Guy V. Lewis to be Inducted into College Basketball Hall of Fame

May 14, 2007

The National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation announced that former University of Houston head basketball coach Guy V. Lewis is one of 12 former collegiate coaches and players who will be inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 18 in Kansas City, Mo.

Lewis, who won 592 games and led Houston 27 straight winning seasons, 14 NCAA Tournaments and five NCAA Final Four appearances, will be inducted along with former coaches Norm Stewart, who coached Missouri for 32 seasons and led the Tigers to 16 NCAA Tournament berths and eight Big 8 regular season titles, and "Lefty Driesell, who coached 41 seasons and led four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

The players being inducted included Duke standout and major league baseball star Dick Groat, three-time Tennessee State All-American and New York Knicks guard Dick Barnett and Austin Carr, who was the 1971 National Player of the Year, averaged 41.3 points in NCAA Tournament games and holds five NCAA Tournament records.

Former Duke coach Vic Bubbas is also being inducted as a contributor. Bubbas, a pioneer in recruiting, was one of the first coaches to target and make early contact with prospects. That resulted in Duke winning four ACC Championships in the 1960s and three trips to the NCAA Final Four.

In addition to those seven coaches and players, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be inducted as a Founding Class Player after being named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player three times and National Player of the Year twice. He also led his teams to six NBA Championships.

The founding class coaches include Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, Henry Iba and John McClendon.
Allen is considered the "Father of Basketball Coaching," after coaching 48 seasons at four schools. His teams were voted National Champions in 1922 and 1923, and won the 1952 NCAA Tournament. Allen helped found the NABC and was instrumental in having basketball played in the Olympics.

Rupp led Kentucky to four national championships and was the career-leader in wins with 876 when he retired in 1972.

Iba coached at Oklahoma State to the 1945 and 1946 NCAA Championship and the USA Olympic Team to two Gold Medals and One Silver Medal. He retired with 767 career wins.

John McLendon of Tennessee State became the first coach to lead his team to three straight national championships, and coached the first historically black college to a national tournament. McLendon also was the first black professional basketball coach, and his teams played the first integrated basketball in
North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

The ceremony in November will be held at the new College Basketball Experience (CBE) in Kansas City, Mo. The CBE, which will cover more than 40,000 square feet on two floors and will provide a fun, memorable and multi-faceted interactive experience for fans, shares a common lobby with the new Sprint Center Arena and is the home of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

The National College Basketball Hall of Fame was formed in 2006 to honor college players, coaches and contributors who enjoyed great college careers and helped write the history of college basketball. The original class included college players, coaches and contributors already part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dean Smith, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, John Wooden and Dr. James Naismith were chosen to represent the class in the first induction ceremony on Nov. 17, 2006. The College Basketball Hall of Fame is scheduled to open in October 2007, with the opening ceremonies being held in conjunction with this year's induction ceremonies.

Staff Reports