MSU's Izzo to be Enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame

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Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo capped off a season that ended in disappointment with something to celebrate.

The legendary Spartan coach is part of the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class to be enshrined Sept. 9 at the Hall in Springfield, MA, where basketball was invented.

Izzo’s No. 2 seeded Spartans faltered in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last month, despite predictions by some that they were a shoe-in for the Final Four and could win MSU’s first national championship since 2000.

Joining him on the list are NBA greats Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson and seven others. Four of the honorees will be enshrined posthumously.

Izzo has coached Michigan State to seven Big Ten regular season championships (1998-2001, 2009, 2010, 2012), five Big Ten Tournament championships (1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2016), and 13 Sweet Sixteen appearances.

He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year three times (1998, 2009, 2012), NABC Coach of the Year twice (2001, 2012), Clair Bee Coach of the Year (2005) and Associated Press National Coach of the Year (1998).

The other honorees, named at a press event in Houston Monday, also include:

• Shaquille O’Neal, four-time NBA champion who averaged 23. Points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during his 19-year career in the NBA. He was the NBA’s most valuable player in 2000, and a three-time MVP of the NBA finals.
• Allen Iverson, 11-time NBA all-star, who averaged 26.7 points and 6.2 assists per game during his 14 seasons with the NBA. He was the NBA’s MVP in 2001.
• Darell Garretson, a native of Long Point, IL, who officiated 1,798 regular season games, 269 playoff games, 41 finals games and five All-Star games during his 27-year career as an NBA referee. He will be enshrined posthumously.
• John McLendon, already enshrined in the Hall of Fame as a “contributor,’ will now be enshrined posthumously as a coach. He was the first African-American coach to accomplish many feats, including winning a national tournament (1954), national championship(1957) and AAU national championship (1961).
• Sheryl Swoopes, a six-time Women’s National Basketball Association All-Star who averaged 15 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists during 12 seasons with the WNBA. As a member of the Houston Comets, she won four WNBA championships and is also a three-time Olympic Gold medalist.
• Jerry Reinsdorf, whose Chicago Bulls have won six world championships under his ownership. Reinsdorf, who also owns the Chicago White Sox, is also known for his charitable contributions in Chicago. He will be enshrined as a contributor.
• Cumberland Posey, an exceptional multi-sport athlete who has been recognized as the greatest African American basketball player of his time in the early 1900s to mid-1920s, and created, managed and played for the legendary “Loendi Big Five.” After his retirement from basketball, he switched to baseball and was enshrined posthumously to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
• Yoa Ming, an anchor of the Chinese National Team, he won his hometown Shanghai Sharks to a CBA championship in 2002 and was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft the same year. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star (2003-2009, 2011), and broke the record for most All-Star votes, previously held by Michael Jordan in 2005.
• Zelmo Beaty led Prairie View A&M University to a 1962 NAIA Championship and, as a pro, was a standout for both the St. Louis Hawks and ABA Utah Stars. He will be enshrined posthumously.

Image credit: A tearful Tom Izzo talks about Tennessee’s upset win over his Michigan State Spartans in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament via YouTube.