Hall of a day

SI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum to talk about Monday's Hall of Fame announcement. Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Adrian Dantley and Pat Riley were among seven selected for the Class of 2008, while Don Nelsonand Chris Mullin were denied again.

SI.com Last year you lamented the fact that no NBA players were elected to the Hall of Fame. Given that, what's your reaction to a 2008 class headlined by Ewing, Olajuwon and Dantley

McCallum No visitor goes up to the Hall of Fame to see a coach. They might learn about the guy who created the fast break in the early 1900s, but by and large, they identity with the players; the Hall should be about the players. Getting three seminal players from the 1980s and '90s is a really great thing.

SI.com Olajuwon and Ewing are the headliners of this class. What comes to mind when you reflect on their careers?

McCallum With Olajuwon, his athleticism, footwork and versatility -- I don't think there's ever been anyone like him. He was this magically gifted guy who was more nimble-footed at center than anyone I could think of. And for all his shot-blocking and scoring with those great post moves, what was equally impressive was his ability to reach around and get steals. He was so good at that skill. Most people don't think of it right away, but he's among the top 10 all time in steals [Olajuwon ranks seventh].

With Ewing, he was just such an important player in the NBA. He came out of Georgetown with so much fanfare. He was the first pick in the first draft lottery -- that was a huge story. To do what he did in New York, with the pressure on him, as a guy who never bended -- he was a very strong-minded person -- was impressive. I'm not sure any 7-footer in history could hit a 20-foot shot like that guy. It was unbelievable how good he got at that shot.

SI.com You have some vivid memories of dealing with Olajuwon and Ewing during your time at SI

McCallum I did a story on the Rockets in [February] 1986 before they made their run to the NBA Finals. The first half of the story was mostly about Ralph Sampson's feud with coach Bill Fitch, and the second half was all about Olajuwon. A couple weeks later Olajuwon sees me and shows me the first part of the article -- Sampson had torn it out of the magazine and marked all the stuff with Fitch. Olajuwon never saw the second half of the article; he thought that was the entire thing. I can still see Olajuwon holding up this thing with all these red marks on it, wondering what the deal was.

SI.com And Ewing

McCallum The first time I met him was in August 1981 for a story about the the National Sports Festival. It was a showcase featuring three marquee big men headed to college: Ewing of Georgetown, Greg Dreiling of Wichita State and Stuart Gray of UCLA. I wrote about all the skills Gray had and how he outplayed Ewing -- who was unbelievably raw -- and how Gray was better at that moment. Then about seven months later, I'm covering Georgetown and they're going to the Final Four. [Coach] John Thompson sees me and says, "Hey, there's the guy who thought Patrick couldn't play."