1.
1970 NBA draft
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The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association. The draft was held on March 23,1970, before the 1970–71 season, in this draft,17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U. S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. A player who had finished his college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Detroit Pistons won the flip and were awarded the first overall pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in order of their win–loss record in the previous season. In the first round, the Cavaliers had the pick, while the Blazers and the Braves had the eighth. In the subsequent rounds, the Cavaliers and the Braves exchanged their order of selection, the draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising the selection of 239 players, it holds the record for the most prospects selected in any NBA draft. Bob Lanier from St. Bonaventure University was selected first overall by the Detroit Pistons, rudy Tomjanovich from the University of Michigan and Pete Maravich from Louisiana State University were selected second and third respectively. Six players from this draft, Lanier, Maravich, Cowens, 18th pick Calvin Murphy, 19th pick Nate Archibald, Maravich, Cowens and Archibald were also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the leagues 50th anniversary in 1996. Maravich had four All-NBA Team selections and five All-Star Game selections, Cowens won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, one Most Valuable Player Award in 1973, and had three All-NBA Team selections and seven All-Star Game selections. Archibald won one NBA championship with the Celtics in 1981 and had five All-NBA Team selections, Lanier and Murphy were selected to eight and one All-Star Games respectively. Dan Issel initially opted to play in the American Basketball Association with the Kentucky Colonels and he played six seasons in the ABA before finally joining the NBA with the Denver Nuggets when both leagues merged. He was selected to five All-ABA Teams, six ABA All-Star Games and he was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game. Tomjanovich was selected to five All-Star Games during his career, charlie Scott, the 106th pick, initially opted to play in the ABA with the Virginia Squires before joining the NBA in 1972. He was selected to two All-ABA Teams, two ABA All-Star Games and three NBA All-Star Games, three other players from this draft, fifth pick Sam Lacey, seventh pick John Johnson and eighth pick Geoff Petrie, was also selected to at least one All-Star Game. The Rockets first and second picks, Tomjanovich and Murphy spent all of their playing career with the Rockets
2.
Detroit Pistons
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The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its games at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1941. The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948, in 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989,1990 and 2004. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janets Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945 and they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944,1945 and 1946. In 1948, the became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America. In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA, there are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals, in the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game. Syracuse won on a throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team, although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL, Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroits status as the center of the automobile industry. The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons, the franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by strong individuals. In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons, some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier. At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA, DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Detroit qualified for the postseason in four seasons, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs
3.
Center (basketball)
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The center, also known as the five or the big man, is one of the five positions in a regular basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a deal of strength. The tallest player to ever be drafted in the NBA was the 78 Yasutaka Okayama from Japan, the tallest players to ever play in the NBA, at 77, are centers Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol. Standing at 72, Margo Dydek is the tallest player to have played in the WNBA. The center is considered a component for a successful team. But recently, the NBA has turned into a point guard league, great centers have been the foundation for most of the dynasties in both the NBA and NCAA. In the 1960s, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain further transformed basketball by combining height with a level of athleticism than previous centers. Following the retirement of George Mikan, the rivalry of the two big men came to dominate the NBA, many of the records set by these two players have endured today. Most notably, Chamberlain and Russell hold the top eighteen season averages for rebounds, Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA Championships. He joined the Boston Celtics and helped make them one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, Russell revolutionized defensive strategy with his shot-blocking, rebounding and physical man-to-man defense. His principal rival, Wilt Chamberlain, listed at 71,275 pounds, Chamberlain played college ball for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them to the 1957 title game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Although the Jayhawks lost by one point in overtime, Chamberlain was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. He also won seven scoring titles, eleven rebounding titles, and four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, including the distinction, in 1960, stronger than any player of his era, he was usually capable of scoring and rebounding at will. Most notably, Chamberlain is the player in NBA history to average more than 50 points in a season. He also holds the NBAs all-time records for rebounding average, rebounds in a single game, in contrast to the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, the 1970s were a decade of parity in the NBA, with eight different champions and no back-to-back winners. At the college level, the UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden, built the greatest dynasty in NCAA basketball history, UCLA had already won two consecutive titles in 1964 and 1965 with teams that pressed and emphasized guard play. After not winning in 1966, Woodens teams changed their style when Lew Alcindor became eligible and he led UCLA to three championships-in 1967,68 and 69-while winning the first Naismith College Player of the Year Award. During his college career, the NCAA enacted a ban on dunking primarily because of Alcindors dominant use of the shot
