1 of 3 | Former Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady drives the ball past Toronto Raptors' Vince Carter during first quarter action in the Raptors' home opener at the Air Canada Center November 3, 2004 in Toronto, Canada. The Raptors went on to defeat the Rockets 95-88. File photo by Christine Chew/UPI |
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Two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady, Kansas coach Bill Self and women's star Rebecca Lobo headline the Class of 2017 for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The rest of the class includes former general manager Jerry Krause of the Chicago Bulls, former ABA and NBA star George McGinnis, Notre Dame women's coach Muffet McGraw, high school coaching legend Robert Hughes, Harlem Globetrotters owner Mannie Jackson, Black Fives era pioneer Zack Clayton, Greek legend Nick Galis and former NCAA administrator Tom Jernstedt, known as "Father of the Final Four."
"I couldn't believe it," McGrady said on Twitter after being told of the news. "I had him repeat it again."
McGrady, a 6-foot-8 forward, won NBA scoring titles in 2002-03 at 32.1 points per game and again the following year at 28.0, both while playing for the Orlando Magic.
A seven-time NBA All-Star after being picked in the first round (ninth overall) by the Toronto Raptors in 1997 out of Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., McGrady averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 rebounds for seven teams in his 15-year NBA career.
McGrady also played for the Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs.
Self has coached Kansas to a dozen Big 12 Conference titles and a national championship in 2008. He also coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois, with a career record of 623-193, including 202-10 at Allen Fieldhouse on the Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kan. His teams have won 17 conference titles in 17 seasons.
Oregon eliminated Self's Jayhawks in the Elite Eight, 74-60, this season.
Lobo led the Connecticut Huskies to their first NCAA Women's Championship in 1995 with a perfect 35-0 season. She won a gold medal for the United States team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and played six seasons in the WNBA for the New York Liberty, Houston Comets and Connecticut Sun.
Krause, who died on March 21, was the architect of the Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan that won six NBA championships from 1991 to 1998.
The enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 8 in Springfield, Mass.
