Gibnobili, Hardaway headline 13 new Hall of Fame enshrinees this weekend

George Karl lost 19 of his first 21 games as an NBA coach. Tim Hardaway spent hours dribbling alone in an unfinished basement when it was too cold to go outside in his native Chicago. Theresa Grentz’s family lost all its belongings in a 1970 house fire, leaving her with only the yellow pajamas she was wearing at the time.

There were no signs that basketball immortality awaited any of them.

Now, they’re members of the most sought-after club in the game. Karl, Hardaway and Grentz are among 13 people who will be officially enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday night — a group that largely was tied together by what they overcame on their way to a long list of accomplishments that include NCAA titles, NBA titles and Olympic gold medals.

“You learn from the adversity,” Grentz said Friday. “You don’t have to have everything perfect. You take what you have, make that work, make the most of what you have, not what you think you need. There we were, I had absolutely nothing, but yet tomorrow night – and I’m a nervous wreck about this – I’m going in the Hall of Fame.”

Karl was one of five people selected by the North American Committee, alongside West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, the late referee Hugh Evans and longtime NBA stars Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway.

Swin Cash, Marianne Stanley and Lindsay Whalen were selected by the women’s committee. Longtime coaches Del Harris and Larry Costello were picked by the contributor committee, while six-time All-Star Lou Hudson was chosen by the veterans committee. Grentz – who played for the legendary Immaculata program and guided Rutgers to the final AIAW title in 1982 – was chosen by the women’s veteran committee and FIBA Hall of Famer Radivoj