Former KU Jayhawk Pierce, K-State + NBA coach Fitzsimmons inducted into hoops hall
A consensus first-team All-American at Kansas, 10 time NBA All-Star and 2008 NBA champion/Finals MVP Paul Pierce on Saturday night was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Pierce, a 43-year-old native of Inglewood, California, was presented for induction by Boston Celtics teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.
“This is an honor, a true honor. I’m humbled and honored to be here tonight. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be a Hall of Famer,” Pierce said in beginning his speech at MassMutual Center. “My initial dream as a kid was to make it to the league (NBA). To be enshrined in basketball lore is more than I could ever imagine.”
In Massachusetts for induction weekend were a numner of individuals from KU, including Pierce’s former coach, Roy Williams, teammate Terry Nooner, plus former Jayhawk players and current KU athletic department staff members Greg Gurley and Wayne Simien, plus current Memphis assistant and former KU head coach Larry Brown.
“The good thing is I get to enjoy my family. My kids are here. My best man is here. My high school coach (Pat Roy) is here. My college coach (Williams) is here. All the people that saw the journey,” Pierce said.
“All the people that saw the blood, sweat, tears to get to this point I get to enjoy this with. That’s what I’m proud of most. I get to enjoy it with people that saw the journey.”
He addressed playing at KU for Williams: “To Roy Williams my college coach, thank you for teaching me the game of basketball. I came in as a McDonald’s American to Kansas. I thought I knew everything. Come to find out I didn’t know much. I didn’t even know how to come off a down screen. ... Thank you for always being honest with me. Every coach that came in promised me a starting spot. You promised me an education. You said, ‘I don’t know if you are gonna start.’ That’s why I trusted you.”
Pierce also spoke of being taken No. 10 in the 2008 NBA Draft: “Coming out of college I was first team All-American, projected No. 2 pick, and so I’d like to thank the Clippers, Vancouver Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks — the nine teams that passed on me. Thank you for passing on me and adding fuel to my fire. I appreciate that,” he said with a laugh.
Pierce was one of 16 individuals who gained entry to the Hall Saturday.
The group included former Kansas State/Kansas City Kings coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, who earned admission via the Hall of Fame’s Contributor Committee.
Fitzsimmons, who compiled an 832-775 record with 12 NBA playoff appearances in 21 NBA seasons and was named Coach of the Year twice (1978-79 and 1988-89) was presented by Charles Barkley, Jerry Colangelo and Phil Knight.
“He was well respected in the league,” former Phoenix Suns chairman Colangelo told azcentral.com. Fitzsimmons, who died in died in 2004 at the age of 72, won 341 games with the Suns, second to John MacLeod (341) on the team’s all-time win list.
“Players loved to play for him. And he had an outstanding career. He was an early proponent of talking about relationships and building relationships. He had great communicative skills,” Colangelo added. “I don’t think there was ever a player who didn’t have incredible things to say about what a pleasure it was to play for him. They loved playing for him. He was one of the absolutely most positive people I’ve met in my lifetime. He lit up the room every time.”
Fitzsimmons spent three years (1967-70) at K-State, including the last two (1968-70) as head coach.
After helping the school to a Big Eight title and the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals in his one season as an assistant coach under fellow Hall of Famer Tex Winter in 1967-68, he followed Winter as head coach. He led the Wildcats to a second place finish in the Big Eight in 1968-69.
His second and final K-State team went 20-8 and won the league title with a 10-4 record. K-State advanced to the Sweet 16. He was named 1970 Big Eight Coach of the Year.
Fitzsimmons, a native of Hannibal, Missouri who won two national titles in 11 seasons as coach at Moberly (Missouri) Junior College, left K-State in 1970 to become head coach of the Phoenix Suns,
Former Phoenix Suns players Eddie Johnson, Tom Chambers and Kevin Johnson attended.
“That was so impactful for me. I needed that. He saw it in me,” Johnson, who also played for the KC Kings, told NBA radio. He was referring to Fitzsimmons challenging him to play hard all the time.
“The man basically became like a surrogate dad to me,” Johnson said. “For me to be here at the Hall of Fame and knowing that he is being recognized and he is being inducted is just like a father being inducted. That’s how impactful this man was for me. To his wife JoAnn who is still here ... this is the first time I’ve ever gone to the Hall of Fame and he is the only person who could have dragged me here.”
Others inducted Saturday included Val Ackerman, Rick Adelman, Chris Bosh, Bob Dandridge, Howard Garfinkel, Yolanda Griffith, Lauren Jackson, Clarence Jenkins, Toni Kukoc, Pearl Moore, Bill Russell (as a coach), Ben Wallace, Chris Webber and Jay Wright.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Former KU Jayhawk Pierce, K-State + NBA coach Fitzsimmons inducted into hoops hall."
