Sheryl Swoopes gets 'chills' thinking about her Hall of Fame nomination

Sheryl Swoopes, who accomplished all that can be done as a player in women's basketball, will be considered for election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

Swoopes, coach of the women's team at Loyola University Chicago, was informed of the nomination after she led her Ramblers to the 88-75 upset of No. 17 DePaul, perhaps the biggest win in the program's history.

"I will be very honest with you," Swoopes said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "I found out immediately after our win. I had not even thought about it. One of my assistant coaches showed it to me, and I actually got emotional.

"I got emotional because of the win, everything my team's gone through, to pull that win out (Monday), and then on top of that to be nominated to go into the Hall of Fame, it's special. It's an honor. I'm humbled. I had not even looked at all of the candidates until I got home. I looked at all of the nominees, just to be nominated with a class like that. From the men's side Allen Iverson, Shaq. I'm huge fans of theirs."

Swoopes won four WNBA championships with the Houston Comets and was the WNBA's MVP and Defensive Player of the Year three times each.

Swoopes won three Olympic gold medals and an NCAA championship with Texas Tech.

"I look at it and say 'okay this is kind of the last chapter of my playing career,' " Swoopes said. "I feel very blessed to be where I am, and a lot of people obviously feel like I'm deserving of it. It's a huge honor absolutely.

"I don't know how you can't get emotional about it and how you can't be honored. I get chills just thinking about it and talking about it. So yeah, I definitely think it's something that I hope to happen. I'm excited about it. I really am."

While Swoopes is overwhelmed by her nomination, she is doing her best to keep it all in perspective.

"Being nominated and being one of the candidates, that's special enough for me," Swoopes said. "I've gotten a lot of messages from people and they're like 'you're a shoo-in,' and I don't know if I look at it that way because I look at everyone else who's up with me and in their own right they've all meant so much to the game."

Swoopes is not sure how she will feel if she is voted into the Hall.

"Will I be emotional, absolutely. Will I be upset if I don't get in, I don't know, probably," Swoopes said laughing.

Swoopes lives in Chicago, was born in Brownfield,Texas and played college basketball in Lubbock, but she says the city of Houston tops the places she has lived.

"That's home. That's home," Swoopes said. "I wasn't born there, but I'm a Texas girl. I look at it and say 'I spent pretty much my entire WNBA career there, with the exception of two seasons, one year with Tulsa, one year with Seattle.'

"The history that the Comets had there, and it's something that I think about daily, I really do. I miss Houston. I miss the fans. I miss Texas. I still feel the love. I still have the love for the city of Houston. It will forever be a place I call home and will forever be a place I hold dear in my heart."

The 2016 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be unveiled during the Men's NCAA Final Four in the city that Swoopes holds dear to her heart, Houston.