2010 FIBA Hall of Fame Class
ISTANBUL– Sixteen legendary basketball personalities hailing from 12 different countries were inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in Istanbul on Sunday September 12th. Among them, FISU President George Killian, who chaired FIBA as its President from 1990 to 1998.
The 2010 Class includes seven players and three coaches who combined for 14 Olympic medals and 15 FIBA World Championship medals. National icons Oscar Schmidt, Vlade Divac, Arvydas Sabonis and Cheryl Miller headline the group of players, which also includes Dragan Kicanovic, Dino Meneghin and Natalia Zassoulskaya. Lindsay Gaze, Mirko Novosel and Evgeny Gomelsky are enshrined as coaches. They are joined by referees Jim Bain and Konstantinos Dimou as well as by former FIBA Presidents George Killian and Abdoulaye Seye Moreau along with Hans-Joachim Ottto and Ernesto Segura de Luna.
The 16 personalities were inducted into the Hall of Fame at an enshrinement ceremony during a formal gala luncheon held at the Swissotel Bosphurus.
Outgoing FIBA President Bob Elphinston congratulated all 16 members of the 2010 Class and welcomed the opportunity to have this memorable occasion coincide with a FIBA World Championship for the first time ever. “This is the third induction ceremony after 2007 and 2009 and we are very proud to host this ceremony for the first time at our World Championship,” he said. “The primary goal of the FIBA Hall of Fame is to reflect the history of the game of basketball and to honor the personalities who have helped raise the game to its current level.”
The ceremony saw some very emotional moments and special thanks were given by several inductees to past and present FIBA figures.
FISU President George Killian, former FIBA President, paid tribute to historical FIBA figures. “My thanks go to (FIBA Co-founder) Dr Renato Williams Jones as well as to Mr Stankovic and Patrick (Baumann). I have been blessed all my life,” he said. “Basketball was part of my life from the very start and I was a pretty good player but I had to stop playing after the (Second World) War. FIBA is a wonderful organization led by great people. I know all of the other inductees. They have touched my life and I have touched their. I would like to thank my wife for being by my side all these years.”
Incoming FIBA President Yvan Mainini closed the ceremony by stressing the need to continue to commemorate and honor the influential basketball figures from around the world. “This has been a very emotional ceremony for all and particularly for me as I have known all of these people. This is the third class of inductees and at FIBA we must keep growing the profile of all who have helped raise the standards of the game,” he said. “It is important for FIBA to recognize all the members of its family.”
The complete profiles of the 2010 FIBA Hall of Fame inductees can be found on www.halloffame.fiba.com.
(Source: FIBA)
