Guru’s Gowdy Award Countdown: Shoutout to the Naismith Hall of Famers in Women’s Basketball.

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Exactly one week from the date of this posting Thursday. Sept. 9, the Guru will be on site at the Mohegan Sun in advance of the next night’s start of  the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Enshrinement weekend for the tipoff and awards presentation dinner in which your Guru will receive the Gowdy Media Award for print, citing contributions to the sport.

Sept. 9 is also the 52nd anniversary of the Guru’s hire at The Philadelphia Inquirer beginning a run that ended on April 24, 2010.

If you are an early arrival or in the area and want to stop by, we will be hanging out at Tom Urban’s on the property from 7:30 p.m., on our own dimes at this hour, because it’s the one place open late (1 a.m.   that night and 2 a.m. Friday), and has lots of space.

Mohegan of course is the home of the WNBA league-leading Connecticut Sun, which is the lone game that night and tipping off at 10:30 p.m., which will be on the bar’s TV screens.

Special thanks to Coast Guard’s sports information director Jason Southard, who helps media operations at Sun games, for getting Urban’s management to give us our own area which may grow as the night extends.

Other awards being given Friday are the Gowdy honors in electronic media, the John Bunn award, which is the highest honor outside enshrinement, going to recently retired ESPN women’s programming executive Carol Stiff, a newly Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee two weeks ago in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Manny Jackson Human Spirit, of which one of the recipients is former UConn and WNBA star Renee Montgomery, now a co-owner of the WNBA Atlanta Dream.

On Saturday, the weekend continues back in the home of the Hall in Springfield, Mass., with the VIP reception, and induction.

Founding WNBA president and Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, former WNBA and Olympic stars Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson, and scoring sensation Pearl Moore are the honorees from women’s basketball.

TV information will be coming.

Coming down the stretch the Guru has been involved in a lot of moving parts - submitting memorabilia and photos to NBA Entertainment for the intro video, by the way, the Guru’s executive producer/director Lindsey Moppert, also Temple cheerleader captain, will be on the scene gathering expanded material for a supplemental video for the Philly celebration in the fall.

Then there has been rescue work for people intending to buy tickets but hadn’t yet and ran into a rare public sellout, and with Villanova men’s basketball coach Jay Wright also an inductee, there will be a large local Philly area presence next weekend.

Retired Villanova women’s coach Harry Perretta is coming to rep the area women’s coaches.

Added to that is getting Guru supporters seated together at tables though with Carol, Val and Renee sharing some in the audience with the Guru there are a lot of crossovers.

The press conference for the inductees is Friday afternoon at Mohegan and though the Guru will be in the room only the inductees participate.

Incidentally, the Guru wrote the Carol Stiff and Lauren Jackson bios for the printed program. Inquirer off-campus sports columnist Mike Jensen wrote the Guru’s. The paper’s Joe Juliano is covering though since the media does not have credential access to the dinner, he is on the Guru’s guest list dating back to contemporaries at Temple in the future-named Klein College of Media and Communication.

And of course the speech, which has been submitted for the teleprompter, which the Guru has never used.

The limit is three minutes plus a little spill over. There will be a rehearsal Friday afternoon so while the speech as it exists with last minute adjustments will post here, there may be some slight differences with the actual presentation.

Obviously, everyone can’t be named which is why the Guru is using his blog to provide as much detail as possible and while we are already way down from the above headline, in a little bit, because the speech references some past and new inductees, thanks to help from Hall historian Matt Zeysing, the Guru will list the entire group of nearly 50 from women’s basketball, commenting on all but a few that he has not covered.

But first so no one feels slighted, if you were classmates at Spruance Elementary, Fels Junior, Northeast High (55th reunion of 123 is in two weeks) or grew up on Akron Street or nearby in Northeast Philly, or classmates at Temple or part of the founding loyalist group and time when the Guru as basketball manager of the eventual 1969 NIT Champions was under Harry Litwack, Don Casey, Skippy Wilson, and the late trainer Ted Quedenfeld, and trainer Steve Baer. 

