Barkley heads Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2006

Charles Barkley was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts for what he did on the basketball court. But he is most proud of how he provoked the court of public opinion. Barkley headed a class of six inducted Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

An 11-time All-Star, Barkley was a member of the original 1992 "Dream Team" and the 1993 MVP. At 6-4 and 250 pounds, his blend of brute strength and finesse made him of the NBA's truly unique players.

But Barkley was just as unique off the court. Opinionated and outspoken, he often stirred emotions with his words and actions - such as the commercial he did for Nike in which he controversially proclaimed, "I am not a role model."

"That commercial is the thing I'm most proud of," he said Friday, hours before the evening ceremonies and acceptance speeches. "We have got to do something with the black kids in this country. They all think they are going to grow up and play pro basketball, and they're not going to."

Joining Barkley in the Class of 2006 will be fellow NBA stars Dominique Wilkins and Joe Dumars, Big East Conference founder David Gavitt, University of Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma and Italian national team coach Sandro Gamba.

While Barkley's election was expected, those of Wilkins and Dumars were pleasant surprises - especially after they were snubbed for the Class of 2005, which included no former NBA stars. They are not among the NBA's 50 Greatest Players but were great in their own right.

A nine-time All-Star forward, Wilkins is the NBA's ninth all-time leading scorer with 26,668 points. Known as "The Human Highlight Film," his career scoring average of 24.8 ranks 11th in league history.

Dumars, the president of the Detroit Pistons, was a six-time All-Star, and he also was the 1989 NBA Finals MVP for Detroit. Dumars made a name for himself as a defensive stopper and steady scorer for the Bad Boys (Detroit in the late 80s) then went on to build the Pistons squad that won the 2004 championship.

Elected as a contributor, Gavitt coached at Providence, guiding the Friars to five NCAA Tournament appearances and one Final Four before becoming chairman of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee from 1982-84. He also founded the Big East Conference and served as the league's first commissioner.

Born in Montella, Italy, Auriemma turned the University of Connecticut into a women's basketball powerhouse. In 21 years at the school, he has guided the Huskies to five national championships, eight Final Four appearances, and even two unbeaten seasons. Auriemma was also inducted into the women's Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee earlier this year.

Gamba, a native of Milan, Italy, has coached in Europe for over 30 years and guided the Italian national team from 1979-1992. He coached four Olympic teams, including the 1980 squad than won a silver medal.

Source

• Yahoo Sports

Date

Sun 09/10/06, 10:22 am EST