Baylor WBB’s Mulkey Among Eight Finalists for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Fri Feb 14 17:12:19 CST 2020

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 14, 2020

Baylor WBB’s Mulkey Among Eight Finalists for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
20th-year head coach a finalist for second time in coach category
For more information contact: Kyle Robarts, 254-405-9492, Kyle_Robarts at baylor.edu<mailto:Kyle_Robarts at baylor.edu>

Mulkey head shot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6f2z7r94q1zql4q/BAYLOR_WOMENS_MULKEY_KIM_HEADCOACH.jpg?dl=0

WACO, Texas – Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey was announced along with seven other basketball legends as finalists for the 2020 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Friday.

Mulkey was announced first at a press conference televised on NBA TV and was joined by Rudy Tomjanovich, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, Barbara Stevens and Eddie Sutton.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Announcement will take place Saturday April 4 at 10 a.m. on ESPN from the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Atlanta. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2020 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., the Birthplace of Basketball, Aug. 28-30.

Mulkey still remains as the only person to win an NCAA national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She’s taken her Baylor Lady Bears to three NCAA championships (2005, 2012, 2019), four Final Fours, and she’s won a combined 20 regular season and Big 12 tournament championships.

Mulkey was also nominated as a player, and as a coach, this marks the second time she has been named a finalist while also being a finalist in 2018.

She’s earned seven National Coach of the Year Awards and seven Big 12 Coach of the Year honors in her time at Baylor. Since the 2010-11 season, Mulkey has led Baylor to the second-best winning percentage in NCAA women’s basketball, trailing only UConn. The Lady Bears are 334-24 in that span for a .933 winning percentage while UConn is at .946. The separation after Baylor and Huskies is 55 percentage points lower with Notre Dame at .877.

Mulkey ranks third all-time in winning percentage at .856 and second among active coaches.

She enters Saturday’s game with Oklahoma State at 598-100 in her 20 seasons at the helm at Baylor. If she can achieve her 600th win in the next five games, she’ll be the fastest NCAA Division I coach, man or woman, to reach the milestone.

North American Committee Finalists:
KOBE BRYANT [Player] – Recognized posthumously, Bryant was an 18-time NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-
16) and 11-time All-NBA First Team selection (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006-13). As an All-Star, he earned the
Game’s MVP trophy four times (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011). He was also a five-time NBA Champion with
the Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010), the 2008 NBA MVP and Finals MVP twice
(2009, 2010). He famously scored the second-most points in a single game in NBA history (81), led the
NBA in total points for four seasons (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008) and ranks fourth on the NBA’s career
points list (33,643). Often celebrated for his offensive prowess, Bryant was also a nine-time NBA All-
Defensive First Team member (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006-11). With USA Basketball, Bryant earned an
Olympic gold medal in 2008 and 2012.

TIM DUNCAN [Player] - Duncan is a 15-time NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-11, 2013, 2015) and an eight time
member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team (1999-2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). He is also a five-time
NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), having earned Finals MVP
three times (1999, 2003, 2005). In 2002 and 2003, he was named NBA MVP and in 1998 he won Rookie
of the Year. Duncan is the only player in NBA history with 1,000 or more wins with one team, which he
amassed in his 19 years with the Spurs. He is ranked in the top 10 for NBA all-time rebounds and blocks
leaders. As a college athlete at Wake Forest, Duncan earned ACC Player of the Year and was a
unanimous First Team All-American in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, he also collected the Wooden, Naismith,
Rupp, and Oscar Robertson Awards, while being named AP College Player of the Year.

KEVIN GARNETT [Player] – Garnett is a 15-time NBA All-Star (1997-1998, 2000-11, 2013) and 2008
NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics widely regarded for his passion and intensity on the court. A
nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection (2000-05, 2008-09, 2011), he led the league in
rebounds for four consecutive seasons (2004-2007) and was named Defensive Player of the Year in
2008. While playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004, Garnett led the league in total points, field
goals made and total rebounds while earning NBA MVP. He is ranked ninth in NBA’s all-time leaders for
rebounds. With USA Basketball, Garnett earned an Olympic gold medal in 2000. Garnett played 21 NBA
seasons and is currently ranked fourth in all-time minutes played (50,418).

