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CELTIC-NATION
Do you have any direct memories of the scandal?
ERNIE BARRETT
 I remember going up against Long Island University. LIU
was a powerhouse, and had players like Ray Felix and
Sherman White on the team. Felix was a 6’-11” center
who would go on to play in the NBA. White was a 6’-8”
All-American, and The Sporting News Player of the
Year. LIU was favored by eleven points, but the game
was much closer than that. I vividly remember coming
down the court and hearing [LIU head coach] Clair Bee
screaming at his players to play better, and warning
them that they were going to throw the game away by
playing so poorly. He didn’t know the fix was on, of
course, only that his team was playing horribly.
LIU could have won the national championship that year,
but White, LeRoy Smith and [Adolph] Bigos were arrested
for taking bribes to throw games. LIU dropped its
basketball program and Bee retired from coaching, so
those things definitely stand out. But it was still a
great season for me, and for K-State. We finished
second in the nation, Ahearn Fieldhouse opened during
the regular season, and I was named to the All-American
team. It was a thrill for me to be recognized, and it’s
still an honor after all of these years.
CELTIC-NATION
Kansas State finished the 1950-51 season with a 25-4
record and advanced all the way to the NCAA championship
game under legendary head coach Jack Gardner. What was
this experience like for you?
ERNIE BARRETT
Unfortunately I injured my shoulder against Oklahoma
State in the West Regional Final in Kansas City – there
were only two Regionals then – and wasn’t able to play
to my fullest against Kentucky. We beat BYU 64-54 in
the semifinals and then defeated Oklahoma State to
advance to the championship game. It was the worst
defeat Coach Iba had ever suffered at Oklahoma State. I
took a charge in that game and ended up with a deep
muscle bruise. We were going to shoot it up with
Novocain but Coach Gardner was against it – he thought
it might be injurious to my health, and he didn’t want
to cause any long-term damage to the shoulder.
Kentucky was coached by Adolph Rupp, and they had some
really great players on that team. They had Bill
Spivey, who scored 22 points in that game, and a couple
of other pretty good players in Cliff Hagan and Frank
Ramsey. We jumped out to an early lead and were up by
two at the half, 29-27, but couldn’t hold them off after
intermission. Kentucky dominated the boards and won the
game by ten [68-58].
CELTIC-NATION
Future Celtic great Frank Ramsey was a member of that
1951 Kentucky championship team. What can you tell me
about Mr. Ramsey?
ERNIE BARRETT
Kentucky was a senior-laden team, so Frank didn’t get to
play much in that game. He did score something like
nine points for them, though, so he was productive when
he was on the court. I remember him being very quick,
and very aggressive. He joined the Boston Celtics the
year after I finished playing there, but we have
remained friends through the years. We used to visit,
and still correspond by letter.
CELTIC-NATION
You were named the Most Valuable Player at the East/West
All-Star game in Chicago following your senior year at
Kansas State. What stands out most about this game, and
how did it feel to be recognized in such a way?
ERNIE BARRETT
I had the good fortune of being coached by legendary
Kansas coach Phog Allen in that game, and that’s one of
my biggest memories. Phog was an unbelievable
motivator. I remember that he hardly worked with us
prior to that game, and that he was constantly feuding
with the media. It was all a part of his plan to bring
out the best in us. We were from the western United
States, and he used that as motivation because we were
playing the game a pretty good ways from home. He
treated it as if it were a home game for the East.
We had a great squad. Mel Hutchins of BYU was on that
team, and so was Don Sunderlage of Illinois. Hutchins
was a first round pick for Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
Sunderlage was drafted in the first round by
Philadelphia. Both men were fine players. I finished
with 17 points in that game and was leading scorer, so
it really helped raise my profile in the pros. Chuck
Cooper, the first black player to be drafted in the NBA,
recommended me to Red Auerbach after that game.
CELTIC-NATION
You were drafted in the first round by the Boston
Celtics in 1951. What was it like coming to Boston, and
what was it like to play for Red Auerbach?
ERNIE BARRETT
It was a great honor to be the first round selection of
the Boston Celtics. I had a two-year military
obligation, so I didn’t get to play for them
immediately. I had to wait until I was out of the
service to go to Boston, so my “rookie” year was
actually two years later (1953-54). Red started me
every game during the exhibition season, opposite Bob
Cousy, for what amounted to 15-20 games over a three
week period. We basically barnstormed all over New
England.
Things changed once the regular season started. I
didn’t get into a single game during the first 35 games,
at which point [Celtic owner] Walter Brown went to Red
and wanted to know why I wasn’t playing. He [Brown]
looked at me as the team’s first round selection in 1951
and figured I should be seeing some action. Needless to
say, I was on Walter Brown’s side [laughs]. So I ended
up playing more during the second half of the season,
sharing time with the great Bill Sharman.
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