The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the ninth ten of the 2024 Basketball List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 81 to 90:

81. Latrell Sprewell
82. Dick Garmaker
83. Dan Majerle
84. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
85. Reggie Theus
86. Johnny Green
87. Mel Hutchins
88. Shareef Abdur-Rahim
89. Ron Harper
90. Wayman Tisdale

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Mel Hutchins led BYU to an NIT Title in 1951, and the Second Team All-American was drafted Second Overall the year after by the Tri-Cities Hawks, who moved to Milwaukee right after.

Hutchins was incredible in his first pro year, where he became the first rookie to lead the NBA in rebounds.  Named by the sportswriters as their Rookie of the Year, Hutchins became a more balanced player, averaging a double-double as a sophomore (11.7 Points and 11.2 Rebounds) and was an All-Star for the first time. 

The struggling Hawks sold his rights to the Fort Wayne Pistons, where he was on a much better team. Hutchins went to three more All-Stars and helped them reach back-to-back Finals in 1955 and 1956.  He was also fourth and eighth, respectively, in MVP voting in those seasons.  Hutchins was dealt to New York in the 1957 off-season, but a devastating knee injury ended his career.  He only played 18 Games that year and never competed again.

The staunch defender is a “what might have been” in a sport littered with them, but there were many accolades in that brief career.