Raveling, Mutombo are among 2015 basketball Hall of Fame inductees

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The red carpet leading up Symphony Hall's steps Friday night was better-suited to celebrity presenters like Charles Barkley, James Worthy, and Julius Erving than to the 11 new inductees in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Several members of the Class of 2015, formally inducted during televised ceremonies at this Springfield landmark, spent most of their careers on the spotlight's edges:

Dikembe Mutombo made his name as a shot-blocking dynamo.

Talented and versatile, JoJo White was often overlooked in the Celtics team concept.

Deadeye distance-shooter Louis Dampier played exclusively in the ABA.

Lindsay Gaze became a coaching legend, but in Australia.

Dick Bavetta never missed a game in 39 seasons, but as a referee.

Tom Heinsohn, inducted as a player and now as a coach, had to follow Red Auerbach and Bill Russell on Boston's bench.

And John Isaacs was a Harlem Rens star in a segregated era of barnstormers.

"You might not have a lot of superstar names here this year," Barkley said, "but all of these are superstar people, and all of them were, in some way, at the top of this sport."

One, Kentucky coach John Calipari, still is. Most of this weekend's attention focused on Calipari, women's superstar Lisa Leslie, and Spencer Haywood, the spectacular talent who made it legal for underclassmen to play in the NBA.

As Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, George Raveling "does not want any attention drawn to himself." A player and assistant at Villanova before his long and influential career as a coach and Nike official, Raveling had fretted about his speech, wondering how he'd get through it and who he'd have to leave out.

That acceptance speech, though longer than anticipated, was unique in that it blended humor and heartfelt seriousness.

"My grandma told me never to forget the bridges you cross," Raveling said. "I arrived at Villanova as a boy, and in four years I was transformed into a responsible adult. Players, coaches, priests, they all fueled me with imagination, knowledge, and skills as well as discipline, passion, and a confidence to be somebody when I never in my life believed I would be anybody."

Mutombo, of whom Barkley said, "We've never had a better man go into the Hall," thanked a phalanx of people, including Larry Brown, his coach during two Philadelphia seasons.

"I have worn many uniforms, but the one constant has been great coaches and teammates," he said. "Larry Brown, thank you for bringing me to Philadelphia and allowing me to play with the great Allen Iverson, who will stand here soon in Springfield."

Almost as well-known for his humanitarian efforts as his basketball skills, Mutombo said basketball allowed him to become a global citizen.

"I'm proud to be only the third African player in the NBA," he said. "My life mission is to continue to change the living conditions of the people in Africa. I might never have won a championship, but I'm a champion there."

Bavetta turned his speech into an audience-participation exercise. The longtime referee divided the star-studded crowd into three groups and had them shout either, "Oh no!" "Bad call!" or "Get a job!" - familiar catcalls that, when yelled in unison, gave him the energy to get through his speech.