A Case For The Naismith HOF: Jerry Stackhouse?
With North Carolina legend Charlie Scott’s recent ascent into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, we thought it would be fun to evaluate the candidacy of some other former Tar Heels not yet enshrined.
We selected seven players and will run this series in seven segments. Understand that the Naismith Hall of Fame isn’t an NBA hall, it’s for all of basketball. Dean Smith and Roy Williams, as examples, are in.
So are players such as Bill Walton and Bill Bradley. Walton was one of the greatest college players ever, but aside from a couple of very good NBA seasons, his pro numbers may not measure up to most players inducted. His career was massively affected by injuries, but they are part of the game, and he was a bit overrated after returning from missing a lot of time.
That he won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 1986 averaging 7.6 points and 6.8 rebounds is an example. The media liked him and propped him up, this building up his aura.
Bradley was an outstanding college player and a good NBA player. But his numbers weren’t that great, yet he played for the New York Knicks and the media loved him, too. And one has to wonder if there was some element of bias in his induction, give his post-basketball career in politics.
So, with all of that in mind, we're looking at eight former Tar Heels and their candidacies for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. We will explore one player a day,
So far we’ve done:
(Note: We want your thoughts on each player, as well)
Jerry Stackhouse
A consensus first-team All-America in 1995, Stackhouse was also the Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year that season. He was the MVP of the ACC Tournament as a freshman in 1994 and led the Tar Heels to the Final Four in 1995. He was the McDonald’s game MVP in 1993.
Stackhouse played 18 seasons in the NBA, finishing his career with 16,409 points (16.9 average), 3,067 rebounds (3.2) and 3,240 assists (3.3). He was on the NBA All-Rookie team in 1996 and twice made the All-Star team.
He had a four-year stretch from 1999-2003 in which he averaged 24.2 points per game. In 2001, he finished second in the league in scoring (points per game), though he scored more points than anyone else that season.
Stackhouse was a reliable player wherever he went, and he played on nine of them. But that might be what keeps him out: How many HOFers changed teams so often? Yes, a lot of franchises wanted him, but a lot also let him move on.
That said, if Bill Bradley is in, Stackhouse must get in, too.