Gaze Selected for FIBA Hall of Fame
5/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Former Seton Hall star Andrew Gaze will be enshrined as part of this year’s 12 member class for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame on June 19 at the House of Basketball, FIBA’s headquarters in Mies, Switzerland. Gaze headlines the Class of 2013 with NBA superstar David Robinson and Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history. In total, six former players, three coaches, two technical officials and a contributor make up the induction class.
“The 2013 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame is truly a special one,” said FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann. “These are great personalities who have experienced great success on and off the court, but who also stand out for the character they have shown and for the countless efforts they have made to help promote our sport.”
Gaze was a member of Seton Hall’s 1989 Final Four squad that advanced to the national championship game. He garnered the Most Outstanding Player Award for the NCAA Tournament West Regional. Gaze still ranks in the top-5 in the program’s single season record book for the three point field goals (94) and three point field goal percentage (.425) marks he set during the Pirates’ title run.
He went on to enjoy a decorated professional career on the international stage. Gaze earned seven NBL Most Valuable Player Awards and won two championships (1993 & 1997) with the Melbourne Tigers. He represented Australia at five Olympic Games, beginning at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles through the 2000 Sydney Games, where he was the flag bearer for his home country at the opening ceremony. Gaze was also named FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1991 and honored as Australia’s International Player of the Year a record six times.
Gaze spent the majority of his 20-year professional career playing for Melbourne, where he appeared in 612 games for the Tigers and produced a 30.9 scoring average. He was a NBL First Team honoree 15 times. Gaze made his NBA debut with the Washington Bullets during the 1993-94 season, and then in 1998-99 he returned to the league with the San Antonio Spurs during their championship campaign.
“To be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame is the highest honor in our sport and I feel truly humbled to join these amazing men and women who have served basketball so well,” said Gaze.
National icons Jean-Jacques Conceicao of Angola, Paula Goncalves of Brazil, Serbia’s Zoran Slavnic and Teresa Edwards of the United States join Gaze and Robinson as player inductees. Summitt, the late John ‘Jack’ Donohue of Canada and Italy’s Cesare Rubini will be inducted as coaches. Technical officials Valentin Lazarov of Bulgaria and Costas Rigas of Greece along with contributor Aldo Vitale of Italy complete the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
About the FIBA Hall of Fame
The primary goal of the FIBA Hall of Fame is to reflect the history of the sport and its personalities. The key criterion for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame is outstanding achievement at the international level and contribution to the development of basketball.
The FIBA Hall of Fame was officially inaugurated on 1 March 2007.
