Guru Special: The Official HoopHall Press Release With the Gowdy Media Award Announcement for 2021

  Mike Gorman, Mel Greenberg and George Kalinsky Named Recipients of Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2021 Curt Gowdy Media Award

Springfield, Mass. (May 16, 2021) – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced the 2021 Curt Gowdy Media Award recipients: longtime Celtics play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman, women’s basketball media pioneer Mel Greenberg and iconic Madison Square Garden photographer George Kalinsky.

The Curt Gowdy Media Award is named in honor of the late Curt Gowdy, a legendary sports broadcaster and former Hall of Fame Board member and President. This prestigious award is presented annually to members of the print and electronic media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.

Gorman, Greenberg and Kalinsky will be acknowledged for their contributions to basketball media during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend September 10-11, 2021. For further details, including ticket information, visit www.hoophall.com/Enshrinement.

Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award Winner – Mike Gorman

Mike Gorman began his broadcasting career at WNBH radio in New Bedford, Mass. in the late 1970s, focusing on high school basketball and football. He moved to Providence in the early 1980s where he covered URI basketball on radio and eventually Providence College basketball on television. There he met Dave Gavitt, leading to his involvement with the Big East and eventually landing on ESPN for Big Monday Big East games, working alongside Bill Raftery. Gorman was also the sports anchor for WPRI TV in Providence.

Beginning in 1981, Gorman became the play-by-play voice for the Celtics home games. In 1990, he gave up college basketball to become the Celtics commentator for all regular season and playoff games. This season, he celebrates 40 years broadcasting for the Celtics. Gorman also worked for CBS covering the NCAA Tournament, Turner covering the NBA Playoffs and NBC broadcasting tennis from the 1992 Olympics and basketball at the 2016 Olympics.

Curt Gowdy Print Media Award Winner – Mel Greenberg

A pioneer in the coverage of women’s basketball, Mel Greenberg began following the women’s game in 1975. Greenberg began his career with the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1969, three years before the passage of Title IX when sweeping legislation would transform the landscape of women’s sports. Greenberg began following collegiate basketball powerhouse Immaculata at a time when newspapers largely ignored women’s sports.

Covering the sport proved difficult when there was little to go on for information, comparison, or measurements of success. He began collecting the necessary information and the voting commitment of coaches to produce the first-ever women’s poll, a Top 20 national ranking of the best teams in the women’s game. The poll debuted in November 1976 and within two years The Associated Press approached Greenberg and officially attached the organization’s name to the poll. As the popularity of the women’s game grew, The AP poll aided the capacity of other newspapers to cover the growing sport.

The unofficial historian of women’s basketball at the collegiate and professional levels, Greenberg has covered every women’s NCAA Final Four since its inception in 1982 and continues to follow local programs at Temple, Villanova, and Rutgers. He is a regular contributor for the WNBA following the New York Liberty, Washington Mystics, and Connecticut Sun as well as USA Basketball. In 1991, the WBCA established the Mel Greenberg Media Award to “recognize a member of the media who has best displayed a commitment to women's basketball and to advancing the role of the media in advancing the women's game.”

Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award Winner – George Kalinsky

As the official photographer of Madison Square Garden since 1966, award-winning photographer George Kalinsky has created many iconic images capturing some of the most important faces, places and events in the world of sports, entertainment and politics including Patrick Ewing, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra and President George H. W. Bush.

Kalinsky’s work has been featured in Times Square and exhibited at the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography and the Olympus Plaza Gallery. In 2019, the Library of Congress in Washington added his photography to their permanent collection. Kalinsky has authored 10 books including two with Hall of Famers Phil Jackson and Willis Reed, and photographed 1,000 covers and almost 10,000 events. His photographs have also appeared in publications such as Time, Life, People, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek.

In 2001, George was honored with the highest award you can win in the photography industry with PMDA’s “International Photographer of the Year”. In 2010, he was awarded the National Arts Club Medal of Honor. In 2010, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and later in 2015, into the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame. In 2018, George was awarded Pratt Institute’s prestigious “Legend of the Year” honor.