To all those men and women in CoSIDA, the Big Five, the WBCA, the USBWA, the NCAA, the WNBA. the ABL, the WBL, the AIAW, the Conferences, USA Basketball, the contemporaries in recent years at the all-nite diners, the current core of internet journalists, the Associated Press, the folks at eateries in Chinatown, those who contributed to the Guru’s blog, those who got to this blog direct or by following the Guru thru links from Facebook, Twitter, or Linkdn, the more recently acquired connections, all fellow snd sister inductees in the Women’s Basketball, Big Five, USBWA, Philadelphia Jewish and Philadelphia Sports, Temple Klein Halls of Fame, the Jake Wade winners from CoSIDA and ECAC Media winners, the philly women’s summer league, the Inquirer early esprit de core of clerks and copy boys, the rest of the paper through the Guru era - promised Garry Howard would name him somewhere, on a personal note my late parents Jack, who was prevented from being a writer because of the depression, and Roslyn, whose birthday (Sept. 12) and their wedding anniversary (Sept. 12) are upcoming, (existing family in the speech) the late Temple Sports Information Director Al Shrier, and his wife Ruthie, who in later years l ubered before uber to Temple WBB, and to anyone reading this not connected to any of the preceding but still crossed paths with me, know that l’ll be carrying all of you with me when I reach the dais next Friday night,

The Naismith Honorees I’ve Covered in Women’s Basketball And Few Before My Time

         Barbara Stevens - Dealt with her UMass teams in the A-10 and longtime Bentley teams playing the D-2 Philly schools like Jefferson, USciences and Holy Family down here.

     Kim Mulkey - Covered her as the pigtail blond guard and later associate head coach of her alma mater Louisiana Tech - then as head coach of her powerful Baylor teams. Late nite texts always fun.

       Tamika Catchings - Maybe the greatest Lady Vol of them all at Tennessee, then the superstar of the WNBA Indiana Fever. Was at her recent induction at the WBHOF in Knoxville.

