03/04/2007
PR N° 15 - Pedro Ferrándiz and Mirko Novosel elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

 Hall of Fame GENEVA (FIBA Press Release) - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield (Massachusetts, U.S.A.), has announced today the composition of its 2007 Class. This announcement has been made at a news conference held in Atlanta (Georgia, U.S.A.) just a few minutes ago, on the occasion of the NCAA's Men's Championship game between Florida and Ohio State.

FIBA is happy to report that legendary European coaches Pedro Ferrándiz (Spain) and Mirko Novosel (Croatia) have been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pedro Ferrándiz and Mirko Novosel were the two international finalist candidates for election in this Class of 2007. Ferrándiz was previously considered for election by the Honors Committee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as an international finalist candidate, in 2001, 2003 and 2006, while this year's was the first candidacy for Novosel.

With their election, Ferrándiz and Novosel join a group of previously inducted international figures which includes illustrious names such as R. William Jones (enshrined in 1964, as a contributor), Borislav Stankovic (1991, contributor), Aleksandar Nikolic (1998, coach), Dražen Petrovic (2002, player) and Hortencia Marcari (2005, player).

The Class of 2007 of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be enshrined during a ceremony that will take place in Springfield, on 6th to 8th September 2007, and will include, in addition to Mr. Ferrándiz and Mr. Novosel, the following five basketball personalities: Phil Jackson (as a coach), Van Chancellor (as a coach), Roy Williams (as a coach), Marvin "Mendy" Rudolph (as a referee) and Texas Western (as a team).

Apart from his illustrious career as head coach of Real Madrid, Pedro Ferrándiz co-founded, together with Cesare Rubini, the World Association of Basketball Coaches and served as its first President in 1975. Ferrándiz is also the Founder and President of a foundation entirely devoted to basketball and located in Alcobendas (Spain) since 1991. Adjacent to the Pedro Ferrándiz Foundation is the FIBA Hall of Fame, inaugurated on 1st March 2007.

Born in Alicante, Spain, on 28th November 1928, Pedro Ferrándiz was head coach of Real Madrid for a total of 14 years (1959-1962, 1965 and 1968-1975) and head coach of the Spanish National Team in 1964-1965.

Pedro Ferrándiz features an impressive track record that includes, among others, the following titles:

• 4 times Champion of the European Cup for Men's Champion Clubs (current Euroleague): 1965, 1967, 1968 and 1974
• 12 times Champion of the Spanish League: 1960-1962, 1965 and 1968-1975
• 11 times Champion of the Spanish Cup: 1960-1962, 1965, 1967 and 1970-1975

Born in Zagreb, Croatia, on 30th June 1938, Mirko Novosel started his career in basketball first as a player, being a member of the Yugoslav National Team from 1952 to 1965. In 1967 he started his coaching career in BC Lokomotiva which later changed its name to BC Cibona.

As head coach of the Yugoslav National Team and later on of the Croatian National Team, Mirko Novosel accomplished the following successes:

• Olympic Gold medallist in Moscow 1980 (with Yugoslavia)
• Olympic Silver medallist in Montreal 1976 (with Yugoslavia)
• Bronze medallist in Los Angeles 1984 (with Yugoslavia)
• Silver medalist in the 1974 World Championship in Puerto Rico (with Yugoslavia)
• 2 times European Champion: Barcelona 1973 and Belgrade 1975 (with Yugoslavia)
• European Champion in Germany 1993 (with Croatia)

As head coach of BC Cibona, Novosel's honours include:

• Champion of the European Cup for Men's Champion Clubs (current Euroleague) in 1985
• 2 times Champion of the European Cup Winner's Cup: 1982 and 1987
• 6 times Champion of the Yugoslav Cup: 1980-1983, 1985 and 1988
• 3 times Champion of the Yugoslav League: 1982, 1984 and 1985