Dean Meminger Inducted in 1998
Dean Meminger
Dean "The Dream" Meminger (May 13, 1948 – August 23, 2013) at the ripe old age of fourteen Dean Meminger moved to New York City from Waterboro, South Carolina where he already was a hoop legend averaging 40 points a game for St. Joseph's Grammer School as an eighth grader. He enrolled at Rice High School and under the tutelage of Mike Browne established one of the greatest high school careers in the history of the sport! Not only did Meminger lead Rice to the CHSAA, and Mythical National Championships in 1967, he joined Lou Alcinder (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) as the only player in Big Apple history to be named First Team All-City (PSAL and CHSAA) for three consecutive years.
Dean decided on Marquette and Coach Al McGuire and "The Dream" was born when a Milwaukee sportswriter described Meminger's announcement as "a dream come true". In 1970 the dream became a reality when Meminger led the Warriors to a 65-53/NIT title win over St. John's in Madison Square Garden. Dean was named MVP of the tourney. And he was selected as a consensus All-America in both his junior and senior campaigns. For his Marquette swan song, he teamed up with 6-11 Jim Chones to deliver McGuire an undefeated 26-0 regular season record before bowing out of the NCAA Tourney regionals.
The Knicks selected Meminger in the first round of the 1971 draft and his slashing offense and smothering "D" proved to be a perfect fit for Red Holzman's style, He played a significant role as the Knicks copped the 1973 NBA title and was voted co-MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. In that never-to-be-forgotten championship season, Dean played in 80 of his team's 82 games and shot 51-5 percent from the field! He was traded to the Hawks in 1974 and played two years in Atlanta before closing out his six-year NBA career with the Knicks.
Dean coached in the Continental Basketball League (CBA), United States Professional Basketball League (USBL), and the Women's Pro Basketball Lg. (WBL). His New York Stars captured the WBL crown in 1980 and was named "Coach of the Year". For over 25 years Meminger has devoted much of his time and energy toward helping youngsters both on and off the court. He's been an integral part of the Sports Foundation family and travels the country as a coach, trainer, and lecturer. His basic theme is perfect: "It Takes Teamwork, To Make The Dream Work!"
Dean decided on Marquette and Coach Al McGuire and "The Dream" was born when a Milwaukee sportswriter described Meminger's announcement as "a dream come true". In 1970 the dream became a reality when Meminger led the Warriors to a 65-53/NIT title win over St. John's in Madison Square Garden. Dean was named MVP of the tourney. And he was selected as a consensus All-America in both his junior and senior campaigns. For his Marquette swan song, he teamed up with 6-11 Jim Chones to deliver McGuire an undefeated 26-0 regular season record before bowing out of the NCAA Tourney regionals.
The Knicks selected Meminger in the first round of the 1971 draft and his slashing offense and smothering "D" proved to be a perfect fit for Red Holzman's style, He played a significant role as the Knicks copped the 1973 NBA title and was voted co-MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. In that never-to-be-forgotten championship season, Dean played in 80 of his team's 82 games and shot 51-5 percent from the field! He was traded to the Hawks in 1974 and played two years in Atlanta before closing out his six-year NBA career with the Knicks.
Dean coached in the Continental Basketball League (CBA), United States Professional Basketball League (USBL), and the Women's Pro Basketball Lg. (WBL). His New York Stars captured the WBL crown in 1980 and was named "Coach of the Year". For over 25 years Meminger has devoted much of his time and energy toward helping youngsters both on and off the court. He's been an integral part of the Sports Foundation family and travels the country as a coach, trainer, and lecturer. His basic theme is perfect: "It Takes Teamwork, To Make The Dream Work!"