Former Celtics coach Bill Fitch and ex-Celtics guard Paul Westphal are among the 10 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2019.
Bentley women's coach Barbara Stevens is also a finalist.
The Class of 2019 will be announced at the NCAA Men's Final Four in Minneapolis April 7. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Hall's Honors Committee for election. Enshrinement ceremonies are Sept. 5-7 at the Hall in Springfield.
Joining Fitch, Westphal and Stevens as finalists are former players Marques Johnson, Bobby Jones, Sidney Moncrief, Jack Sikma, Ben Wallace, Chris Webber and Theresa Weatherspoon; longtime college coach Eddie Sutton, girls high school coach Leta Andrews; and referee Hugh Evans.
Fitch coached in the NBA for 25 seasons, including coaching the Celtics to Larry Bird's first NBA championship in 1981. He was named NBA Coach of the Year twice (1976, 1980) and in 1996 was named to the NBA’s Ten Best Coaches of All Time list and still holds the highest winning percentage in Celtics history (.738). He was 328-242 in four seasons with the C's.
Westphal was a first-round draft pick of the Celtics from Southern Cal and part of their '74 title team but was a five-time All-Star (1977-81) and three-time All-NBA first teamer (1977, 1979, 1980) with the Seattle SuperSonics. In his 12 NBA seasons, he averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, including more than 20 points per game for five consecutive seasons.
Stevens is a five-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year. A college coach for more than 40 years, she is the fifth coach in NCAA women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career wins. As the head coach of Bentley since 1986, she has guided her team to 22 25-win seasons and 10 trips to the Division II Final Four, including a national championship in 2014.
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