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Wednesday, May 30
Updated: May 31, 4:38 PM ET
Krzyzewski, Chaney, Malone to enter Hall
Associated Press
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Moses Malone, among the first to go
straight from high school to the pros, and college coaches Mike
Krzyzewski and John Chaney are joining the Basketball Hall of Fame.
|  | | Mike Krzyzewski won his third NCAA title earlier this year. |
The three -- one of the smallest groups in years -- will be
inducted Oct. 5, Hall of Fame President John Doleva said Wednesday.
Malone, among the most dominating centers in the game, jumped
from Petersburg (Va.) High School to the Utah Stars of the American
Basketball Association in 1974 at the age of 19. He went on to play
21 years in the ABA and NBA.
"It is an honor to think people consider me a great player,"
Malone said. "I never considered myself a great player. I
considered myself a hard worker."
The 6-foot-10 Malone became the third leading rebounder in NBA
history -- behind Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell -- with 16,212,
and the NBA's fifth leading scorer with 27,404 points. He also
ranks third in games played with 1,329, second in free-throw
attempts with 11,090, and first in free throws made with 8,531.
A 12-time NBA All-Star, he led the Philadelphia 76ers to the
1983 NBA championship and was selected the MVP of the NBA Finals.
He also played for Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Washington and
San Antonio.
"I have to give thanks to a lot of players who I played with,"
Malone said. "You can't think of me as a great player without
mentioning the great players I played with and the great teams I
played on."
He said if he had to single out one of his former teammates it
would be Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
"I love him," Malone said. "He is an ambassador of the
game."
Krzyzewski won his third national championship at Duke this
spring. He has amassed a 606-223 record in 21 seasons of coaching
at Duke, where he also won NCAA titles in 1991-92, and four seasons
at Army.
The 69-year-old Chaney has coached 29 years.
He won a Division II national championship with Cheyney State in
1978. Since taking over Temple in 1982, he has led the Owls to 18
postseason tournament appearances and five NCAA regional finals.
Coaches are eligible for induction after 25 seasons of coaching,
while players must be retired for at least five years.
A person needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee to be
inducted.
For the first time since 1992 the Honors Committee did not elect
a female player or coach. Two female coaches, Cathy Rush of
Immaculata College and Kay Yow of North Carolina State, were among
the 17 finalists.
The other finalists included coaches Lute Olson, Larry Brown and
Jerry Tarkanian, and players James Worthy, Adrian Dantley, Bobby
Jones, Earl Lloyd, and international stars Dino Meneghin and Drazen
Petrovic.
Proposed as contributors were Tex Winter, Grady Lewis and
wheelchair basketball pioneer Junius Kellogg.
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