I’m late to the party, but that’s not new. Few months back, I saw that Marc Spears was going to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I noted it, then moved on.

Today, I remembered that Marc Spears is going into the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame! I thought about it more and figured … “I’ll text him congratulations.” Nah, I’ll do this …

I know Marc Spears but I don’t KNOW Marc Spears. He’s got a lot going on because he’s got passion for more than one thing and he follows through on that passion. Take a look at his bio. Hell, I wanted to make sure for the hundredth time that it was Marc with a “C” and not a “K,” and he was listed as “film producer.”

Yes, he is a film producer but he’s so much more. Marc is a class act, the consummate professional, and someone I feel fortunate to have come across.

Met Marc decades ago, way back in Denver, then Boston, when he covered the Nuggets and Celtics. I remember in Denver one time, I don’t even think I knew him, and he invited me out after the game. Classy and professional, that’s what writers did back then.

Marc introduced me to the late Bret Bearup, who I would later come to find out was extremely close with Sam Bowie, one of my childhood idols.

A man is really only made up of what people remember of him when he’s gone and think of him when he’s here. Marc is a person where every memory has been positive, every interaction enjoyable. Marc Spears is what I refer to as a “Big Boy.” That’s someone who, through character, integrity and talent, rose to the top of his field.

Here’s to Marc Spears!