Previous Curt Gowdy Media Award Winners: Year - Print/Electronic

1990 - Dick Herbert/Curt Gowdy

1991 - Dave Dorr/Marty Glickman

1992 - Sam Goldaper/Chick Hearn

1993 - Leonard Lewin/Johnny Most

1994 - Leonard Koppett/Cawood Ledford 1995 - Bob Hammel/Dick Enberg

1996 - Bob Hentzen/Billy Packer

1997 - Bob Ryan/Marv Albert

1998 - Larry Donald & Dick Weiss/Dick Vitale 1999 - Smith Barrier/Bob Costas

2000 - Dave Kindred/Hubie Brown

2001 - Curry Kirkpatrick/Dick Stockton

2002 - Jim O’Connell/Jim Nantz

2003 - Sid Hartman/Hot Rod Hundley

2004 - Phil Jasner/Max Falkenstien

2005 - Jack McCallum/Bill Campbell 2006 - Mark Heisler/Bill Raftery

2007 - Malcolm Moran/Al McCoy 2008 - David DuPree/Bob Wolff

2009 - Peter Vecsey/Doug Collins 2010 - Jackie MacMullan/Joe Tait 2011 - Alexander Wolff/Jim Durham 2012 - Sam Smith/Bill Schonely

2013 - John Feinstein/Eddie Doucette 2014 - Joe Gilmartin/John Andariese 2015 - Rich Clarkson/Woody Durham 2016 - David Aldridge/Jay Bilas

2017 - Harvey Araton/Craig Sager 2018 - Andy Bernstein/Doris Burke 2019 - Marc Stein/Ralph Lawler 2020 – Michael Wilbon/Mike Breen

 

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:

 Located in Springfield, Massachusetts,

  the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an

 independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the

 game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches

 and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to

 more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000

 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience

 the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best

 known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of

 Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the

 country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its

  museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall

or call 1-877-

  4HOOPLA.

Basketball Hall of Fame Media Contact:

Nicole Taylor, Position Sports // mediarelations@positionsports.com

#GowdyAward

 

Guru Breaker: Sources Say Big Day for Big East and Women’s Basketball Looms for Hoophall 21 Class Announcement

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The Big East Conference this September will have its biggest weekend at the Naismith Hall of Fame induction for the Class of 21 since former Connecticut men’s coach Jim Calhoun and Syracuse’s men’s coach Jim Boeheim were inducted together when both schools were in the former configuration of the conference.

Multiple sources confirmed that in the next hour when the new class is announced on ESPN at 11:30 EDT the inductees on the heels of the 2020 class that was finally inducted Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun near New London, Conn., will include commissioner Val Ackerman, also the first president of the WNBA, as well as Villanova coach Jay Wright, who was a prohibited favorite since the finalists for this year were previous announced.

Former Immaculata great Marianne Stanley, who was nominated for her coaching success at Old Dominion and now coach of the WNBA Indiana Fever, did not make it her first time on the ballot.

But former WNBA great Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm out of Australia got the necessary votes as did another former WNBA great in Yolanda Griffith.

Jackson is already ticketed for induction at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., in late August.

More candidates also likely got the necessary approval for the Naismith Hall in Springfield, Mass., which recently completed a major renovation.

Another tie to the Big East is likely to be named later in the day when the Hall releases its special awards which has the John Bunn Award, the most prestigious apart from induction itself, going to ESPN Executive Carol Stiff, responsible for the growth of women’s hoops on the network for her involvement in programming.

The Manny Jackson Human Spirit winners are likely to be announced as well as the Gowdy Media Awards for print and electronic that spotlights coverage of the sport by individuals.

More to come.

The Naismith HOF Class of 20 Finally Makes it to to the COVID-19 Induction With WBB Greats Catchings, Mulkey and Stevens Among The Honorees

Guru’s Note: With yours truly having business in New York Friday with the WNBA opener for the Liberty in Brooklyn as well as being interviewed for an ESPN documentary, USBWA mentee Sam Cohn out of Temple stood in to report on the HOF presser for the class of 20 held virtually from the Mohegan Sun.

By Sam Cohn

On the opening night of the WNBA’s 25th season, three individuals who championed women’s basketball met with reporters ahead of their Naismith Hall of Fame inductions -- Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey and Barbara Stevens -- each a legend in her own right.

Each inductee will be presented during Saturday’s induction ceremony by another Hall of Famer with ceremonies to be held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville,Conn., in place of the normal activities in Springfield, Mass., home of the hall.

Catchings will be introduced by NBA champion Alonzo Mourning and South Carolina women’s head coach Dawn Staley. Mulkey. Will be accorded by NBA legend Michael Jordan, while Stevens woll be presented by UConn women’s head coach Geno Auriemma and former Notre Dame women’s head coach Muffet McGraw.

“It’s been many, many months of planning and we are so excited to get this event going,” President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame John Doleva said in his opening remarks at Friday’s press conference. “It is going to be, I think, the first time the family of basketball gets together since COVID shut us all down. The Hall of Fame is proud to host that.”

