The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced their North American Finalists, as is tradition before the NBA All-Star Weekend.

It is a reduced number of Finalists from previous years, though this is nothing new as the Hall has never been consistent with their amount of Finalists as there are only five men and three women on this short list.  Last year, there were 10 men and three women who made it this far last year.

The five male North American Finalists are:

Kobe Bryant:  Many outlets interpreted the statement by Hall of President, Jerry Colangelo, who said he had “no doubt Kobe (will) be honored as he deserves” as acknowledgement that he is already in.  He isn’t, but there was never any doubt that he would be.  Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash last month, and the impending ceremony will likely be a tribute to the “Black Mamba.”  As a player, Bryant played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and would lead them to five NBA Championships.  He would go to 18 All-Star Games, was a 15-time All-NBA Selection and was the 2008 MVP.  The two-time United States Olympic Gold Medalist is fourth all-time in Points.

Tim Duncan:  Playing his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs, Duncan would take his squad to five NBA Championships.  “The Big Fundamental” was a 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA Selection and was a two-time MVP.  The only player to win 1,000 Games with one team, Duncan is in the top ten in Rebounds and Blocks.  Collegiately, he played at Wake Forest and was the Consensus Player of the Year in 1987.

Kevin Garnett:  Garnett was a 15-time All-Star who would win the NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.  KG played most of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and over his NBA career, he also won the MVP (2004), Defensive Player of the Year (2008) and was a nine-time All-NBA Selection.  Internationally, he was a member of the 2000 Olympic Gold Medal team for the United States.

Eddie Sutton:  Nominated last year, Sutton was a Head Coach with a record of 805-326 with stops at Creighton (1969-74), Arkansas (1974-85), Kentucky (1985-89) and Oklahoma State (1990-2006).  He appeared in three Final Fours, and was a four-time National Coach of the Year.

Rudy Tomjanovich (Coach):  A five-time NBA All-Star with the Houston Rockets, Tomjanovich is nominated as a Coach, and he would helm the Rockets to two NBA Titles (1994 & 1995).  He also led the United States to the Olympic Gold Medal in 2000.

The three female North American Finalists are:

Tamika Catchings:  An NCAA Champion at the University of Tennessee in 1998, Catchings played her entire WNBA career with the Indiana Fever.  She would be the league MVP in 2011, and was a five-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.  Catchings would take the Fever to a title in 2012, and she is a four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner with the United States.

Kim Mulkey (Coach):  Mulkey has been the Head Coach at Baylor where she has taken them to three NCAA Division I Titles.  She is a two-time NCAA Coach of the Year.

Barbara Stevens:  Stevens has won over 1,000 Games in College, and took Bentley to a Division II Title in 2014.

While we have no issues with the smaller number of Finalists, the lack of consistency is frustrating.  Notable Finalists from last year, Chris Webber, Marques Johnson and Ben Wallace did not return.  Another interesting turn of events, is that Chris Bosh, who was also eligible, did not appear as a Finalist.  Not that Bryant, Duncan and Garnett needed a clear path for entry, it is next to impossible to conceive that any of those three will not be part of the Class of 2020.  

If the Hall inducts all of the Finalists from the North American male pool, it would still be less than last year.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class will be announced during the Final Four.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the men and women who made it this far.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Boston Celtics will be retiring the #5 of Kevin Garnett next season.

Debuting for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995, Kevin Garnett plated for them until 2007.  Garnett was a perennial All-Star and he was the 2003-04 MVP, but he grew frustrated with the team and sought a new environment.  Minnesota dealt Garnett to Boston for multiple players and picks, and his new team also signed Ray Allen, who was a free agent.  Together with Paul Pierce, the Celtics had a “Big Three” and they gelled immediately winning the NBA Championship.  

While that would be the only title that Garnett would win, he would have six seasons in a Boston uniform, with four All-Star Game appearances. With Boston, he also won the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year Award, was a First Team All-NBA Selection (2008), and was a three-time All-Defensive Selection (2008, 2009 & 2011).  

The other retired numbers by the Celtics are Walter Brown (#1), Red Auerbach (#2), Dennis Johnson (#3), Bill Russell (#6), JoJo White (#10), Bob Cousy (#14), Tom Heinsohn (#15), Tom Sanders (#16), John Havlick (#17), Dave Cowens (#18), Don Nelson (#19), Bill Sharman (#21), Ed Macauley (#22), Frank Ramsey (#23), Sam Jones (#24), K.C. Jones (#25), Cedric Maxwell (#31), Kevin McHale (#32), Larry Bird (#33), Paul Pierce (#34), Reggie Lewis (#35), Robert Parish (#00) and Jim Loscutoff (LOSCY).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Kevin Garnett for earning this honor.

In a recent piece on ESPN, Tom Flores had a few things to say about the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  As you can deduce, it was not exactly positive.