• Teresa Weatherspoon - Playmaker late ‘80s Louisiana Tech and on to the WNBA primarily with the NY Liberty
• Wayland Baptist Flying Queens of 1948-1982 the back-end of the era
• Katie Smith - Star at Ohio State, the ABL Columbus Quest, Olympian, snd WNBA star and cosch.
• Tina Thompson - Though she starred at Southern Cal, first covered as star of Houston Comets in the WNBA
• Rebecca Lobo - Was first to name her an All-American in a preseason magazine. UConn superstar. Loved talking to her parents especially late mom.
• Muffet McGraw - Covered her at Saint Joseph’s as a player, then Lehigh and Notre Dame. Philly family when always seeing each other.
• Sheryl Swoopes - Made her USBWA all-american breaking tie before the super F4 year at Texas Tech - then the Comets era in the WNBA and other teams.
• Lisa Leslie - First Southern Cal, then WNBA snd Olympian.
• 1972-73-74 Immaculata College - the back end where I came in - catalyst for start of poll. Three stars Theresa Grentz, Marianne Stanley, Renee Portland. 
• Sylvia Hatchell - Her UNC teams snd the Charlotte Smith NCAA title game winner.
• Dawn Staley - Philly ties - whole career to this day as player and coach after Dobbins Tech. I was in her Naismith speech, she’ll be in mine.
• All American Red Heads Before ny time but got friendly with a bunch at their induction.
• Lidia Alexeeva Coached Russians in an USA Friendly,
• Katrina McClain Wrote her bio for induction snd covered as part great Georgia team.
• Teresa Edwards Likewise McClain
• Tara VanDerveer Stanford coach but best quote had when as poll voter at Ohio State said one night “l got a modem”  Me - We’re the only two. Also sushi near Stanford.
• Cynthia Cooper-Dyke - Covered at USC on the Super teams then the WNBA Comets and as a college coach.
• C. Vivian Stringer - Day one at Cheyney — need her around at Rutgers she’s older then me.
• Cathy Rush - Immaculata coach. Best quote at sports bar planning future things - you take care of AIAW, I’ll take care of the nuns.
• Van Chancellor - Mississippi, Comets, USA coach. Too much in our friendship but how about win WNBA that night go with family to bowling alley.
• Geno Auriemma Best quote when lived off me from him - we philly guys gotta stick together, or me when walks into lobby at F4 when team snapped streak - l don’t recognize you without a police escort.
• Sue Gunter - Gone before her time. Charter poll voter 1976
• Hortencia Marcari - USA friendly.
• Lynette Woodard - Best: l spoke at tourney early on in Detroit at luncheon. Snowy night team leaving. Am at concessions. She stops turns comes by; it was a pleasure meeting you. She was pre-Taurasi taunting me.
• Leon Barmore - Always great late nite (was there any other) when he helmed the Louisiana Tech powerhouse. Made him USBWA co-coach of decade with Pat Sunmitt in 1990.
• Kay Yow — Too many memories. Early on: “Mel, you’re our history. You have to keep records.” Today the poll file has 8,000 plus lines.
• Pat Summitt - Most heartwarming when made her and Leon co-coaches decade starting USBWA Women. Mel you know how much you mean to me. You know that.
• Billie Moore - Charter poll voter Fullerton then on to UCLA.
• Jody Conradt - What fun in the ‘80s. Charter poll voter at Texas. Best- they come play Immaculata right after first ranking and were staying at school. Take her and Donna Lopiano to dine. Get back doors locked. Donna says we’re staying at your place. Jody says no, we just got ranked. It won’t look good. 
• Joan Crawford before my time but wrote the recommendation letter on behalf subcommittee to big committee urging induction,
• Denise Curry - star at ucla on aiaw champions 
• Nancy Lieberman - first met when high school phenom hanging at wueens - friends since. Queens had my mel - ed jaworski - and cosch lucille kyvallos. 
• Anne Donovan - did early story at that detroit tourney playing her sister mary at penn state, three days before she passed away spotted me first in lobby at wbhof came over gave bug hug, had nice conversation. Grateful that happened with the surprise news days later. Was in Seattle when won the wnba title.
• Cheryl Miller - best of era at least top five all time. Tells me l got her started when sees me. Night she signed usc Mike Flynn hooks us on phone. She says why didnt l hear from you.  Me: you were in high school. Now you’re a woman so you’re mine.
• Carol Blazejowski - the 52 in the garden was amazing, been friends forever,
• Ann Meyers - another of the friends forever. Put her name in our usbwa national player of the year.
• Uljana Semjonova - russian wilt chamberlain. Night they’re playing old dominion in friendly she heaves ball goes out of bounds press row to me. I bat it back to lieberman who turns and scores runs by and thanks me for the assist.
• Lusia Harris-Stewart - always knew what she was going to do at delta state but couldn’t stop her. Just exchanged greetings in knoxville.

• Nera White - before my time but another l wrote recommendation on behalf sub committee.
• Senda Berenson Abbott - before me though rumors say otherwise.
• Bertha Teague - before my time but wrote letter like others mentioned.
• Margaret Wade - covered the delta state teams that ended immaculata’s championship run.

*The new inductees

Val Ackerman - We go back to days when sat on hof women’s subcommittees when she was one of David Sterns NBA lawyers and been friends ever since.

Lauren Jackson - Shocked her when told her covered her mom as a player out of LSU. 

Yolanda Griffith - Great WNBA star

Pearl Moore - Before my time but supported her on direct elect women’s veterans committee.

There you have it. On the entire list just four before my time two of which wrote recommendation letters on behalf of the subcommittee and one supported on women’s direct elect.

Just discovered if you press hard on each famer name you can link to the hall’s bio except the new inductees.

Much more to come.