The College Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 10-member class of 2012 on Tuesday, complete with names familiar to any fan.
Such as Patrick Ewing of Georgetown, North Carolina’s Phil Ford, former Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, Earl Monroe from Winston-Salem State and Willis Reed of Grambling. Older fans will know Ex-Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins and Kansas star Clyde Lovellette. Businessman Jim Host and Joe Dean are in as contributors.
But the guy I’m most psyched to see inducted? Former Wyoming star Kenny Sailors, the man who invented the jump shot. (Photo credit: University of Wyoming.)
What? Invented the jumper? You read that correctly.
Sailors led Wyoming to the 1943 NCAA title and was a first-team All-American that season (and is rightfully revered in the state as a legend). But it was a LIFE magazine story that helped cement the impression of his lasting contribution to the game. From “The Origins of the Jump Shot:”
Overstated? Possibly. Sailors wouldn’t be the first person to be wrongly credited with something someone else did first. But he got the press and, for the most part, the attention as the first guy who decided staying on the ground when one shot the ball was a dumb idea.
I’d say that’s worth a spot in the hall of fame.
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