Like the rest of us, Flores knew that it did not look good when three weeks before the Super Bowl, Hall of Fame President, David Baker, appeared on the AFC Divisional Game pre-show to present Bill Cowher his gold jacket.  At that point, there was only one spot left, as the Blue Ribbon Committee had only two spots out of ten to give in the Coaches pool.  It was a bit of a surprise, as Flores and Don Coryell were both Finalists last year, when the Coaches were placed in the same pool as the players.  

Baker would be busy that weekend. The following day at the half-time show, he showed up to present Fox’s Jimmy Johnson his gold jacket.  While this made for great television, and it was phenomenal to watch play out, it was evident at time that Flores was not getting in. In that ESPN piece by Paul Gutierrez, that was when Flores knew too.  

In a defence on Baker, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has no obligation to tell people ahead of time if they are getting in or not ahead of time, but it is a really shitty way to find out, especially when you were told, as Flores was by Baker, that he was “almost a shoo-in” for the Blue Ribbon Committee panel of 2020.  Maybe, that is why he said “almost”.

Baker and the Hall took a lot of criticism, and it is easy to see why.  Neither Cowher or Johnson were Finalists last year, and Flores was. Coryell, for that matter had reached the Final Round on five previous occasions.  Standard thought would have thought that Coryell and Flores were on the pecking order over Johnson and Cowher, and in terms of their actual accomplishments, they should be.  

So, what happened?

Is it as simple as Baker and the Hall looking for televised feel-good moments?  Again, it looked great on tv, but it made you wonder if Flores was working as an analyst on a station that broadcast the playoffs, would he be in right now? 

In the piece, Flores said:

“It happened. What can I do about it?  I don’t have a choice.  My fans are still my fans.  They’re still going to make a lot of noise.  A lot of people are really pissed off about this whole thing.  A lot of people are pissed off for other guys that didn’t make it, either.  I can’t say I’m exclusive in that respect.”

Everything he said was right. The Raiders fan base is among the loudest in Pro Football, and they were vocal about his omission.  The Broncos fan base were livid over the snub of Randy Gradisha

Will Flores get in next year? We are assuming that they will revert the Coaches back to the players pool, and Flores will have an excellent chance to enter the Hall in 2021, but this is a dance we have seen before.  He turns 83 next month, and while he is in good health, he may not be alive to see his induction.

As always, we will be watching when Baker comes a knocking.

How Will LSU & Clemson Cope as Top Picks Go Pro? 

After an intriguing battle at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans,LSU overcame a strong challenge from Clemsonto win the collegiate National Championship, 42-25.

With five or more of those players expected to be snapped up in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, we take a look at the two best prospects and how their current teams might fare without them.

Joe Burrow likely first pick

LSU’s Joe Burrow is the first name on the list for good reason. The quarterback’s performance on January 14, confirmed his status as likely first pick overall in April’s draft. He recorded the most passing touchdowns in a season (passing Hawaii's Colt Brennan) and finished the season with 402 of 527 (76.3%) for 5,671 yards. He recorded 60 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and five rushing touchdowns.

Hailed by many as the best ever college quarterback, the 23-year-old could be the first name called in April with mock drafts projecting a move to the Cincinnati Bengals. Myles Brennan has been tasked with replacing the Heisman Trophy winner once the season is over. The highly-rated New Orleans native suddenly finds himself with big shoes to fill but his trajectory has set him up well and he has also bulked up over the last seasons and looks in good physical shape.

Simmons a sure-fire top-10 pick

Clemson is resigned to losing linebacker (amongst other positions) Isaiah Simmons. The 21-year-old posted some impressive stats (102 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three interceptions, eight broken up passes and a forced fumble) and has been linked with the Giants in the mock drafts. He is expected to be a top-10 pick and could even make the top-three.

Clemson early favorite for coming season

Losing such a versatile defender is never easy and Clemson will have their work cut out selecting a suitable replacement. At first glance, their defense will be notably weaker as players like Simmons don’t come along too often but Clemson has a history of finding a way to compete. We will have to wait to see who they recruit to fill the 21-year-old's shoes.

Thanks to their recent consistency, having appeared in four of the last five finals, Clemson remains the early favorite in the American football betting oddsto win next year’s championship. Also, in the running are Ohio State, Alabama and 2020 winners LSU.

Heisman Trophy contenders

Burrow and all but one of the Heisman Trophy finalistswill be leaving college this season.  The exception is Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who has been announced as favorite to claim the award at the end of the 2020 campaign. He finished third in the 2019 voting behind winner Burrow and runner-up, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Buckeyes reached the playoff semifinals where they lost 29-23 to Clemson. 

Also in contention is Trevor Lawrence, who lost the first game of his college career in the Championship final against LSU. Lawrence had previously led Clemson to a national title and will be keen to bounce back stronger before heading the NFL Draft in 2021 where he has been tipped to be No. 1 overall pick. If he can lead the Tigers to a third-straight National Championship game he could also finish the campaign as a Heisman Trophy winner.