Phil Jackson, Roy Williams Top the Basketball Hall of Fame Class

After three separate NBA Championship three-peats, Phil Jackson was easily selected to be inducted into this year's Basketball Hall of Fame. Jackson, who nine NBA titles as a coach with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, makes this year's class in his first year of eligibility.

Seven new members were named for this year's class with another coach, Roy Williams, making it in as well. Williams, who is the third coach in history to lead two different schools to the NCAA Championship Game, has made 18 consecutive NCAA tournaments winning at least one game in each of them.

Jackson won NBA titles with Chicago from 1991-93 and from 1996-98. Jackson then won three more NBA titles with the Lakers from 2000-02. In both places that he won those titles, Jackson built the teams around two superstar players. In Chicago, it was Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and in Los Angeles, it was Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Jackson also spent 13 seasons as a player with most of those years being spent with the New York Knicks.

Jackson could not make it to Atlanta for the announcement of his induction due to scheduling conflicts with his team, and the Lakers also being in a playoff chase.

Others that were selected in this year's class include the 1966 NCAA Champion Texas Western team, four-time WNBA Champion Van Chancellor, referee Mendy Rudolph, and international coaches Mirko Novosel of Yugoslavia and Pedro Ferrandiz of Spain.

Both Jackson and Texas Western were elected in their first year of eligibility. Novosel, Rudolph, and Williams were first-time finalists on the ballot. Chancellor and Ferrandiz were finalist in previous years.

Two notables, Dick Vitale and Eddie Sutton, did not receive the required 18 votes from 24 members. Vitale was skipped over for the third time.

Texas Western became the first team in NCAA history to win a championship with five starting black players. They beat an all-white Kentucky school in that 1966 Final, which is widely regarded as the turning point for integrating players in college athletics.

Chancellor was the women's coach at Mississippi from 1978-97 before coming to the Houston Comets in the WNBA. Chancellor then won four straight titles from 1997-2000 and also took home a 2004 U.S. gold medal. He has an international record of 38-0.

Rudolph worked 2,112 games as a referee in his career, which was a record when he retired. He was a referee in eight NBA All-Star games and at least one game in the NBA Finals for 22 consecutive years.

Novosel won is one of the four Olympic coaches to win three medals. He won a gold in 1980, silver in 1976, and bronze in 1984.

Ferrandiz, who was co-founder and first president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches, led Real Madrid to 12 Spanish League titles, 11 Spanish Cups, and four European Cup championships.

All seven members will be enshrined in September at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Source: Associated Press