EDDIE SUTTON [Coach] – Sutton is a four-time National Coach of the Year (1977, 1978, 1986, 1995),
eight-time Conference Coach of the Year (1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1998, 2004) and the first
coach in NCAA history to lead four different schools in the NCAA Tournament. Sutton ranks in the top
ten among Division I coaches in all-time victories and has recorded only one losing season in 37 years of
coaching. He coached Oklahoma State University from 1991-2006 and tied the conference record for
wins by a first-year coach with 24. Collectively, Sutton guided his teams to three Final Fours, six Elite
Eights and 12 Sweet Sixteen appearances.

RUDY TOMJANOVICH [Coach] – Tomjanovich spent 34 consecutive seasons with the Houston Rockets
organization as a player (1970-1982), assistant coach (1983-1992) and head coach (1992-2003). He
was named The Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year in 1993. He is the only person in NBA history to
score 10,000 career points as a player and win 500 career games with two championships as a coach.
Tomjanovich led the Rockets to NBA Championships in 1994 and 1995 and is one of three coaches to
win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. He led USA Basketball to a gold medal in the
2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Women’s Committee Finalists:
TAMIKA CATCHINGS [Player] – Catchings is a 10-time WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005-2007, 2009,
2011, 2013-2015) and four-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). After winning WNBA
MVP in 2011, she led the Indiana Fever to a WNBA Championship in 2012 while collecting WNBA Finals
MVP honors. She played her entire 14-year WNBA career with the Fever, while being named WNBA
Defensive Player of the Year five times (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and Rookie of the Year in 2002.
As the WNBA all-time steals leader, Catchings was named a member of the WNBA Top 20 Players in
the league’s 20-year history in 2016. With Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols, Catchings won a national
championship in 1998 and was named a four-time Kodak First Team All-American (1998, 1999, 2000,
2001), as well as the consensus National Player of the Year in 2000.

KIM MULKEY [Coach] – Mulkey has led the Baylor Bears to three NCAA National Championships (2005,
2012, 2019) and ranks third all-time among head coaches in win percentage. In 2012, Mulkey was
named the Consensus National College Coach of the Year earning the Naismith Coach of the Year,
Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year, WBCA National Coach of the Year and USBWA
National Coach of the Year. As the head coach of Baylor since 2000, she has guided her team to 17
NCAA Tournament appearances including 13 Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights and four Final Four
appearances. Her Baylor squad has also won 10 Big 12 regular season championships (2005, 2011-
2019) and 10 Big 12 Tournament championships (2005, 2009, 2011-2016, 2018), earning her Big 12
Coach of the Year honors seven times (2005, 2011- 2013, 2015, 2018-2019). Mulkey is the first person,
male or female, to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

BARBARA STEVENS [Coach] – Coaching in the collegiate ranks for over 40 years, Stevens is the fifth
coach in NCAA women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career wins. She has been named the Russell
Athletic / WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year five times (1992, 1999, 2001, 2013, 2014) and
Northeast-10 Coach of the Year 15 times (1988, 1989, 1991-1993, 1996-2001, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2018).
As the head coach of Bentley University since 1986, she has guided her team to 22 25-win seasons and
10 trips to the Division II Fab Four, including a national championship in 2014. Stevens has been
inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
(2006).

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city
where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit
501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at
every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both
domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and
over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame
museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills
on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement
Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and
collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the
Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow

@hoophall #20HoopClass or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.

www.BaylorBears.com

___________________________________
Kyle Robarts | Associate Director, Athletics Communications (WBB, WTEN)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3042 | C: 254-405-9492

[cid:image001.png at 01D5070F.1E7C3CA0]<http://baylorbears.com/>
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