Catchings, considered by many to be one of the greatest female players ever, piled up an extensive list of accolades in her illustrious career. She collected a rookie of the year honor, four Olympic gold medals, a WNBA MVP trophy in 2011 and a league championship the following year with the Indiana Fever.

She currently serves as the Fever’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager. 

Prior to her professional career, Catchings spent four years playing collegiate basketball at Tennessee. It wasn’t until she was heading into her freshman year, in 1996, that the WNBA was first founded.

“They announced that there was this new league that was about to start and the WNBA was coming,” Catchings said. “For me, it was one of those things, I was like, ‘They heard about my dream and they heard about my goal.’”

Her dream of playing basketball at the highest level first grew out of watching her dad, Harvey Catchings. He played in the NBA with the 76ers and several other teams, as well as in Italy at the same time as Joe Bryant, father of the late Kobe Bryant, who starred at La Salle. 

Tamika and Kobe had intertwined, unique childhoods growing up in Italy, watching their fathers play overseas before moving back to the United States and starting careers of their own. 

More than two decades later, the two are linked by the same Hall of Fame induction class.

“We were just kids,” Catchings said. “I don’t think either one of us, at that point in time, would have ever dreamed about the role that we were in and the opportunities that we had. It wasn’t exactly the typical life of any child.”

She remembers years later watching the younger Bryant get drafted 13th overall in the 1996 NBA draft and calling her parents to ask if that was the same Kobe they were just in Italy with. 

Catchings’ one piece of advice to leave people with is to dream big. 

“It’s about having a goal, having a dream, always aspiring to reach them and going for it,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work but anything you dream, you can achieve.” 

As she stood at the podium in front of a curtain covered with Basketball Hall of Fame logos, it’s fair to say she is a great example of someone who took her own advice and was able to reach the highest pedigree of her profession.

As for Mulkey, she was both a tremendous athlete and head coach with six national championships on her resume. 

Her first two came as the starting point guard at Louisiana Tech in 1981 and 1982, next as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1988 and three as she brought Baylor women’s basketball to prominence winning national championships in 2005, 2012 and 2019. 

The Louisiana native became the first person in NCAA women’s basketball history to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. 

She remembers vividly missing out on an opportunity to go to her home state and fight for a national championship in New Orleans because of the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It was a rainy day and she stepped outside to take a phone call. 

Little did she know, the other side of that call was her notice that she was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

“I just cried,” Mulkey said. “I don’t even think I said thank you. I was so emotional. When I heard the other inductees’ names I thought, ‘pinch yourself, Kim. What are you doing in the company of these guys?’

“It’s just an honor that a little girl from Tickfaw, Louisiana, is in the Naismith Hall of Fame as a coach.”

The third member of the 2020 Hall of Fame induction class on the women’s side is legendary head coach Barbara Stevens. 

She coached at Bentley University from 1986 to 2020, leading her team to 10 trips to the Division II Fab Four including a National Championship in 2014.

Stevens is the only non-Division I coach to amass over 1,000 career victories.

The Massachusetts native got her start as an assistant coach at the Division III level at Clark University in 1976. Fresh out of college, Stevens approached the Women’s Athletic Director, where she inquired about open positions on the basketball team’s staff. 

“A week later she called me back and said, ‘I can give you an assistant women’s coaching position for $400,’” Stevens recalled. “And I thought I hit the jackpot.”

Years later, and after what she referred to as “a pretty good history of success,” Stevens saw a legitimate, exponential rise in the prominence of women’s basketball.

She believes one contemporary, notable factor that pushed it into the forefront of everyone’s minds was Oregon forward Sedona Prince posting a video on her social media exhibiting the inequities between the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments. 

Stevens added it was another way for women’s basketball to “stand up and stand out.” Something the players and coaches have been doing, battling prejudice and scrutiny, since the WNBA’s genesis 25 years ago.

“It’s been a sport that I think has just been waiting to finally burst onto the scene,” she said. “It’s been coming along, gaining more and more interest.”

Catchings, Mulkey and Stevens are each part of a star-studded enshrinement class who will be introduced as the Hall of Fame’s newest members Saturday afternoon on ESPN.

On Sunday, at 11:30 a.m., ESPN out of Springfield will broadcast the announcement of the Class of 21, whose inductions will occur in early September.

