Gregg Popovich speaks during the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on August 12, 2023 at Springfield Marriott in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
We knew he would. In his induction speech at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August, San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich gave the Sagehens some priceless air time.
“How could this happen? It’s hard to describe. Because I’m a Division III guy,” Popovich said in his speech. “I was gonna wear my Pomona-Pitzer shirt … .”
Popovich invited Pomona-Pitzer Coach Charles Katsiaficas—one of his assistants during his eight seasons as coach of the Sagehens—to join him for the induction ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the game was invented.
“I feel so lucky to have him as a mentor through the years, and to have been with him since the early days during his first head coaching job,” Katsiaficas says. “He is one of the most driven, motivated and innovative people I have ever known. And he never has forgotten his time here. He continues to be a great ambassador for Pomona-Pitzer basketball and a great mentor and friend.”