---

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that four players, one coach and one contributor have been elected for Enshrinement September 10, 2004 in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketball. The six new electees represent the 46th group to enter the Hall of Fame since the institution began the process in 1959.

John L. Doleva, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Basketball Hall of Fame, announced that former Portland Trail Blazer and Houston Rockets All-Star Clyde Drexler, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, championship coach Bill Sharman, legendary women's basketball superstar Lynette Woodard, the late Maurice Stokes, and dominant international guard Drazen Dalipagic comprise the Class of 2004. Sharman joins John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens as only the third person in Basketball Hall of Fame history to be enshrined as both a coach and a player (1976).

The Class of 2004 was selected from a group of 16 finalists. The Honors Committee elected Drexler and Woodard on their first year of eligibility. Colangelo and Sharman had been finalists the previous two years; Dalipagic was a finalist last year and Stokes was a first-time finalist after being reactivated by the Veterans Committee in 2003.

NORTH AMERICAN ELECTEES

CLYDE DREXLER, a native of New Orleans, LA., enjoyed an electric collegiate career at the University of Houston where he became the only player in school history to accumulate 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 300 steals. A first-team All-America in 1983, he led the Cougars to the 1982 and 1983 Final Four. Selected 14th in the 1983 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Drexler was a nine-time All-Star with Portland (1983-95) and the Houston Rockets (1995-98) and upon retirement in 1998 was one of only three players in NBA history to collect 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. He is the leading scorer (18,040), rebounder (5,339) and steals leader (1,795) in Portland history. Selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1997, Drexler earned All-NBA First-Team honors in 1992, was a Second Team selection in 1988, 1991 and a Third Team choice in 1990, 1995. He led the Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1995. Drexler finished his career with 22,195 career points (20.4 ppg), 24th best in history. He was a member of the 1992 Dream Team that won the Gold Medal in Barcelona.

JERRY COLANGELO, a native of Chicago Heights, Illinois, has been involved in basketball since earning All-State selection honors at Bloom Township (IL.) High School in 1957 and then becoming an All-Conference selection at the University of Illinois in 1961 and 1962. Colangelo's professional career began in 1966 when he was named head scout and sales/promotion manager of the expansion Chicago Bulls. Two years later, in 1968, he was named general manager of the expansion Phoenix Suns. At age 28, he was the youngest general manager in professional sports. Now the CEO and Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, Colangelo has been named NBA Executive of the Year four times (1976, 1981, 1989, 1993) and oversees a club that, over the last 23 years, is the fifth winningest franchise in the NBA. During Colangelo's tenure as President and CEO of the Suns (1987-99), the club advanced to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993.

Under Colangelo's leadership, the Suns drafted Georgi Glouchkov of Bulgaria in 1985, making him the first player from behind the iron curtain to sign an NBA contract. In 1988, the Suns played the Utah Jazz in Japan, the first time that NBA teams played regular season games outside of North America. Colangelo is a member of the NBA's Board of Governors (1968 - present), on the NBA Expansion Committee and Chairman of the Competition and Rules Committee. He was instrumental in helping found the WNBA.

BILL SHARMAN, a native of Abilene, Texas, was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1976. He is a finalist to join John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens as members of the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Sharman is the only coach in history to win a championship and be named Coach of the Year in three different leagues - with the ABL's Cleveland Pipers (1962), the ABA's Los Angeles Stars (1970, co-Coach of the Year) and Utah Stars (1971, ABA champions) and the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers (1972). In the 1972 season, Sharman led the Lakers to a 69-13 record, including an NBA record 33-game winning streak. In 11 seasons coaching in the ABL, ABA and NBA, Sharman compiled a regular season record of 509-379 and a post season record of 62-42. His combined ABA/NBA record of 466-353 is 19th best in history and his 333 NBA victories (87 with the San Francisco Warriors) is 34th best in history.

WOMEN'S ELECTEE

LYNETTE WOODARD, a native of Wichita, KS., enjoyed a phenomenal basketball career at the scholastic, collegiate and international level. She was a three-time All-State selection at Wichita North H.S., and led her school to state championships in 1975 and 1977. A national All-America in 1977, Woodard attended Kansas University where she ended her career as a four-time All-America and the leading scorer in the history of women's basketball with 3,649 points (26 ppg, 12 rpg). A four-time All-Big 8 selection, Woodard dominated the women's game, leading the nation in scoring in 1979, rebounding in 1978 and steals in 1979, 1980, 1981. Woodard was MVP of the Big 8 Tournament in 1979, 1980 and 1981, and was later named the conference Player of the Decade. She scored in double figures in 138 of 139 career games at Kansas and became the first female member of the school's athletic Hall of Fame. On the international level, Woodard was a member of the 1980 Olympic Team and co-captained the Gold Medal Olympic team in 1984. She also earned a Gold Medal at the World University Games in 1979. Woodard played international basketball in the Italian League where she led the league in scoring in 1982 and 1989 and led Eni-Chem of Priolo to the Italian national championship in 1989. Woodard earned notoriety in 1985 when she became the first female ever to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. She played two professional seasons with the WNBA's Cleveland Rockers and Detroit Shock.

INTERNATIONAL ELECTEE

DRAZEN DALIPAGIC, a native of Mostar, Yugoslavia was the premier International guard of his era, playing for Partizan in the former Yugoslavia and in the Italian League. Dalipagic, who was named the European Player of the Year in 1977, 1978 and 1980, earned 12 medals in European, World and Olympic competition. His four medals in the World Championships (Silver, 1974; Gold, 1978; Bronze, 1982 and 1986) are FIBA records. Dalipagic won three Gold Medals in the European Championships (1973, '1975 and 1977), second in history to Hall of Famer Sergei Belov of the Soviet Union. A member of the Gold Medal winning Yugoslavian Olympic Team in 1980, the high-scoring guard averaged 33.7 points per game in seven seasons playing for Partizan during the 1986-87 season. While playing for Reyer Venice, Dalipagic set the single game scoring record with 70 points. He also scored 50 points in the 1978 European Korac Cup title game and continued his offensive prowess in Italy, playing for Reyer Venice and APU Udine. During his Italian playing career, Dalipagic scored 50 points in a game 15 times and led both the A-1 and A-2 League in scoring. He holds the Italian playoff career scoring average record, 34.7 ppg.

VETERANS ELECTEE

The late MAURICE STOKES, a native of Pittsburgh, PA., had both his life and a promising basketball career cut short by a freak accident during a game in 1958, when he fell to the floor, hit his head and was knocked unconscious. The accident sent him into a coma and then permanently paralyzed him. He died at age 36, on April 6, 1970. The 6-foot-7, 235 pound Stokes was nearing the end of his third NBA season when the tragedy took place. He had been the second overall draft pick of the Rochester Royals in 1955 and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year his first season. He was a three-time All-Star (1956-57) and led the Royals in scoring and rebounding in his only three seasons. In 1956-57 he set the NBA rebounding record for a season (1,256, 17.4 rpg). For a career, Stokes averaged 16.4 ppg and 17.3 rpg. Stokes starred collegiately at St. Francis (PA) College where he averaged better than 22.0 ppg and 24.0 rpg. In 1955, he was named MVP of the NIT, the only player in history to earn such an honor from a fourth place team.