4.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a franchise of the American Basketball Association. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974, after the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets. The team has had periods of success, qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the finals. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine seasons in the 1980s. However, it has not made an appearance in a round since its last year in the ABA. The Nuggets play their games at Pepsi Center, which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League. In 1967, one of the ABAs charter franchises was awarded to a group in Kansas City, Missouri, however, Trindle was unable to find a suitable arena in the Kansas City area. League commissioner George Mikan suggested moving the team to Denver, after agreeing to name Denver native and former NBA player Vince Boryla as general manager, Trindle moved his team to Denver as the Denver Larks, named after Colorados state bird. The Trindle group was severely undercapitalized, leading Mikan to order the Larks to post a $100,000 performance bond or lose the franchise, hours before the deadline, Trindle sold a ⅔ controlling interest to Denver trucking magnate Bill Ringsby for $350,000. Ringsby then renamed the team the Rockets, after his companys long-haul trucks, playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena, the Rockets had early successes on the court, developing a solid fan base along the way. However, the team had a history of early playoff exits, early, they had a solid lineup led by Byron Beck and Larry Jones, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. Wright played four seasons with Denver, controversial rookie Spencer Haywood joined the team for the 1969–70 season. Haywood was one of the first players to turn pro before graduating from college, and the NBA initially refused to let him play in the league. Haywood averaged nearly 30 points and 19.5 rebounds per game in his only ABA season, being named ABA MVP, ABA rookie of the year, the team finished 51-33, winning their division, before exiting the playoffs in the 2nd round. Just before the start of the 1970–71 season, Haywood signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, the team tumbled to a 30-54 record and attendance suffered. Ringsby sold the team to San Diego businessmen Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer in 1972
5.
Rebound (basketball)
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In basketball, a rebound, colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds are also given to a player who tips in a shot on his teams offensive end. Rebounds in basketball are a part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made. A rebound can be grabbed by either a player or a defensive player. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in position to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound, a ball does not need to actually rebound off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls, if a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound. Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player, great rebounders tend to be tall and strong. Because height is so important, most rebounds are made by centers and power forwards, the lack of height can sometimes be compensated by the strength to box out taller players away from the ball to capture the rebound. For example, Charles Barkley once led the league in rebounding despite usually being much shorter than his counterparts, also, some shorter guards can be excellent rebounders as well such as point guard Jason Kidd who led the New Jersey Nets in rebounding for several years. Great rebounders must also have a sense of timing and positioning. Great leaping ability is an important asset, but not absolutely necessary, players such as Larry Bird and Moses Malone were excellent rebounders, but were never known for their leaping ability. Bird has stated, Most rebounds are taken below the rim, the action can also be called blocking out. A team can be boxed out by players using this technique to stop the other team from rebounding. Because fighting for a rebound can be physical, rebounding is often regarded as grunt work or a hustle play. Overly aggressive boxing out or preventing being boxed out can lead to personal fouls, statistics of a players rebounds per game or rebounding average measure a players rebounding effectiveness by dividing the number of rebounds by the number of games played
6.
University of Kentucky
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The University of Kentucky is a public co-educational university in Lexington, Kentucky. S. The institution comprises 16 colleges, a school,93 undergraduate programs,99 master programs,66 doctoral programs. The University of Kentucky has fifteen libraries on campus, young Library, a federal depository, hosting subjects related to social sciences, humanities, and life sciences collections. In recent years, the university has focused expenditures increasingly on research, the directive mandated that the university become a Top 20 public research institution, in terms of an overall ranking to be determined by the university itself, by the year 2020. Courses were offered at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, three years later, James Kennedy Patterson became the first president of the land-grant university and the first degree was awarded. In 1876, the university began to offer degree programs. Two years later, A&M separated from Kentucky University, which is now Transylvania University, for the new school, Lexington donated a 52-acre park and fair ground, which became the core of UKs present campus. A&M was initially a male-only institution, but began to admit women in 1880, in 1892, the official colors of the university, royal blue and white, were adopted. An earlier color set, blue and light yellow, was adopted earlier at a Kentucky-Centre College football game on December 19,1891, the particular hue of blue was determined from a necktie, which was used to demonstrate the color of royal blue. On February 15,1882, Administration Building was the first building of three completed on the present campus, three years later, the college formed the Agricultural Experiment Station, which researches issues relating to agribusiness, food processing, nutrition, water and soil resources and the environment. This was followed up by the creation of the universitys Agricultural Extension Service in 1910, the extension service became a model of the federally mandated programs that were required beginning in 1914. Patterson Hall, the schools first womens dormitory, was constructed in 1904, residents had to cross a swampy depression, where the Student Center now stands, to reach central campus. Four years later, the name was changed to the State University, Lexington, Kentucky upon reaching university status. The university led to the creation of the College of Home Economics in 1916, the College of Commerce was established in 1925, known today as the Gatton College of Business and Economics. In 1929, Memorial Hall was completed, dedicated to the 2,756 Kentuckians who died in World War I and this was followed up by the new King Library, which opened in 1931 and was named for a long-time library director, Margaret I. The universitys graduate and professional programs became racially integrated in 1949 when Lyman T. Johnson, African Americans would not be allowed to attend as undergraduates until 1954, following the US Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Education decision. In 1939, Governor Happy Chandler appointed the first woman trustee on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees and she served from 1939 to 1960. In 1962, Blazer Hall was opened as the Georgia M Blazer Hall for Women in tribute to her years of service as a University of Kentucky trustee
7.
