March 11, 2003

Springfield, Mass. - Former Missouri legendary coach and player Norm Stewart was named as one of 30 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Two of the NBA's 50 greatest players -- Boston Celtics' center Robert Parish and Los Angeles Lakers forward James Worthy - along with four coaches who have combined to win more than 2,700 games - Lefty Driesell, Guy Lewis, Norm Stewart and Eddie Sutton - headline the list of 21 finalists named today by the North American Screening Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2003.

The largest group of finalists from this category in Hall of Fame history includes players, Parish and Worthy and Maurice Cheeks, Adrian Dantley, Walter Davis, Dennis Johnson, the late Gus Johnson, Bobby Jones, and Chet Walker. In addition to Driesell, Lewis, Stewart, and Sutton, former Lakers coach Bill Sharman, already enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1975, is being considered for election as a coach. Finalists from the contributor category include: Vic Bubas, Jerry Colangelo, the late Chic Hearn, Junius Kellogg, Meadowlark Lemon, and Tex Winter. Longtime collegiate official Hank Nichols is being considered from the referee category.

Thirty finalists will be considered by the 24-person Honors Committee for Enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame on the weekend of September 4-6. Previous finalists include veterans Forrest Anderson, Grady Lewis and Earl Lloyd; international finalists Drazen Dalipagic, Pedro Ferrandiz and Dino Meneghin and women's finalists Leon Barmore, Harley Redin and Cathy Rush.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2003 will be announced on Monday, April 7 at a 12 noon news conference in New Orleans, LA, prior to the NCAA Men's Finals in the New Orleans Superdome.

Bubas, Davis, Hearn, Lemon, Lewis, Nichols, Parish and Stewart are first-time finalists; the Honors Committee has reviewed the other candidates in previous years.

NORM STEWART, 68, a native of Shelbyville, Missouri, coached at the University of Missouri from 1967 to 1999 and compiled a 634-333 record, the 11th best mark in NCAA history. At Missouri, Stewart won more games in 32 seasons than had been won at the school from 1907 to 1967 (630). Stewart's Missouri teams won eight Big Eight Conference championships and six conference tournament titles and participated in the 1994, 1995 and 1999 NCAA Tournament. A seven-time District Coach of the Year and five-time Big Eight Coach of the Year, Stewart was the AP Coach of the Year in 1994.

A more detailed release can also be viewed on the official website of the Basketball Hall of Fame, www.hoophall.com.