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A response to Finalists who aren't Hall of Famers:
What I don't understand about the HOF selection board is that at least 18 members of the election committee have no qualms about inducting some people or groups on their very first nomination (even when their character and positive contributions to the "Game" are in question). I believe that privilege should be reserved for the very best coaches and players. However, the biggest of the HOF's embarrassments is to have accepted an outstanding candidate, Tex Winter, nominated 6 times only to be anonymously blackballed by a fool.
For those we may think I'm a bit biased as a relative of Tex, don't take my word for it just read what others say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Winter
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/marty_burns/news/2003/03/28/burns_insider/
Sporting News, The, Dec 15, 2003 by Charley Rosen
We all yearn for some sacred space where substance is more important than style, where glitz isn't mistaken for gold. In basketball, that refuge should be the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Too bad it's not.
The Hall of Fame's most glaring blemishes include the presence among its inductees of several scurrilous or otherwise undeserving figures, as well as the absence of one of the most respected and influential basketball minds in history.
First, let's look at some of the bad eggs:
Adolph Rupp. Forget the SEC titles and national championships the Kentucky Wildcats won under his direction. Rupp was a cohort of Lexington's most celebrated bookmaker, Ed Curd, who routinely informed the Baron of the latest point spreads in UK's games. It was widely reported that Rupp also habitually paid his players illegal bonuses for winning crucial games and at least once berated his players after a victory for not covering the point spread. Even compared with his contemporaries, Rupp also was a virulent racist and anti-Semite. Moreover, he maintained that in order to recruit superior athletes and keep them in school, a winning coach has to "blur the line" between right and wrong.
John Thompson. He was a master recruiter at Georgetown but also a notoriously arrogant, secretive, racist and hypocritical man. As a basketball technician, Thompson was profoundly myopic--press, trap and run. When he was appointed coach of the USA squad at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Thompson stocked the team with several undeserving Georgetown players (like Gene Smith), believing that pressure defenses would intimidate the Russians. Ha! Thompson's defensive game plan of collapsing the middle and giving wide-open 3-point shots proved ass-backward, and the Russians copped the gold.
Lou Carnesecca. During his tenure at St. John's, Carnesecca operated one of the most crooked basketball programs ever. On his watch, the better players reportedly grossed $1,000 per month, while benchwarmers averaged $600. OK, so he guided the Redmen to the Final Four in 1985. But Little Louie, whom several of his players regarded as having a Napoleon complex, also had ironclad control of New York's media--enough to cause the promulgators of any anti-SJU sentiments to lose their jobs.
Carnesecca has an honored place in Springfield only because what's known as the Eastern Mafia controls the admission process. Yet, with all the crooks, incompetents and suspicious characters enshrined in the Honors Court, it's still curious that Tex Winter, the Lakers assistant and an eminence grise of basketball, is an outcast.
Winter's honesty, modesty and innovative genius are unquestioned. He's the man who invented the triangle offense, on which nine NBA titles have been forged. But let's look at his record: He was a head coach at Marquette, Kansas State, Washington, Northwestern and Long Beach State. Winter was named UPI Coach of the Year in 1959 at KSU and served for many years as chairman of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Winter also made his mark in the NBA decades ago. After coaching the Houston Rockets and running afoul of Elvin Hayes' stubbornness and disinclination to learn basketball fundamentals, Winter eventually landed in Chicago as an assistant coach. He was underutilized by Doug Collins (who scoffed at the triangle), but when Phil Jackson took over in 1989, Winter found his rightful function: as mentor to a bright student. Jackson totally believed in, mastered and helped refine the triangle, an inclusive philosophy that creates a structure for every correct instinct and movement from baseline to baseline and from tip to buzzer. Under Winter's tutelage, Jackson won six championships in Chicago and three more in Los Angeles. At age 81, Winter remains the most venerable of the NBA's assistant coaches. His vitality, acuity and integrity remain intact.
Why, then, is he still on the outside looking in? Because he never curried favor with the Eastern Mafia. Because everybody who appreciated his successes as a college coach are either retired or expired. And because the Lords of Springfield believe that assistant coaches are insignificant underlings.
Not only does Tex Winter deserve the honor, but his election to the Hall of Fame would go a long way toward alleviating the stench in Springfield.
Hardly a career assistant Tex Winter's accomplishments may not be as easily quantified as Red Auerbach's or John Wooden's, but he made his mark as a head coach long before he taught basketball geometry to Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan as an assistant. College School/team, years Record Marquette, 1951-53 25-25 Kansas State, 1954-68 262-117 Washington, 1969-71 45-35 Northwestern, 1973-78 44-87 Long Beach State, 1978-83 78-69 Total 454-333 NBA Houston Rockets, 1971-73 51-78E-mail Charley Rosen, a former CBA player and coach, at crosen@sportingnews.com
CHEMISTRY ON THE COURT
The Untold Story of a #1 Team
By Mel Eaton Matuszak
ISBN: 1-930907-86-9
Non-fiction, 170pgs, $11.95
A TRIBUTE
Fred "Tex" Winter stands today as one of basketball's greatest living legends, having actively coached for an amazing 57 years, more than any other coach in the game's history. Even more amazing is the influence he's had on those whose lives he's touched. His players, to a man, respect him and speak highly of his impact on their playing and non-playing years. He taught them not only the game of basketball, but also the game of life and how to play it fairly. It's not been uncommon for players to send their sons to play under Tex Winter, no matter where he happened to be coaching.
Fond and amusing memories are constantly relived by many of his players, and Tex never tires of hearing them or bringing up some of his own. One of his quirks was his fumbling of names, particularly of the opponents. As one player mused at a tribute dinner for Tex, "He always called you by name. It may not have been yours, however!"
The former players share jokes at his expense, speaking perhaps of his legendary brown suit that he wore continuously through many games because he considered it "lucky." The players say that suit could walk to the game by itself. Tex's choice of fashion-defying ties precipitated a barrage of outrageous ties as a gift by one team. They thought it hilarious, but Tex seemed appreciative.
The players' respect for Tex Winter has never wavered. He tolerated no foul language, no bad sportsmanship, and no lackadaisical play. He expected good grades, good manners, and good effort. No player was exempt from these standards.
Besides Tex Winter's outstanding record as a coach, his contributions to the game overall have been significant. He, along with his Kansan friend Ken Mahoney, invented some devices that helped teach or refine the game. These include the toss back, the snap-back rims that permitted the "dunk," and the short skirt backboard. His book on the Triangle Offense is in its third printing and has been published in several foreign languages. It is considered one of the best books on the strategy of the game. Coaches on all levels have attended his seminars and viewed his videos, and come to him for advice and mentoring. His influence on the game and its future has been immeasurable.
Tex should have a Hall of Fame of his own. He could fill it with letters, testimonials, inventions, and all of his works and speeches. His honors have included Coach of the Year, President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, recipient of 9 NBA rings, the prestigious John Bunn Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Award for outstanding contributions, and more - yet those who have known him recall his humility and honesty. He is the personification of good character, and that legacy is perhaps his most important to basketball history.
This story is an account of two of his very early years of coaching: 1957-58 and 1958-59, years that he describes as defining years when he established himself among the top college coaches in the country. He believed those two teams were the best college teams he coached and the most interesting.