Pair of Wolverines Basketball HoF finalists
Title almost says it all. Chris Webber and Rudy Tomjanovich are among the 10 men's finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. They're both first-time finalists, with Webber in the player category, and Tomjanovich in the coaching category
Tomjanovich and Webber will learn whether they'll enter the Hall of Fame on Monday, April 3 at a press conference in Phoenix prior to the NCAA Men's Championship game. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
February 18th, 2017 at 1:14 PM ^
Honest question, is it a big deal that UofM publicly acknowledged this on Twitter just now? Or nah?
February 18th, 2017 at 3:45 PM ^
nah, Rudy is persona grata
February 18th, 2017 at 5:05 PM ^
I should've specified I was referring to Webber
February 18th, 2017 at 1:30 PM ^
as a player as well (this is combined college and pro- right)? If nothing else I would give him some extra credit for it.
February 18th, 2017 at 1:43 PM ^
Yeah it's open to everybody; professional, amateur, international, etc.
Rudy was nominated as a "contributor", but the voting commitee reclassified him as a coach
February 18th, 2017 at 5:19 PM ^
I'm surprised he isn't in already as a player. He had a pretty strong career (both college and pro), and the Basketball Hall of Fame's standards aren't quite as lofty as baseball's.
February 18th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
After Michael Jordan, they should let in anyone who can write a speech
February 18th, 2017 at 2:01 PM ^
must be a mistake by the twitter folks
February 18th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^
...could flat out play. If his face wasn't rearranged by a Kermit Washington sucker punch I think he had a legit chance at the hall of fame as a player.
February 18th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^
I love Webber, used to stay up to watch the Kings whenever they were on. Never thought of him as a hall of famer.
February 18th, 2017 at 3:48 PM ^
There was a stretch in the late 90s/early 00s where he was arguably the best player in the NBA. I think he's one of the best power forwards to ever play the game. The only PFs I would rank ahead of him are Malone and Duncan.
February 18th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^
I wish this were true, but I can't come up with any reasons to believe it. The two PFs you rank ahead of him were both winning league MVPs in the late 90s/early 00s.
February 18th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
but probably not the team success or durability to merit entry.
February 18th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
WD gets mad.
February 18th, 2017 at 4:43 PM ^
I dont get this for a second.
Shouldnt a criteria for being a Hall of Famer that you didnt cheat? That you are an example for others?
And how can someone have a HoF career when he has NO official stats? He didnt play for us, he didnt score, we didnt even play those games.
February 18th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
He has official stats, just not official college stats. Given the fairly lax standards of the Naismith HOF, Webber's pro career will probably be good enough to get him in eventually.
February 18th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
It's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He does have official college stats, though - he didn't officially become "ineligible" until the 1992 Final Four, so what he did up to that point officially counts.
It's all a farce anyway, and we recognize this by listing his complete stats, just with an asterisk. If every guy who took money when he was in college were ineligible for the BHoF...
I've never actually understood why Webber was ruled ineligible in the first place. His relationship with Ed Martin went back to his middle school days, which should have made Martin a "family friend" according to NCAA logic, and permitted to give him gifts. (For Taylor/Traylor/Bullock this was not true - they didn't form a relationship with Martin until later, after he'd been ruled a booster.)
February 18th, 2017 at 9:19 PM ^
Who just happened to be a numbers and gambling guy and just happened to pass along hundreds of thousands of $$$ to a player. I still wonder how many shots were inadvertently 'missed' along the way or how many time outs were called at inappropriate times. Just wondering, have no proof. Maybe he was just a fan of the boy.
February 18th, 2017 at 9:38 PM ^
I'm talking about whether the NCAA rule should have been applied - not whether the rule actually makes sense.
But to clarify, Ed Martin was originally a booster for Detroit Southwestern HS, which is why he befriended Webber and Rose as middle schoolers. Besides attempting to lure kids to Southwestern, he also laundered his money by loaning it to star high school and college players from the city, in the hope they'd eventually pay him back when they turned pro.
Martin had no particular connection to U-M until we hired Perry Watson (the Southwestern coach) as an assistant, in 1991. He officially became considered a Michigan booster at the 1992 Final Four, so any cash he dished out after that would be illicit - unless he had a relationship with a player that predated that player's high school years (which he did with Webber/Rose). Using the NCAA's logic, the Traylor/Taylor/Bullock trio were correctly ineligible but it's not clear why Webber was - or why Rose (who has freely admitted taking money from Martin) got off and not him.
I've also never bought the argument that Webber shaved points. He was by far our best player in the '93 Final Four, the championship game included. Besides, a guy who is about to turn pro has no incentive to shave points in his last college game.
February 19th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
Good post, but it is very clear why Webber got in more trouble than Rose, as I am sure you know. Feds contended he lied to grand jury about something, he plead to a contempt of court.
Feds felt Rose told the truth before the GJ, that he only accepted walking around type money ($2,000 is what Rose says he told GJ) from Martin during his college career.
NCAA misapplication of their own declared rules is, and has always been, political, and has nothing to do with integrity or fairness. They liked the way Rose handled situation compared to Webber. That simple IMO.
Public does not have GJ transcripts, Martin has passed, and Webber is probably permanently done talking about it, which is his right. It only makes sense though that any big money that went to Webber from Martin exchanged hands after he declared for NBA, after his playing career for UM was over. Webber had no money from all appearances during his UM playing career. Feds were probably pissed at Weber for claming up or misrepresenting facts at GJ, as Martin was a target. NCAA just followed suit.
February 19th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
Bring back the Fab Five (the originals, and a new group), put the banners back up, fer God's sake!!! This is Michigan! All in for Michigan! (So, WE have never made a mistake?)
Or do you stand with Mary Sue Coleman and Dave Brandon?
February 19th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^
Hope they get in.