The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2017 class Saturday, and folks scanning the list might wonder: Who is Nikos Galis?
Longtime Seton Hall fans know.
“Nick” Galis starred for the Pirates in the late 1970s, averaging 27.5 points per game as a senior guard in 1978-79, before turning to Greece for a sensational pro career.
Here are three interesting facts about Galis:
1. He exploded as a Seton Hall senior. In 1978-79, Galis finished third in the nation in scoring, behind Idaho State’s Lawrence Butler (30.1 ppg) and Indiana States’ Larry Bird (28.6 ppg). That marked a 10-point-per game increase over his junior season. Galis shot 57 percent from the field and won the Haggerty Award as the metropolitan area’s top player.
He still ranks 11th on the Pirates’ all-time scoring list with 1,651 points. The Pirates posted four straight winning seasons during his time in South Orange, but played in just one NIT game.
2. He will be the fourth Pirate in the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Former guards Bob Davies and Bobby Wanzer are enshrined, as is coach Honey Russell. So is media star Dick Vitale, a Seton Hall alum who was not involved with the program.
Galis’ No. 11 hangs from the Walsh Gym rafters, but not bearing his name. It was retired in honor of Davies, a World War II-era legend who popularized the behind-the-back dribble.
The Hall of Fame is dedicated to Canadian physician and inventor of the sport James Naismith, it was opened and inducted its first class in 1959.
3. An injury, and loyalty, kept Galis out of the NBA. He was drafted by the Celtics out of college but got cut after suffering an injury during training camp. So he went to Greece (his parents’ homeland) and became the Euroleague’s all-time leading scorer.
Galis was a five-time MVP of the Greek League and led Greece’s national team to the European title in 1987. Several NBA teams expressed interest in him over the years, but Galis remained loyal to his homeland; an NBA contract would have made him ineligible to represent Greece in FIBA competition. Celtics architect Red Auerbach lamented not signing Galis as one of his biggest regrets.
