SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The late Darell Garretson, an NBA official for 27 years who attended Illinois State and played on the ISU men's basketball "B" team during the 1950-51 season, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame during an enshrinement ceremony Friday night.
A native of Long Point, Illinois, Garretson officiated 1,798 regular season games, 269 playoff games, 41 NBA Finals games and five NBA All-Star games during his 27-year career. He was instrumental in organizing and heading the first union for referees, the National Association of Basketball Referees.
Garretson is widely considered the individual who shaped modern basketball officiating with a three-person crew and a focus on refereeing the defense. He served as NBA Chief of Officiating Staff and Director of Officials from 1981 until 1998, and he is the only person to have served as a staff referee and Chief of Staff simultaneously. Garretson was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 1983.
Garretson is part of the 10-member 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class that includes: Eleven-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, the first African-American coach in a professional league John McLendon, three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O'Neal and four-time WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes.
Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected four directly elected members. They include Zelmo Beaty from the Veterans Committee, Yao Ming from the International Committee, Cumberland Posey from the Early African American Pioneers Committee and Jerry Reinsdorf from the Contributor Committee.
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