A handful of basketball players and coaches with local ties are another step closer to immortality within their sport.
On Saturday, the list of 2017 Naismith Hall of Fame finalists was released.
First-time Hall of Fame finalists include Chris Webber, Rollie Massimino, longtime NBA referee Hugh Evans, Connecticut women's star Rebecca Lobo, two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady, five-time All-Star Sidney Moncrief, Baylor women's coach Kim Mulkey, Kansas coach Bill Self, and two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich.
"I still can't believe I'm here," McGrady said. "This is not even a dream come true."
Previous finalists returning to the ballot include star point guard and Olympic gold medalist Tim Hardaway, winningest all-time boys high school coach Robert Hughes, Notre Dame women's coach Muffet McGraw, former Wisconsin coach and four-time Division III national champion Bo Ryan and 10-time AAU women's national champion team Wayland Baptist University.