like Jordan, Stockton, Magic, Steve Nash, Dirk, and Larry Bird. Oh yeah, he's also scored 25, 279 points, which is more than Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Allen Iverson, and Charles Barkley.

If people say he didn't win a championship... that's true but he has won an Olympic Gold Medale and was the leading scorer on the 1996 Dream Team II. He's also #11 All-Time in Win Shares which is a good indicator of how he impacted the games won by the Pacers during his career.

[ixcuincle]

They induct those guys but didn't have room for Pitino?