 

 

Guru’s WNBA Report: Weekend Openers Launch Season No. 25

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Following a summer of survival in the IMG Academy “wubble” in Bradenton, Fl,, in which the WNBA teams managed to succeed in fulfilling commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s fervent desire to play through while respecting COVID-19 protocols, the league returns to home arenas this weekend to launch a silver anniversary 25th season expected to be laced with gold - Olympic style - in in its middle.

Technically, while the curtain goes up Friday night and the games count, the league has already recently produced from last month’s draft through a series of ground-breaking announcements an exciting trailer filled with a multitude of broadcast platforms as well as new partnerships with Google and Amazon with its Prime Video component.

Expansion is not around the next corner but it is neither that far away.

In fact, Engelbert said Thursday afternoon on Associated Press national women’s basketball writer Doug Feinberg’s popular conversation Zoom cast that had the pandemic never occurred, discussions in that area might be further along right now then the necessary need to put them aside for the moment.

Thursday night, ESPN presented a compelling look-back on last summer’s tumultuous actions promoting Black Lives Matter in the cause of social justice and just what it was like in a three-month  endurance run of basketball around the clock playing virtually every other day until the Seattle Storm emerged with its second title — “one like no other” - in three seasons and fourth overall.

At the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., the motto is Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, and Promote the Future.

Certainly a lot of that will occur between now and the crowning of the 25th champion in October.

As for the past, the major transaction story among many in the off-season was longtime Los Angeles Sparks superstar Candace Parker, the former Tennessee all-American , returning to her hometown Chicago to play for the Sky.

Those two UConn alumnae stalwarts - Diana Taurasi with the Phoenix Mercury and Sue Bird with Seattle - are still around as good as ever.

Temple alum Candice Dupree has moved from the Indiana Fever coached by Immaculata alum Marianne Stanley to Seattle, which also has a Rutgers alum in Epiphany Prince. 

Saint Joseph’s grad Natasha Cloud after opting out last summer in the cause of social justice returns to the 2019 champion Washington Mystics as does Delaware alum Elena Delle Donne, who bypassed the wubble for health reasons.

The annual league survey of general managers released Thursday shows the runner up Las Vegas Aces as their favorite but with a bunch of teams loaded with talent it may take a while for a leader to emerge especially with La Salle grad Cheryl Reeve from South Jersey still coaching the Minnesota Lynx. 

The GMs picked Reeve behind Mike Thibault of Washington as best coach.

Washington also has former Rider standout Stella Johnson.

The GMs picked yet another UConn great in Seattle’s Breanna Stewart to be MVP, while Atlanta’s Aari McDonald out of recent NCAA runner up Arizona was the rookie of the year pick.

When it comes to celebrating the present, start with the GMs’ pick for most improved in the New York Liberty, who finally get to move in their new home, the Barclays Center, home of the NBA Nets, in Brooklyn. 

Fully recovered after injured early last season is the 2020 overall No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu out of Oregon. The Liberty also has a new mascot and open Friday night at home against Indiana. They also acquired Natasha Howard, who had been in Seattle. 

Also, former Rutgers star Betnijah Laney, voted most improved when with Atlanta, is also now with the Liberty.

There were two ownership changes with the NFL Raiders organization taking Las Vegas from MGM, while the controversy in Atlanta was resolved with the Dream going from a group that included former Georgia U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler to one involving former player - a first - UConn alum Renee Montgomery.

Speaking of former players, Vickie Johnson has succeeded Brian Agler on the Dallas Wings which has overall No. 1 pick Charli Collier from down the interstate having played for the Texas Longhorns. The Wings also have Princeton’s Bella Alarie, a 2020 first round pick.

Recent Rutgers grad, by the way, Arella Guirantes, is on the Los Angeles Sparks.

And in Atlanta after Nicki Collen left to succeed new LSU coach Kim Mulkey at Baylor,  assistant Mike Petersen took an interim position while they look for a permanent successor.

Two recent college coaches are now team presidents with LSU’s Nikki Fargas holding office in Las Vegas and former George Washington coach and UConn and WNBA star Jen Rizzotti returning to her home state to head the business side of the Connecticut Sun, which has Jonquel Jones back on the hardwood but lost Alyssa Thomas, the former Maryland star, to injury struck with ehile playing overseas.

As for promoting the future, after being parked by necessity last summer, the league launches the Commissioner’s Cup, a series of 10 designated games per team within each of the two conferences with the championship to be played with $500,000 prize  money involved on August 12 in Phoenix, the competition being the first WNBA event after the Olympics.

Conference games had lost some meaning when the playoff qualifiers were changed to the best overall eight teams.

