Jordan and Stringer elected to basketball Hall of Fame

By J, Coyden Palmer

The greatest basketball player in history along with one of the best female coaches in the game, are the latest class of inductees to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Former Chicago Bulls champion Michael Jordan and Rutgers University women’s basketball Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer will be joined by David Robinson, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan in the 2009 class. Jordan, who won six titles and was voted to 14 All-Star games, left Chicago in 1998 for a second retirement, only to return a couple of years later with the Washington Wizards. Stringer has taken four different teams to the Final Four, including a run two years ago that got her team into the championship game.

Both Jordan and Stringer have overcome personal tragedies during their careers. Stringer lost a mother to cancer and a husband to a fatal heart attack, while Jordan’s father was murdered at the height of his career. Both showed perseverance and said the game kept them focused and gave them the strength to move forward. Neither started their careers expecting to one day be in the Hall of Fame.

“I just wanted to go to college and play basketball,” said Jordan, whose youngest son Marcus announced earlier this week that he will play basketball next year at the University of Central Florida. “I would have never envisioned myself at any point being in any hall of fame.”

Jordan was named league MVP five times and NBA Finals MVP six times. He is third on the league’s all-time scoring list and was arguably the most marketable player in the sport on and off the court. His shoe deal with Nike is ongoing, long after his playing career is over and on a yearly basis is still the hottest gym shoe on the market.

Philanthropy off the court, Jordan, along with his wife at the time Juanita, gave $1 million to Hales Franciscan High School for an upgrade in facilities a few years ago. The Jordans believed the Catholic high school for boys on the South Side was doing good work in educating Black pupils. Jordan also has a non-profit foundation run by his mother that helps a variety of entities. He said he helps others because he had influential people in his life every step of his career.

“Coach Dean Smith at North Carolina helped elevate me to another level,” he said.

Also elevating the man everyone just calls Mike, was his passion for the game and fierce competitiveness. Plainly put, Jordan wanted to win more than others, said his longtime friend, now basketball analyst Charles Barkley. That trait is something that never goes away Jordan admitted. Even at the age of 45 he still feels he can compete at a high level. Because of this he said his induction will be bitter sweet.

“So to me, the Hall of Fame is like, it’s over and done with,” he said. “You can’t ever put a uniform back on. It’s the total end of your basketball career. It’s a great accomplishment and I know I don’t walk away from it, but I didn’t want to be up here so quickly,” he joked.

For Stringer the induction means accomplishing things more than basketball. The only coach to take three different schools to the Final Four, (Cheyney State 1982, Iowa 1993 and Rutgers 2000, 2007) Stringer’s career has spanned over four decades. In 2007 she took her Scarlet Knights all the way to the championship game before losing to a Tennessee team led by Chicago area native Candace Parker. Despite all of her accomplishments, Stringer was still shocked when the final announcement was made earlier this week in Detroit that she had been elected.

“I am absolutely speechless,” Stringer said. “In February when I learned I was a finalist I explained my amazement and I am still in complete shock. I love the game of basketball, it is truly my passion. To be recognized for a job that I have spent the better part of 40 years doing is astounding. I would be remiss if I did not thank the players, coaches and all those that have made this special day, this amazing moment possible. I am so humbled.”

One of Stringer’s former players is Chicago native Tasha Pointer. Now a member of Stringer’s coaching staff, Pointer said Coach Stringer was more than a coach to her and hundreds of other young ladies who she mentored. She said she learned many life lessons from Stringer and continues to do so as one of her assistant coaches. She said Stringer’s selection was a longtime coming, but came at the time God wanted it to.

“My experience playing for Coach Stringer was phenomenal,” Pointer began. “She taught me about work ethic, longevity, success and most importantly about character. Oftentimes as a player I didn’t understand why she made certain team decisions, but as I began to mature, I learned what it really meant to be part of a team. I learned to build myself as a person first and an athlete second.”

Pointer graduated from Whitney Young High School as an All-American. Married last year to Kwabena Yamoah, she said it is surreal to work for a coach who was elected to the Hall of Fame at the same time as Michael Jordan, who she grew up idolizing here in Chicago. She said what makes Stringer so special is unlike a lot of coaches who only care about winning and see student-athletes as commodities, Stringer takes the relationship beyond X’s and O’s.

“She is about helping them to mature as young women,” Pointer said. “She helps players understand that basketball is often a reflection of life. She teaches us how to deal with adversity, how to strive and no matter what the outcome is, move to the beat of the drum in your heart.”

Another Chicago player who played for Stringer at Rutgers is current WNBA player Cappie Pondexter. She echoed Pointer’s sentiments about their coach and mentor. Pondexter won a WNBA title in 2007 and is gearing up for another season in Phoenix. She said the news of Stringer’s election made her day.

“She is committed to women’s basketball both on and off the court,” Pondexter said. “Her desire is contagious and had an effect on me and the person I have become.”

Induction for the Class of 2009 is Sept. 10-12 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Story posted: 4/11/2009

» News Archive
» Subscribe to The Gary Crusader