Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin Named to Basketball Hall of Fame

Mason Levinson, Monday, April 4, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/dennis-rodman-chris-mullin-named-to-basketball-hall-of-fame/2011/04/04/AFwLm3fC_story.html

(Bloomberg) -- Five-time National Basketball Association champion Dennis Rodman and five-time All-Star Chris Mullin were among 10 people named to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Former NBA players Artis Gilmore, Arvydas Sabonis and Tom “Satch” Sanders, longtime coach Tex Winter, college coaches Herb Magee and Tara VanDerveer, Women’s NBA player Teresa Edwards and Harlem Globetrotter Reece “Goose” Tatum also were elected, the museum announced at a televised news conference in Houston today prior to the college basketball men’s championship game.

They will be enshrined in the Springfield, Massachusetts- based Hall on Aug. 12.

Rodman won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Detroit Pistons. He twice was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year and seven times made the NBA’s All-Defensive first team.

“I feel kind of out of place because of some of the things I’ve done,” Rodman said at the news conference, citing his behavior. “They could have went the other direction, saying ‘You know, Dennis, some of the things you’ve done off the court is not conducive to the Hall of Fame.’”

Rodman, who was arrested numerous times during his 14-year NBA career, gained notoriety for numerous tattoos, multicolored hair and behavior such as wearing a wedding gown to promote his book and kicking a courtside cameraman.

“They saw a little bit about Dennis Rodman, as far as (being) a character person,” Rodman said.

Two Golds

Mullin was also a finalist last year. The two-time Olympic gold medalist had 17,911 points, 4,034 rebounds and 3,450 assists during a 17-year career for the Golden State Warriors’ franchise and the Indiana Pacers before retiring in 2001.

Mullin said he learned of his election this morning while on the West Coast.

“I actually went back to sleep, but I slept with a big smile on my face,” he said.

Winter coached in college and the pros from 1947 to 2006, winning nine NBA championships as an assistant. He is considered an innovator of the triangle offense, which both the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers used under Winter and Phil Jackson to claim league titles.

Magee, the coach at Division II Philadelphia University, is the career leader for wins at the same institution for any level of college basketball. He has won 922 games in 44 seasons at the school.

Sabonis, a center from Lithuania, was among the top international players in the world. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 1995-96 to 2002-03.

Points, Rebounds

Gilmore played in both the NBA and American Basketball Association, and was named to 11 All-Star Games. His 24,941 points ranks 20th all-time, while his 16,330 rebounds ranks fifth.

Sanders, elected as a contributor, played for the Boston Celtics from 1961 to 1969 and later coached the Celtics and Harvard University. Sanders helped form several NBA player- development programs.

Women’s committee selectees were Edwards and VanDerveer. Edwards was the first U.S. basketball player to participate in five Olympics, winning four gold medals and a bronze.

VanDerveer, who has led Stanford to two national women’s championships, was named this season’s collegiate coach of the year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Over a 32- year career, VanDerveer has an 826-198 record.

Tatum, who died in 1967, was the original “clown prince” of the Globetrotters, who mix basketball with comedy.