NFL Guide

VICTOR Bubas - Contributor (Finalist in 2003), the 1996 recipient of the prestigious John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, began a love affair with basketball in his hometown of Gary, Indiana before attending North Carolina State University where he played for and coached alongside, Hall of Fame Everett Case. As a player, Bubas helped NC State reach the Final Four of the NCAA in 1950. Bubas then landed the position of head coach at Duke University in 1959 where he led the Blue Devils to three NCAA Final Four (1963, 1964, 1966) and four ACC championships (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966).Her strong work ethic and vision helped put Duke on the national map in basketball and made Bubas the second coach of victories in the 1960s behind Hall of Fame John Wooden. As Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference from 1976-1990, Bubas played a key role in the adoption of the NCAA both three-point line and 45 second shot clock. Adrian Dantley - Player (Finalist in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), a native of Washington, DC, was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history.He had a stellar 15-year NBA career with seven different teams (Buffalo Braves, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons Dallas Maverick and Milwaukee Bucks), the majority of time spent with the Jazz (1979-86 ). At all levels, Dantley enjoyed success - as a scholastic All-America player at DeMatha Catholic High School (Maryland), as a collegian at Notre Dame (1973-76) as the leading scorer (19.3 points per match) of the gold medal 1976 Olympic team as a professional, where he was rookie of the year in 1977. His 23,177 career points still ranks 23rd all-time in the NBA. He scored 2223 points in three seasons (25.8) at Notre Dame, ranks second in career scoring and Irish was unanimous first team All-America list in 1975 and 1976. In all four seasons as a professional, Dantley averaged 20 points or more, including topping the 30 point mark four straight years (1981-84). The six-time All-Star (1980-82, 1984-86) was named NBA Comeback Player of the Year in 1984, when he led the league (30.6). William (Bill) DAVIDSON - Contributor (Finalist in 2007), 85, is a permanent Michigan resident born in Detroit, where he created two dynasties of the NBA and WNBA.The owner of the Pistons since 1974 and the WNBA Shock since 1998, Davidson's Pistons have captured three NBA crowns to go along with two WNBA titles for the Shock. Davidson has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NBA and was an innovative entrepreneur in the sports industry - building the revolutionary Palace of Auburn Hills, playing a key role in structuring the modern wage CAP NBA and standards of free agency, and even owning the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and capturing a Stanley Cup.His Pistons have featured several Hall of Fame, including Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Chuck Daly and Larry Brown. Patrick Ewing - Player, two time gold medalist (1984, 1992) and three-time consensus First Team All-America (1983, 1984, 1985), led Georgetown University to three appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA and the 1984 national championship earning Most Valuable Player recognition for his efforts. The 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year won his spot on 11 NBA All Star files, including ten in a row from 1998 to 1997.A member of the team's 50th anniversary of the NBA, Ewing scored 24,815 points during his 17-year NBA career to go along with 11,607 rebounds. Named Parade Magazine's National High School Player of the Year in 1981, Ewing remains the New York Knicks, all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocked shots, steals and shots fired. Dennis Johnson - Player (Finalist in 1999, 2003, 2005) was one of the toughest defenders in basketball earning nine consecutive NBA All-Defensive team honors during his 14 years of pro career, including six spots on the All-Defensive First Team.A member of three NBA championship teams, Johnson led the Seattle SuperSonics for the NBA title in 1979 and was named Finals Most Valuable Player. It was an unknown player out of high school and college, but left his mark on the NBA as a five-time All-Star (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985) and one of the great interpreters of clutch game Chris Mullin - Player (Finalist in 2007), a McDonald's High School All-America from Brooklyn, New York, was five time NBA All-Star and collegiate standout from St. John's, where he was named Big East player of the year an unprecedented three times.Two times Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1992), Mullin played 16 NBA seasons for Golden State and Indiana, amassing an average of 17,911 points, while more than 20 ppg for six consecutive seasons. It is one of 17 players in NBA history to compile 17,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists, and was an NBA First Team pick in 1992. He is the all time scoring leader at St. John's (2440), where he was named winner of the Wooden Award and Sporting News First Team All-America in 1985.Don Nelson - Coach (Finalist in 2006) is three times NBA Coach of the Year (1983, 1985, 1992) and currently ranks second on the all-time wins list in NBA history behind Hall of Fame Lenny Wilkens. Nelson is one of the great innovators of the modern game, with its small-ball attack, his eye for international talent and his ability to reinvent preconceived notions about positions on the basketball court. He led the Golden State Warriors in a game, a 4-2 upset of the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs in 2007, the first time a # 8 seed defeated a place # 1 in a series of seven games.In 1996, Nelson was appointed to the ten best coaches in the NBA of all time and has served his country as head coach of the national team of 1994 men in the United States who won the gold medal at Championships world. Hakeem Olajuwon - Player, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, spent most of his career in basketball in Houston, Texas, where he led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 and the University of Houston to three consecutive Final Four appearances in public from 1982 to 1984.A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Olajuwon still holds the NBA record for blocked shots (3830) and is the only player to record more than 3,000 blocked shots and 2,000 steals in his career. Olajuwon was also a period of five time NBA All-Defensive First Team, a six-time All-NBA First Team performer and the 1994 NBA MVP. He recorded 26,946 points and 13,748 rebounds in 18 NBA seasons, good for ninth and fourteenth respectively on the all-time NBA leader board. Pat Riley - Coach, has experienced success at all levels and in all areas of the game.A player on the 1966 University of Kentucky Final Four team, Riley has left his biggest mark on the game in coaching. Riley is three time NBA coach of the year and ranks third on the all-time wins list in NBA history behind Hall of Fame Lenny Wilkens and fellow finalist Don Nelson. His greatest achievements were in the form of five NBA championships, including four as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) and fifth in the line of patrol for the Miami Heat in 2005.He is a member of the Ten Best of NBA coaches of all time and is the only coach in history to win NBA Coach of the year with three different teams. Dick Vitale - Contributor (Finalist in 2004, 2006), a native of Passaic, New Jersey, has been synonymous with college basketball for over 20 years as the color announcer for ESPN lead. A successful coach in high school (East Rutherford), collegiate (University of Detroit) and professional (Detroit Pistons) levels, Vitale began his broadcasting career with ESPN in 1979 and helped make the network an integral part of the popularity of basketball in college.His enthusiasm, upbeat style has resulted in a lexicon of terms now familiar "Get a TO," "Awesome, Baby" and "PTP-er". An author of six books recounting his love affair with basketball, Vitale was recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award (1988) and won the NABC Cliff Wells Appreciation Award in 2000. Ubiratan MACIEL PEREIRA - Player, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of basketball in South American history.A member of three Brazilian Olympic teams, Ubiratan led his countrymen to the bronze medal at the Olympics in 1964. He was a fierce competitor and all-around player who cared about winning and filling whatever need for any of his teams. Ubiratan also won five championships in South America (1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1977) and eleven titles in Paulista League in Brazil. JOHNNY "RED" KERR - Contributor (Finalist in 2004, 2005, 2006), from Chicago, IL, has dedicated over 60 years of his life to the game of basketball as a player, coach, executive and broadcaster.Three-time NBA All Star (1956, 1959, 1963) and member of the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals, Kerr was one of the most durable players of basketball contained in A then-record 844 consecutive games. The 1967 NBA Coach of the Year is the only coach in NBA history to lead an expansion into the playoffs for the first season of the franchise. He is the author of Bull Session and served as business manager for the Chicago Bulls from 1973-1975. Kerr has served as color commentator for the Chicago Bulls since 1975.

Source: Effortless Improvement.com