The Bill Sharman Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, March 20th,
2006
In
Boston, your backcourt mate was the incomparable Bob Cousy. Please tell me a
little about Mr. Cousy.
I’ve
often said, and I’ll say again, that Bob Cousy was the ultimate playmaking in
the NBA during his era. He initiated many new passes and dribbles that would
later be copied by most of the great players in the league for many years to
come. He was also one of the main reasons that basketball became so popular in
America – and the entire world!
Please
tell me about the great Red Auerbach. What was it like to play for him, and
what impact did he have on your coaching career?
Red
had a very big influence on my coaching. He was ahead of his time in many
respects, because, when I played for him, the fast break wasn’t really used
to attack opposing defenses. This was especially true in the years leading
up to the shot clock. During those years, the pace of a game was much
slower. Red became a disciple of the fast break after playing college ball
for [former George Washington University head coach] Bill Reinhart. He took
it a step farther. He ran the fast break all of the time, pushing the ball
up the court in order to find a defensive guy out of position. The goal was
to find a weakness in the defense and to get the quick pass and the easy
shot – usually a layup. It became a very big weapon.
It really helped having a guard like Bob Cousy to push the ball up the court and make the outstanding pass. And Bill Russell, he was the one who really got it going. He would grab a big rebound and make the outlet pass, or he would block a shot to one of his teammates, and then he would take off down the floor and make sure that he was in on the action. Having those two really made it work. The rest of us ran the floor, got into position to take the shot, and helped things along.
I should mention that conditioning was a very big part of what made Red’s fast break so successful. The Celtics were always the most well-conditioned team in the league. We were running from the first day of training camp, and it continued until Red was convinced that we were in better shape than everyone we played. That’s why the Celtics were always able to get off to a good start.
Those
Celtic teams were famously close-knit. How did Red foster such a positive
environment?
Professional
basketball was much different at that time. Red didn’t have to contend with
free agency, and he was able to set the rules for the team to follow. If a
player didn’t buy into Red’s philosophy, then that player wasn’t in Boston
for very long. He would find himself playing for another team. Red brought
in guys that had talent, but they also really cared about winning and
getting along. It was like a family. We were with each other so much that
it wouldn’t have worked out if we weren’t close. We were together for five
or six months out of the year. We would go barnstorming in the preseason.
We had so much fun and made many great memories! Even today, I count some
of my best friends as those that I played with in Boston. Bob Cousy, Frank
Ramsey, Tommy Heinsohn – we won titles together, which was very special, but
we’ve also remained lifelong friends. That makes it even more wonderful.
You won
four championships as a player with the Boston Celtics. Does one of them
stand out above the others?
That
first championship in 1957, against the St. Louis Hawks. It was special
because it was the first, and because some of us had struggled with the team
in the years leading up to that moment. It was a great thrill to win it in
the Boston Garden, in front of the home fans, and to do it in that dramatic,
double-overtime Game 7. It was such an exciting time for us all!
Following
retirement, you became the head coach of the ABL Cleveland Pipers, owned by
none other than George Steinbrenner. Here is what Mr. Steinbrenner had to
say about you: ‘I gave Bill Sharman his first head coaching job with the
Cleveland Pipers. He and I were on the same page from day one. He believed
in baiting the referees and he believed in winning.’ Please tell me a
little about Mr. Steinbrenner.
I
honestly didn’t know much about him when I got the job. I did know that he
had a reputation for being difficult – I had heard he was tough on people.
Fortunately, we were having a good year and he was very charming. If you
lose, I don’t see him as being the type who is charming [laughs]. I enjoyed
my experience working for Mr. Steinbrenner. We were able to win the ABL
championship that year, and I was named Coach of the Year. It really
motivated me to pursue a career as a head coach.
As a
coach, you were truly an innovator. You are widely credited with
implementing the game day shoot-around, something that is practiced
universally today.
The
idea started when I was a player with the Boston Celtics, because I tended
to be high-strung – I was very impatient from a competitive point-of-view,
you might say. Anyway, it just seemed to me like each game day would take a
week to arrive, even though it might only be a day or two. Maybe it was
because I was always so full of nervous energy!
So, I'd go to an empty gym – usually at a high school in Needham, which is where I lived during the season, and just shoot. I noticed that I felt better afterwards, and that I had much more confidence during the game on those nights. That’s when I started charting my shooting percentages from the field and also from the free throw line, and, to my surprise, I discovered that I was more effective when I shot baskets on the morning of a game. Just look at the proof: My first five years in the league, I shot about 86 percent from the free throw line. The second five, with loosening up during the day, I shot 92 percent.