SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Former NBA great Clyde Drexler heads the 2004 list of 16 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Others nominated include Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun and former NBA stars Bernard King, Bobby Jones, Chet Walker and the late Gus Johnson.
Drexler, a nine-time All-Star who was nicknamed "Clyde the Glide," was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.
The 16 finalists were announced Sunday. The final choices, those who receive enough votes to enter the hall, will be announced on April 5.
Bill Sharman, already elected to the hall as a player, was nominated as a coach. If he is chosen, he will join Lenny Wilkens and John Wooden in the hall as both a coach and player.
Others among the 16 2004 finalists are former Purdue Coach Gene Keady, Wayland Baptist Coach Harley Redin and former Kansas star Lynette Woodard. Phoenix Suns President Jerry Colangelo and broadcaster Dick Vitale were nominated as contributors and Drazen Dalipagic and Hortencia Marcari as international stars. Former NBA stars Johnny Kerr and the late Maurice Stokes were nominated by the veterans committee.