The designated games, all before the Olympics, will be the the first home and road games against each conference opponent, with Prime Video airing most, and the top team in each of the mini tournament from each side will advance to the championship.

“This will be a great way to build rivalries within the conferences,” Engelbert said during Feinberg’s Zoom cast.

There will be an all-star game played the first week of the Olympic break with the precise date and site still to be revealed.

Year 25 means look for picks of the top 25 players and moments of all time in the league.

Since we’re talking some future, on a general note, while newspapers continue to decline, league coverage on the internet is better than ever and continues to grow.

Thus, on a personal note, three talents out of Temple University, the Guru’s alma mater, will be bringing writing and broadcast skills to Team Guru in the months ahead, Sam Cohn, who is also the assigned USBWA mentee on the college side, Sage Hurley, and Lindsey Moppert.

And that’s the opening report.

   

Guru’s WNBA Report: Washington Brightened by Cloud’s Return

By ROB KNOX (@knoxrob1)

 

The last time Natasha Cloud appeared on a basketball court, she exited as a champion after helping the Washington Mystics win the 2019 WNBA title.

 

A year after taking the season off to focus on social justice work, Cloud is returning to her sneaker-squeaking sanctuary with a new title.

 

“I stepped into being a queen,” Cloud said during the recent Mystics media day. “Not trying to be funny, but when I encounter people now, it’s hey king and hey queen. I feel like I embrace that in every facet of my life. Being strong and relentless in understanding who I was and what I am about.”

 

Royalty fits Cloud like a tiara. 

 

What Cloud has been about since that celebratory October night is solutions, impact, and change. 

Her selfless work in the Washington, D.C. area last year as the WNBA completed its unique 2020 season against the backdrop of increased social justice awareness in the “wubble” in Orlando was transformative, inspirational, and awesome. 

 

Cloud was on the front lines using her platform and voice to make a difference. 

She knew she had a responsibility to her community and for those who look up to her as well as those coming behind her. 

 

The work has never stopped for Cloud, Saint Joseph’s graduate out of  Broomall, Pa., in the western Philly Burbs,

 

“What’s different (this year) is I laid all my groundwork this past summer,” Cloud said. “I have everything implemented that I need to have.

“ I have my grassroots organizations. I have the different players that I teamed up with and everything is fully functioning, so it makes my job easier of being a champion on the court and a champion off the court. 

“So, I can give 100 percent at practice and 100 percent with what I already laid down over the groundwork this past summer.” 

 

During the media session, Cloud was relaxed. She made reporters blush and laugh. 

Cloud also showcased her tremendous personality as she had a personal connection with each reporter who asked a question.

 She was happy to see the gaggle of familiar faces as she prepared for her first full WNBA season since 2019.

 

“It wasn’t easy what I did this summer especially during the traumatic time of being Black in America,” Cloud said. “It was about understanding what was going on in the country at the time was much bigger than me, much bigger than this game of basketball and be much more than just being a point guard for the Mystics.”

 

During her time in the league, Cloud’s willingness to speak out against racial injustice along with her advocacy for gun violence reform in the nation’s capital, as well as for the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community has set her apart as one of this century’s most influential and powerful people. 

Forget athlete. She’s an elite human.

 

That has translated into the same spirit in which she interacts with her teammates and provides encouragement to them. 

 

While the Mystics have undergone an America’s Next Top Model-like makeover since Cloud last played in 2019, they still have the pieces to be formidable this upcoming season and challenge for the WNBA crown.

 

Cloud will have a full season to play with WNBA legends Tina Charles and Elena Delle Donne along with the improving and talented young core of Ariel Atkins, Myisha Hines-Allen, Stella Johnson, and Kiara Leslie. Expectations are high in the nation’s capital especially since veterans Leilani Mitchell, Shavonte Zellous, and Theresa Plaisance are around. 

In addition, Rider’s Stella Johnson, who made a spectacular rookie debut in mid-summer before getting hurt, is fully recovered. 

Coach Mike Thibault has jokingly referred to her as this season’s draft pick since the Mystics didn’t own one in last month’s selections.

 

“We still have our core and players who are the best in the league and while I have to be 1 percent better, I don’t feel the need to carry the team on my shoulders because we have players who can step up,” Cloud said. “I am excited to come back. I’ve been an underdog my entire life.

 

“Even winning a championship and leading this organization to a championship, I don’t get the respect I deserve. I think Steph Curry said it best ‘I don’t have anything to prove to anyone else, but I have a lot I still want to accomplish.”

 

The queen has spoken.