The Written Word
Still Photos
The view of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame from our hotel across the highway. 
The main entrance is situated in a strip mall. 
The entryway to the Hall. 
I’ve grown to appreciate Kareem later in my life. Laimbeer did NOT foul him back in 1988, though. 
A fun feature upon entering is these random shoe prints. 
I’m an Indiana native so there will always be a soft spot for Larry Joe Bird. 
Me and Mugsy just chillin’. 
LeBron James jersey from his days at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. 
Fran seeing how he measures up to Giannis. 
I love this Dr. James Naismith mosaic. 
Bill Walton and Wilt Chamberlain jerseys side-by-side. Some Shaq shoes found below. 
Pete Maravich’s LSU jersey. 
A piece of the wood flooring from the Springfield YMCA where basketball was first played. 
A cap tip to my northeast Indiana heritage. 
This Jerry Lucas jersey just doesn’t look comfortable. 
Arkansas Razorbacks’ coach Nolan Richardson artifacts. 
UConn legend Diana Taurasi’s jersey. 
UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma with a note to former player Sue Bird. 
Larry Bird’s Converse sneaker. 
Bill Bradley’s Princeton jersey hangs proudly. 
Caitlin Clark has a presence in the Hall though she’s a long way from earning induction. 
The Iowa scorebook from the game Clark broke Maravich’s career scoring mark. 
A special Celtics’ exhibit made sense due to the proximity to Boston. 
The interior of the Celtics “vault.” 
Some Celtics’ championship artifacts. 
Celtics jerseys from the Big 3 era (Bird, McHale, and Parrish). 
Some classic Celtics’ jerseys. 
More Boston artifacts. 
Some Paul Pierce jerseys. 
I’m not sure I’d want to take puff on Red’s famed cigar after all these years. 
Cheryl MIller’s 1984 Team USA jersey. 
A pair of Wilt Chamberlain’s Converse sneakers. 
I was always a fan of David Robinson’s game. 
Patrick Ewing and Bob Lanier jerseys side-by-side. 
My traveling buddy, Fran, knows Coach Orlando pretty well. 
Meadowlark Lemon’s famed Harlem Globetrotters’ jersey. 
There’s an entire display devoted to NBA superfans. 
Jimmy Goldstein greeting Chris Paul. 
The late Hollywood director, Penny Marshall, is honored in the SuperFans’ exhibit. 
Marshall’s HoF ring. 
The jerseys of some NBA innovators. 
Glad to see Dr. Jack Ramsay with some recognition. 
JuJu Watkins’ USC jersey is showcased. 
A special exhibit honors the late Kobe Bryant. 
Some Kobe artifacts. 
Sheer jubilation. 
Several famed coaches lend their insights via a video recording on kiosks. Larry Brown is one. 
Larry Brown’s 1,000th win is also commemorated. 
Not a bad squad if could be assembled from these jerseys. 
One of Fran’s former players was a 4-year member at Notre Dame for Coach Muffet McGraw. 
Some photo booth silliness. 
The wall of HoF inductees. 
Unlike the other Halls, there is no special gallery but rather kiosks to call up each inductee. 
George Gervin and I attended the same college: Eastern Michigan University. 
Isiah Thomas’s HoF credentials. 
Coach Chuck Daly’s HoF credentials. 
The view of The Jerry Colangelo Court of Dreams from above. 
And another perspective. 
Fran showed off his skill from the elbow. 
And the free throw line. 
It’s always nice to see the work of a former Conversations with Sports Fans guest, Nat Butler, in the gift shop.
Video
Fun Facts
- Traveling Party – Me and my friend Fran
- Last Time Visited – I previously visited the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame during a Hall of a Trip with my father back in 2007. The Hoop Hall as the fourth of the five we saw during that journey. Fran had never visited before.
- Don’t Skip the Film – I’ve found many halls of fame these days feature some sort of short, introductory film to set the mood for your impending visit. Naismith was no different, and, like the others, my sincere recommendation is that for any future visits you plan to make to a hall of fame or museum, you should not skip the film. If pressed for time, it seems an easy thing to excise from your touring plan, but I’ve found the quality of such films continues to increase as the years clip by, the archival footage is dang cool to see, and, yes, it does get one primed to experience the halls you’re about to tour. Unless you’ve recently visited, there’s a better-than-decent chance that the content is updated (especially at the major halls).
- Bring Your A Game – As noted in the images and the written word, there is a full court on the premises and plenty of basketballs to use. I wanted to make a basket in each of the period baskets (I did), and while there was an urge to get my ankles taped and D-up Fran in a game of 1-on-1, we chose instead to just casually shoot. I could very easily see some fathers and sons – or pairs of brothers – getting after it following their tour of the hall.
- Running List of States Traveled To/Through (30 total) – Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, & Wyoming
- Running List of Countries Traveled To/Through (8 total) – Argentina, Canada (Manitoba, Ontario, & Quebec), England, Japan, Korea, Scotland, United States, & Wales
- Distance Traveled – Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT, to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, 48 miles, to Boston’s Logan Airport 93 miles, to DTW 633 miles, and from DTW to my home, 53 miles, for a total of 827 miles.
- Cumulative Distance Traveled After 40 Events – 74,841 miles
- Up Next – The Rivalry: Calvin University at Hope University men’s basketball in Holland, MI