Magic, magicians to enter new basketball Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ When Magic Johnson was told to pick someone to introduce him at his Basketball Hall of Fame induction, he didn't have to think long. <br><br>The shrine's rules require

Friday, September 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ When Magic Johnson was told to pick someone to introduce him at his Basketball Hall of Fame induction, he didn't have to think long.

The shrine's rules require that the presenter be a previous inductee, limiting Johnson's options some. Still, he could have chosen Julius Erving, his idol, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his longtime teammate.

Instead, Johnson picked Larry Bird, his No. 1 nemesis on the court, but the man who, more than any other, drove Johnson to succeed and with him defined and developed the popularity of the NBA in the 1980s.

``Larry was the guy who came up. The only name,'' Johnson said. ``I think we helped make each other the pros that we were. ... We pushed each other. Since the day we met in college, we had probably one of the best rivalries that you've seen.''

And then, as a reminder of how the sport grew in their heyday, Johnson added: ``Guys are making the salaries that they are making because of that rivalry.''

The new Hall of Fame is proof of that.

The $36 million museum will be christened Friday night when Johnson is inducted along with the Harlem Globetrotters, Philadelphia 76ers coach and former North Carolina standout Larry Brown, North Carolina State women's coach Kay Yow, former Iowa and now Arizona coach Lute Olson and Drazen Petrovic, the NBA star and two-time Olympic silver medalist who died in a car accident in 1993.

Jim O'Connell, college basketball writer for The Associated Press, and CBS announcer Jim Nantz will be honored with the Hall's Curt Gowdy Award, presented to members of the print and electronic media for outstanding contributions to basketball.

``The whole celebration is tremendous,'' Johnson said. ``A lot of people are going to come and enjoy the whole weekend because it is a new building. A lot of the ex-players are my friends, so that'll be great. There's nothing like a reunion.''

The Hall's third home boasts a 10-story sphere that can be lit up to look like a spinning basketball. Inside, fans can learn about the game, take shots at peach baskets or modern hoops and view memorabilia from the jersey Wilt Chamberlain wore for his 100-point game to the bloomers worn by the Smith College women's team in the 1890s.

Inside the dome is the Honors Ring, where the 247 members are depicted and described on a balcony overlooking a full-sized court. Separate galleries for coaches and media members are designed as locker rooms or broadcast booths to complete the theme; another room is styled after the Springfield College gym where Naismith invented the game.

There are more than 900 artifacts and 70 TV monitors where visitors can watch the sport's greatest games, including no fewer than four featuring Bird and Johnson, from the 1979 NCAA title game between Michigan State and Indiana State to the 1992 Olympics, when they played alongside each other to make the original Dream Team such a dream.

Bird retired as a player in 1992 and was inducted into the Hall in '98. Johnson first retired from the NBA when he tested positive for the AIDS virus in 1991.

At the time, it was assumed he didn't have long to live. But thanks to rigorous workouts and a strict regimen of medication, Johnson remains symptom-free 11 years later.

Johnson won a gold medal at Barcelona, had a 16-game stint as the Lakers coach in 1994 and a 32-game comeback as a player before retiring for good and becoming almost as successful in business as he was in basketball.

In all, Johnson won five NBA titles to go with his NCAA and Olympic championships. He had 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds and 1,724 steals as a pro, and he was the NBA leader in assists _ he finished with 10,141 _ until John Stockton broke his record.

The Globetrotters have played 20,000 games in over 100 countries since they were founded in 1927, entertaining generations with their unique basketball burlesque.

Petrovic led Yugoslavia (1988) and Croatia (1992) to the Olympic silver medal and averaged 15.4 points in four NBA seasons before his death at age 28 in a car wreck in Germany.

Brown has won more than 1,200 games and posted a winning record in 26 of his 30 seasons coaching six NBA teams, two in the ABA and two more in college. He won an NCAA title at Kansas in 1988, and led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 after being named the league's coach of the year.

Brown played for coach Dean Smith from 1961 through 1963.

Olson has stayed put, spending his last 18 years at Arizona while compiling a 767-255 record in 29 years. He has made five trips to the Final Four, winning the title in 1997.

Yow has a 611-252 record at Elon (1972-75) and North Carolina State (1976-present) _ the fifth women's coach ever to reach the 600-win milestone.