Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Nolan keeps it rollin' at induction

Former University of Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson addresses a gathering during his enshrinement ceremony for the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. Richardson led Arkansas to the 1994 National Championship and to three Final Four appearances in 1990. 1994 and 1995. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FAYETTEVILLE -- There were Hog calls heard in Springfield Symphony Hall on Friday night.

The venue that opened in 1913 is used primarily to host concerts and plays, but being located in Springfield, Mass., along with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it also serves as host for the event's annual induction ceremony.

So when Nolan Richardson, who coached Arkansas to the 1994 national championship and three Final Four appearances, took the stage to be inducted, a Razorbacks contingent couldn't help but call the Hogs.

Richardson, who has lived Fayetteville since being hired at Arkansas in 1985, said in a recent interview that inductees are asked to limit their speeches to five minutes and that he didn't plan to go overtime. Instead Richardson talked for about 30 minutes, but no one in the crowd seemed to mind the length of his speech considering how much they laughed along with his colorful stories.

Many people commented on Twitter how captivated they were by Richardson's speech, some saying they wanted him to keep going.

There were times during the speech where Richardson turned serious, though, particularly when he spoke about his daughter, Yvonne, who was 15 when she died of leukemia in 1987 during Richardson's second season as Arkansas' coach.

The Razorbacks finished 19-14 that season with a second round loss in the NIT, and Richardson said he felt unbelievable pressure along with the sorrow of losing his daughter.

"No one knows how hard that was, and trying to coach and trying to win," Richardson said. "I could have thrown away basketball, which I almost did because of that tragedy."

Richardson said he knew his daughter wouldn't want him to quit coaching, so he rededicated himself. He had a 389-169 record in 17 seasons at Arkansas to set the school record for most victories and led Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament 13 times and to the NIT twice.

"I think in terms of winning, sometimes you do things for the ones you love so much, and I dedicated that all the time in my heart for what she had to put up with to win a championship," Richardson said. "Was I happy? A little bit. But it was different.

"Things went into the right perspective at that time. What's more important, a life or a game? That's what I was faced with, and I would take life every time. It's a lot more important than any game I've ever been in."

Richardson, 72, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and become a three-sport star at Bowie High School. He recalled that he was going to refuse to attend a baseball tournament in another city because being black he wouldn't be allowed to stay in a hotel along with his teammates.

Richardson said his grandmother, Rose Richardson, convinced him that he had to play in the tournament to help break down racial barriers.

"She said a crack in the door is all you need, son. You can take care of the rest yourself," Richardson said. "It's all about attitude. Force your attitude on the people you deal with. Let them see through your eyes to where you need to go.

"That was a beautiful teaching. Ol' Granny was something very, very special."

After Richardson graduated from Texas-El Paso, he became a trailblazer and was hired as the first black basketball coach in El Paso at Bowie, the first in a Texas junior college at Western Texas, the first in Oklahoma at Tulsa and the first in the South at Arkansas.

Richardson's Arkansas tenure ended March 1, 2002, with one game left in the regular-season when he was fired with the Razorbacks 13-14 after comments he made that the UA could have his job if it paid off his contract and that he wasn't treated the same as other coaches at the because of his race.

Richardson later sued the UA and its administrators, but the lawsuit was dismissed after a trial in Little Rock.

With a new administration, Richardson has reconciled with the UA, where his former player and assistant coach, Mike Anderson, is now the basketball coach. Anderson attended Friday night's ceremony as part of an Arkansas party that included Athletic Director Jeff Long and Chancellor David Gearheart.

"Going through so many things, that makes this such a great honor to me," Richardson said. "I remember a guy once called me and said, 'You'll never make it to the Hall for what you did.' I said, 'Then I don't make it to the Hall. If what I did was wrong, then I don't deserve to be in the Hall.'

"That's who I am. I only hope and pray that whatever I received was what I was supposed to receive. Simple as that."

Richardson thanked the athletic directors who hired him, including Pine Bluff native Sid Simpson at Western Texas and Frank Broyles at Arkansas. He also thanked his teachers and coaches while he was growing up, his teammates, and later as a coach his assistants and players.

Richardson also thanked Don Haskins, his coach at UTEP and a 1997 Hall of Fame inductee, and especially his grandmother.

"The single most powerful person that got me to where I've been able to go is Granny, Ol' Mama Rose," Richardson said. "She was my hero, and she instilled a lot in me."

Two Hall of Famers, Nate Archibald and John Thompson, presented Richardson for induction and were on the stage with him. Several times after finishing funny stories, Richardson slapped hands with Archibald, a star player at UTEP and in the NBA, and with Thompson, the former Georgetown coach and his longtime friend.

Arkansas beat Georgetown during the second round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament en route to winning the national championship.

Thompson was among those praising Richardson in a video tribute before his speech.

"When you played against 40 minutes of hell, you had to maintain 40 minutes of concentration because the minute you mentally broke down, they would be going away from you smiling," Thompson said, using the slogan for Arkansas' pressing, up-tempo game. "His style of play was something where he didn't try to adapt to you. He made you adapt to him."

Arkansas beat Duke and Coach Mike Krzyzewski 76-72 in the 1994 NCAA Tournament title game.

"Nolan gave everybody an example of a different style, full-court commitment to pressure," Krzyzewski said. "There was nobody who had his team playing any harder."

Bill Clinton was president of the United States when he attended the 1994 Final Four to cheer on the Razorbacks.

"That year they were just better than everybody," Clinton said. "They were faster. They were more determined. They were hungry. God, what an unbelievable year. I was just so proud of them.

"[Richardson's] ultimate legacy is that he won a national championship and he did it his way."

Sports on 08/09/2014