Hall Call

Once again, the Hall has no love for A-Train.

On Monday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will announce the latest inductees into its hallowed halls. Here's the shortlist of people from which the Hall will be choosing:

Players: Charles Barkley, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, John Isaacs, Ralph Sampson, Chet Walker, Dominique Wilkins.

Coaches: Geno Auriemma, Van Chancellor, Pedro Ferrandiz, Sandro Gamba, Dave Gavitt, Gene Keady, Don Nelson.

Others: Ben Kerner, Dick Vitale.

First off, as I've written before, Artis Gilmore has gotten the shaft, but that's for another day. The pressing question is: Who would you pick?

Put me down for Barkley, AD, and Dominique. I honestly don't know enough about Big-10 basketball to determine if Keady is worthy, although a college coach who never won a national title seems to be an odd consideration. Heck, Frank Furtado was a trainer for 5,000 years, does that mean he gets a nomination as well?

I could be convinced about Dumars as well. A great player, a great GM, put it together and he's a worthy candidate. Plus, he's like a rich man's Nate McMillan, so he's got that going for him. Likewise, Walker was a consistently very good player, making a half-dozen all-star teams. Still, his numbers are on the fringe, and I doubt he gets in unless the voters are just tired of writing 'no' next to his name.