Rupp Arena
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With an official capacity of 23,500, it is currently the largest arena in the United States designed specifically for basketball, and is also the largest indoor arena by capacity in the USA. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats mens basketball team is second in the nation in college basketball home attendance, the only other basketball-specific arena in US history larger than the arena is the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum. Rupp Arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows, Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four, won in an upset by eighth-seeded Villanova. It is named after US coaching legend Adolph Rupp, and opened in 1976, since the 1985 Final Four, Rupp Arena has hosted a number of NCAA Tournament regional games, most recently in 2013 when it hosted second and third round NCAA Tournament games. The construction of Rupp Arena came to a halt during the beginning of the dig after the discovery of bones left behind from the Inuit Tribe local to the Lexington Kentucky area. It was decided to move the build site 1,000 feet in order to respect the Native Indian Burial ground. The arena has a capacity for basketball of 23,500. This is possible because less than half of the consists of chair-back seats. The lower bowl also incorporates a student standing-room area called the eRUPPtion Zone behind one goal, the upper bowl is completely made up of bleacher bench seats that allow more capacity than chair-back seats. Unlike many arenas built in the years, it has no luxury suites. However, in 2001 the arena received some renovations including four oversize video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms. The first act to perform at Rupp Arena was Lawrence Welk on Sunday, the performance attracted 20,000 people to the newly opened facility. The ceremonial first basket in the new facility was sunk by Adolphs young grandson Chip, Rupp staged three Southeastern Conference mens basketball tournaments between 1982 and 1993, it was also the host of the Ohio Valley Conference mens basketball tournament in 1992 and 1993. It hosted WWE Backlash in 2006, the Rupp Arena attendance record was set on January 2,2010, when 24,480 people watched #3 Kentucky play rival Louisville. The final score was a 71-62 victory by the Kentucky Wildcats, the UK men are the only basketball program in the SEC that plays home games in an off-campus facility. All of the other programs play on-campus, including the UK women, however, when the womens program expects an unusually large crowd, it will shift an occasional game to Rupp, they notably upset then top-ranked Tennessee there on January 26,2006. Rupp is also home to the annual KHSAA State Basketball Championship, the University of Kentucky has led the nation 25 times in NCAA Mens Basketball home attendance since the 1976-77 season, including 17 out of the last 20 seasons, and 8 of the last 10 seasons. On December 21,2009, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Mens basketball team became the first college program to win 2000 games
8.
University of Mississippi
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The University of Mississippi is an American public research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. It is the state of Mississippis flagship and largest university, with an enrollment of 24,250 in fall 2016. It is both a sea-grant and space-grant institution and is classified as an R1, Doctoral University — Highest Research Activity. Across all its campuses, it comprises approximately 2,200 faculty members,10,600 staff members, and 24,000 students, and has a total budget of roughly $2 billion. About 55 percent of its undergraduates and 60 percent overall come from Mississippi, the Mississippi Legislature chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24,1844. The university opened its doors to its first class of 80 students four years later in 1848, for 23 years, the university was Mississippis only public institution of higher learning, and for 110 years it was the states only comprehensive university. When the university opened, the campus consisted of six buildings, constructed from 1846 to 1848, the Lyceum is the oldest building on campus. Originally, the Lyceum housed all of the classrooms and faculty offices of the university, the buildings north and south wings were added in 1903, and the Class of 1927 donated the clock above the eastern portico. The Lyceum is now the home of the administration offices. The columned facade of the Lyceum is represented on the official crest of the university, in 1854, the university established the fourth state-supported, public law school in the United States, and also began offering engineering education. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, classes were interrupted when almost the entire student body from the University of Mississippi enlisted in the Confederate army. The Lyceum was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded at the battle of Shiloh, two hundred-fifty soldiers who died in the campus hospital were buried in a cemetery on the grounds of the university. During the post-war period, the university was led by former Confederate general A. P. Stewart and he served as Chancellor from 1874-1886. The university became coeducational in 1882 and was the first such institution in the Southeast to hire a female faculty member, Sarah McGehee Isom, the student yearbook was published for the first time in 1897. A contest was held to solicit suggestions for a title from the student body. Elma Meek, a student, submitted the entry of Ole Miss. Meeks source for the term is unknown, some historians theorize she made a diminutive of old Mississippi or derived the term from ol missus and this sobriquet was not only chosen for the yearbook, but also became the name by which the university was informally known. Ole Miss is defined as the schools intangible spirit, which is separate from the tangible aspects of the university, the university began medical education in 1903, when the University of Mississippi School of Medicine was established on the Oxford campus
9.
