The Jo Jo White Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, April 7th, 2003
Which
is a perfect lead-in to my next question.
You helped Kansas reach the 1966 NCAA regional
finals against eventual champion Texas Western.
In that game you hit that dramatic jumper at the
end of overtime that would have given Kansas a huge
victory. The
shot was disallowed because the official ruled that your
foot was out of bounds.
Please take me back to that game and what you
remember most about it.
I have so many memories about that game – it’s
still very vivid for me.
I remember having the ball in my hands and taking
that final shot. I fell back into a woman’s lap after the release, and I
remember the crowd and my teammates celebrating after
the shot went in. Then
the official ruled that my foot was out of bounds.
The call gave the game to Texas Western, who went
on to defeat Kentucky (for the NCAA Championship) in
that historic game against Rupp’s Runts.
To this day my teammates kid me about my shoe
size being too big and that costing us the game
[laughs].
The
official who made the call is certainly entitled to his
opinion, but game film shows that I was inbounds when I
released that last shot.
I have the sequence framed on my wall at home,
three photographs that show the position of my feet.
The photos also clearly show that I’m inbounds
when I take the shot.
You
were on the U.S. team at both the University Games and
Pan-American Games.
However, it was your performance on the 1968 U.S.
Olympic Team that brought you international fame.
Please tell me about your Olympic experience and
what it means to you.
Being a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team
and representing my country were great honors.
The experience was important to me in a number of
ways, in part because it was my first championship in
organized sports, and this in a sense validated what I
was doing as a basketball player.
Also, I didn’t feel as though I were a true
champion until I’d actually won in Mexico City.
So the gold medal, playing for my country –
these things that brought with them a real sense of
accomplishment.
Going into the Olympic Games we weren’t the
overwhelming favorites to win the gold medal.
We weren’t even considered the strongest team
in the tournament.
That billing went to the Russians, who was upset
by Yugoslavia in the semifinals.
But we were the more determined team, and I think
that’s what set us apart.
Let’s
talk about that gold medal game.
At the half, Yugoslavia trailed the U.S. by a
mere three point margin, 32-29.
The U.S. reeled off 17 unanswered points to start
the second half, taking a commanding 49-29 lead.
That run was fueled by eight points each from
Spencer Haywood and yourself.
Please take me back to that game, specifically
the start of the second half.
There was no panic, no sense of urgency in the locker
room at halftime. Coach
(Henry) Iba didn’t give a dramatic speech as many
might suspect. It
was more a matter of us doing our jobs and playing our
game, which meant pushing the ball up the court and
playing an up-tempo, fast-breaking style of basketball.
You
joined the Celtics as the team’s first round pick in
1969, following your superb All-American career at
Kansas. With
the retirement of Bill Russell and Sam Jones following
the ‘69 season, this also marked the beginning of a
new era of Boston Celtic basketball.
In what ways did it help having several key
players from the Russell Dynasty – Tom Heinsohn, John
Havlicek and Satch Sanders come to mind – either
coaching or playing when you arrived in 1969?
It was very instrumental in my growth as a
professional basketball player.
Also, having these individuals involved helped to
accelerate the rebuilding process.
They were the mentors for the next generation of
Boston Celtics, and I was fortunate to learn from them.
They helped me to understand the philosophy of
the organization and what being a Boston Celtic is all
about.
I think that this type of mentoring is sorely lacking in
the league today. The
NBA, to a large extent, is missing the presence of
retired players and veterans who could truly impact its
teams in a positive way.
I think back to when I started with the Celtics,
for example, and how I was able to benefit from the
stability of our organization.
Heinsohn was our coach.
Red was there.
Russell had retired but he was still a part of
the Celtic family.
I think this stability helped expedite our rise
to the top.
