Feb. 21, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Former Irish basketball great Adrian Dantley has been named a finalist for election in 2007 into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of ’07 will be announced on Monday, April 2 at a news conference in Atlanta, Ga., prior to the NCAA Men’s Championship game at the Final Four. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of ’07 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., September 6-8.
Dantley played three seasons (1973-76) and still ranks as Notre Dame’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,223 points. A consensus first-team All-American in 1974-75 and ’75-’76, he was named the National Player of the Year in ’76. The Washington, D.C. product also still holds the school record for career free throws (615) and free-throw attempts (769).
Dantley posted career averages of 25.8 points and 9.8 in three seasons and led the Irish in scoring during the ’74-’75 and ’75-’76 campaigns averaging 30.4 ppg. and 28.6 ppg., respectively.
The two-time All-American helped lead the United States to the ’76 Gold Medal at the Montreal Olympic Games.
Dantley was drafted by the Buffalo Braves as the sixth overall pick in the `’76 NBA DraftA six time NBA All-Star selection, his 23,177 career points ranks 16th all-time in the NBA. He was named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year in ’84, the same year he led the league in scoring with a 30.6 points per scoring average.
This year marks the sixth time (2001, ’02, ’03, ’05,’06) that Dantley has been named a Hall of Fame finalist.