University of Tennessee
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The University of Tennessee is a public sun- and land-grant university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It hosts almost 28,000 students from all 50 states, in its 2017 universities ranking, U. S. News & World Report ranked UT 103rd among all national universities and 46th among public institutions of higher learning. Seven alumni have been selected as Rhodes Scholars, James M. Buchanan,41, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics. Also affiliated with the university are the Howard H. Baker, the university is a direct partner of the University of Tennessee Medical Center, which is one of two Level I trauma centers in East Tennessee. UT is one of the oldest public universities in the United States, when Samuel Carrick, its first president and only faculty member, died in 1809, the school was temporarily closed until 1820. When it reopened, it began experiencing growing pains, thomas Jefferson had previously recommended that the college leave its confining single building in the city and relocate to a place it could spread out. Ironically, in the Summer of 1826, the trustees explored Barbara Hill as a potential site, in 1840, the college was elevated to East Tennessee University. Tennessee was a member of the Confederacy in 1862 when the Morrill Act was passed, on February 28,1867, Congress passed a special Act making the State of Tennessee eligible to participate in the Morrill Act of 1862 program. In January 1869, ETU was designated as Tennessees recipient of the Land-Grant designation, in accepting the funds, the university would focus upon instructing students in military, agricultural, and mechanical subjects. ETU eventually received $396,000 as its endowment under the program, Trustees soon approved the establishment of a medical program under the auspices of the Nashville School of Medicine and added advanced degree programs. East Tennessee University was renamed the University of Tennessee in 1879 by the state legislature, during World War II, UT was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. The campus is headed by a Chancellor who functions as the executive officer of the campus, responsible for its daily administration. The chancellor reports to the president of the university system and is elected annually by the UT Board of Trustees at the recommendation of the system president, jimmy Cheek has been Chancellor of the Knoxville campus since February 1,2009. Joseph A. DiPietro has been president since January 1,2011. Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan D. Martin is responsible for the administration of the Knoxville campus. On December 15,2016 the UT Board of Trustees confirmed Dr. Beverly J. Davenport as the next Chancellor of the Knoxville campus and she will begin her role on February 15,2017. Campus policing and security is provided by the University of Tennessee Police Department.4 percent from 2000 to 2009, many doctors and nurses at UTMC have integrated careers as teachers and healthcare professionals, and the center promotes itself as the areas only academic, or teaching hospital. The new UT Medical Center Heart Hospital received its first patient on April 27,2010, in Fall 2016, the university enrolled 21,863 undergraduate and 5,982 graduate and professional students, 50% of students are female, 50% are male
10.
J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
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The award is named in honor of James Walter Kennedy, the second commissioner of the NBA. The winner is selected by the Pro Basketball Writers Association, the PBWA represents writers for newspapers, magazines and internet services who cover the NBA on a regular basis. Members of the PBWA nominate players for the award, and then a vote is taken by approximately 150 PBWA members, the person with the highest point total wins the award. The award is given to a person who made a substantial charitable contribution. For instance, Kevin Garnett received the award in 2006 after donating $1.2 million toward the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, since its inception, the award has been given to 34 different people. Only one season had joint winners—Michael Cooper and Rory Sparrow in the 1985–86 season, mutombo is also the only player to win the award twice. Frank Layden and Joe OToole were the only non-players to win the award, Layden, the 1983–84 award recipient, was the head coach for the Utah Jazz, while OToole, the 1994–95 award recipient, was the athletic trainer for the Atlanta Hawks. National Basketball Association portal General Specific
11.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
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The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as the sports most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball, dedicated to Canadian physician and inventor of the sport James Naismith, it was opened and inducted its first class in 1959. As of the induction of the Class of 2016 on September 9,2016, the Naismith Hall of Fame was established in 1959 by Lee Williams, a former athletic director at Colby College. In the 1960s, the Basketball Hall of Fame struggled to raise money for the construction of its first facility. The Basketball Hall of Fames Board named four inductees in its first year, in addition to honoring those who contributed to basketball, the Hall of Fame sought to make contributions of its own. In 1979, the Hall of Fame sponsored the Tip-Off Classic and this Tip-Off Classic has been the start to the college basketball season ever since, and although it does not always take place in Springfield, Massachusetts, generally it returns every few years. In the 17 years that the original Basketball Hall of Fame operated at Springfield College, the popularity of the Basketball Hall of Fame necessitated that a new facility be constructed, and in 1985, an $11 million facility was built beside the scenic Connecticut River in Springfield. As the new hall opened, it also recognized women for the first time, with such as Senda Berenson Abbott. In 2002, the Basketball Hall of Fame moved again—albeit merely 100 yards south along Springfields riverfront—into a $47 million facility designed by renowned architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, the buildings architecture features a metallic silver, basketball-shaped sphere flanked by two similarly symmetrical rhombuses. The dome is illuminated at night and features 80,000 square foot, including numerous restaurants, the second Basketball Hall of Fame was not torn down but rather converted into an LA Fitness health clubs. The current Basketball Hall of Fame features Center Court, a basketball court on which visitors can play. Inside the building there are a gallery, many interactive exhibits, several theaters. A large theater for ceremonies seats up to 300, the honorees inducted in 2002 included the Harlem Globetrotters and Magic Johnson, a five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist. As of 2011, the current Basketball Hall of Fame has greatly exceeded attendance expectations, despite the new facilitys success, a logistical problem remains for the Basketball Hall of Fame and the City of Springfield. Urban planners at universities such as UMass Amherst have called for the I-91 to be moved, in 2010, the Urban Land Institute announced a plan to make the walk between Springfields Metro Center and the Hall of Fame easier. Since 2011, the induction process employs a total of seven committees to both screen and elect candidates, since 2011, the Veterans and International Committees also vote to directly induct one candidate for each induction class. Contributor Direct Election Committee Note that other committees may choose to elect contributors, for example, the 2014 class included two contributors. However, each screening committee is limited as to the number of candidates it can put forth to the Honors Committee—10 from the North American Committee, any individual receiving at least 18 affirmative votes from the Honors Committee is approved for induction into the Hall of Fame
12.
Kentucky Colonels
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The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the leagues nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels, the Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the leagues history, but the team did not join the NBA in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels original venue for the first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule. The Kentucky Colonels were only one of two ABA teams, along with the Indiana Pacers, to play for the duration of the league without relocating, changing its team name or folding. The Colonels were also the major league franchise in Kentucky since the Louisville Breckenridges left the National Football League in 1923. The Louisville-based Colonels started their time in the ABA as a colorful franchise, among the things they were known for was their mascot Ziggy, a prize-winning Brussels Griffon dog that was owned by original team owners Joe and Mamie Gregory. Some fans of the Colonels believed Ziggy was the owner of the club. Ziggy went to meetings and had a front row seat for games. The dog was even part of the logo for their first seasons. They were equally famous for publicity stunts, their most famous coming in 1968 when Penny Ann Early, the teams performance on the court was understandably overshadowed. Perhaps it was deserved, as they were mostly an average team and they were among the best long range shooters of their time, and benefitted greatly from the ABAs three-point line. Carrier spent 5 seasons with the club, while Dampier was a Colonel for all of their years, the early color of their franchise began to wane during the 1970–71 season, when they signed another Wildcat star in All-American Dan Issel. They also dropped the green uniforms in favor of a Blue. Issels signing helped the Colonels become well known as a basketball team. In spite of a record in the regular season, they made a serious run at the 1971 ABA championship. They fell just short, however, and lost to the Utah Stars in 7 games and they proved to be even better in 1971, with the signing of ferocious big man Artis Gilmore. Gilmores signing would help make the Colonels a legitimate powerhouse for years to come, the Colonels won 68 games in his rookie campaign under coach Joe Mullaney, their record turned out to be best in the leagues entire history. Yet, in the playoffs, they were upset by the New York Nets in the first round, Kentucky recovered and made another championship run during the 1972–73 playoffs, but lost a physical series to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games,4 games to 3
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