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By: Michael D. McClellan |\u00a0<\/strong>The game came easily to him. From the first time he picked up a basketball, to later earning All-America honors in both high school and college, Bailey Howell possessed a gift that quickly set him apart from his peers. He was a natural on the court, at home within its geometric confines, a player so skilled that at the time of his retirement from the NBA in 1971, Howell ranked among the league\u2019s top 10 leaders in nine statistical categories. But statistics only tell part of the story. Howell, who grew up near the cotton fields surrounding Middleton, Tennessee, never made himself bigger than the team.\u00a0 Regardless of his star power, he was always willing to subjugate his considerable game for the bigger cause.\u00a0 Such characteristics explain how Howell, a six-time NBA All-Star, blended perfectly with Bill Russell\u2019s Boston Celtics, winning two world championships as the curtain closed on arguably the greatest sports dynasty ever.<\/p>\n Howell first gained national attention by setting the Tennessee high school record for points, scoring 1,187 of them for Middleton High School during the 1954-55 season. And while the 31.2 points-per-game scoring average was on display for everyone to see, only those closest to him knew of the dedication required to achieve such success.\u00a0 Yes, Howell made it look that easy.\u00a0 He never seemed out of position, grabbing rebounds by the bushel while powering his way to the hoop, causing even the legendary Adolph Rupp to take notice.\u00a0 But even the naturals have to work at their craft, and Howell was unafraid to put in the hours required to hone his game.\u00a0 In fact, Howell hardly looked at basketball as work at all; when your high school suspends classes during the fall harvest season so that the students can help pick cotton, you have no trouble identifying the difference between amateur athletics and real work.<\/p>\n Howell’s desire to play basketball in the Southeastern Conference led him to choose Mississippi State University.\u00a0 He had plenty of other choices \u2013 Kentucky came calling, as did Tennessee and the University of Mississippi \u2013 but MSU proved to be the best fit for the versatile power forward.\u00a0 Like Larry Bird at Indiana State decades later, Howell found himself more comfortable on a smaller campus with a more relaxed atmosphere.\u00a0 And it was at MSU that his virtuosity shone through; in an era when big men were planted firmly around the basket, Howell displayed a guard\u2019s shooting touch from the outside. He was a glimpse into the future of basketball, an offensive anomaly, and his presence on the court wreaked havoc on opposing defenses.\u00a0 Starting at forward as a sophomore \u2013 freshmen weren\u2019t allowed to play varsity sports at the time \u2013 Howell torched Rupp\u2019s Kentucky Wildcats for 37 points, serving notice that he could excel against the best programs in the country.<\/p>\n If the Kentucky game was Howell\u2019s coming-out party as a scorer, then his 34-rebound performance against LSU that same season cemented his reputation as the team\u2019s chairman of the boards.\u00a0 Howell finished the season by leading the NCAA in field goal percentage (.568), no small feat considering the Bulldogs\u2019 brutal SEC schedule, and was duly honored as the conference Sophomore of the Year.<\/p>\n By 1958, Howell was a Second Team All-America selection.\u00a0 His 27.8 PPG average placed him ninth in the nation, and he was honored as the Southeastern Conference MVP.\u00a0 The success did little to change the humble young man with the deft shooting touch; he continued to work hard and set goals, leading MSU to a 61-14 record over three seasons and capturing the SEC title in 1959.\u00a0 Howell was the first SEC player in history to reach the exclusive 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club, joining Tom Gola and Oscar Robertson as the only players with that distinction.\u00a0 First Team All-America honors followed his senior campaign, and Howell was suddenly one of the most coveted players in the 1959 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n Drafted by Detroit, Howell was an All-Star by his second season.\u00a0 The Pistons, however, struggled in the win column.\u00a0 During Howell\u2019s five years in Detroit, the team never finished better than second place in the standings.\u00a0 They were also unable to get past the Lakers and into the Finals.\u00a0 It was a frustrating period in Howell\u2019s professional life, but he never complained publicly.\u00a0 Nor did he demand a trade.\u00a0 Instead, he played five solid seasons for the Pistons, appearing in at least 75 games per campaign, while averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds over that span.<\/p>\n Struggling to improve, the Pistons traded Howell to the Baltimore Bullets prior to the 1964-65 regular season.\u00a0 Howell\u2019s two seasons in a Baltimore uniform proved to be even more challenging than the previous five in Detroit; the Bullets struggled despite a talent-laden roster, and the lack of team harmony began to wear on the MSU product.\u00a0 All of that changed on September 1, 1966, when Red Auerbach sent backup center Mel Counts to Baltimore in exchange for Howell.\u00a0 It was a move that helped rejuvenate both Howell and the aging world champions; despite having their string of eight consecutive NBA titles snapped by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics benefited immediately from Howell\u2019s offensive punch.\u00a0 His contributions factored heavily into the team\u2019s championship runs the following two seasons, giving Howell a pair of rings and the perfect capstone to a brilliant career.<\/p>\n Howell would play one more season, for Philadelphia.\u00a0 On September 29, 1997, he received basketball\u2019s highest honor \u2013 enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.\u00a0 Standing at the podium before a large contingent of family and friends, Howell thanked those closest to him as he reflected on a lifetime of hard work and dedication.\u00a0 To those who know Bailey Howell best, his humility was a true reflection of the man himself.<\/p>\n You were born on January 20, 1937 in Middleton, Tennessee.\u00a0 Please take me back to your childhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n Middleton was a very small town of maybe 300 people or so, and our family actually lived plumb out of the city limits.\u00a0 It was a rural, farming community with no industry to speak about.\u00a0 Tennessee Gas built a pump station there during my teenage years, with lines running from Texas and Louisiana on up into Tennessee.\u00a0 Other than that, the area was mostly made up of farms and small businesses.<\/p>\n Basketball was the only sport offered at our high school \u2013 there were no football or baseball teams for the students, so we\u2019d play pick-up games whenever we could.\u00a0 Our school year started in early August because we would turn out in late September, during the cotton harvest season.\u00a0 Basketball practice didn\u2019t start until after we resumed our classes, but we would get together on our own and practice whenever we could.\u00a0We played basketball most of the year.\u00a0 After the regular season was over we would play in the regional and class tournaments, and then we\u2019d play informally through the spring and summer.\u00a0 We only attended school eight months out of the year \u2013 we were always out in May, so that we could help chop cotton \u2013 so it was important to have a sport to play when we weren\u2019t working.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You were an All-State basketball player at Middleton High School in 1954 and 1955.\u00a0 As a senior you averaged 32.1 points-per-game, and received All-America honors for your outstanding play.\u00a0 Please share some of your basketball memories from this period in your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n We played thirty-five games during my senior season \u2013 we normally played twenty-five \u2013 and Middleton had some pretty good teams during that era.\u00a0 We reached the state tournament during my sophomore season, which was one of my biggest thrills, but we were upset in the regional finals as a senior.\u00a0 That was a very disappointing moment for everyone on the team because we felt we were good enough to reach the state tournament again.\u00a0\u00a0Following my senior season, I was selected to play in the annual Murray State High School North-South All-Star Basketball Game.\u00a0 I played well, grabbed a bunch of rebounds and was selected to the All-American team.\u00a0 They don\u2019t play that game anymore, but back then, that was one of the most prestigious events in high school basketball.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What led you to sign with Mississippi State?<\/strong><\/p>\n I wanted to play in the SEC.\u00a0 I had an opportunity to play at the University of Mississippi, which was closer to home, but I liked the casual atmosphere at Mississippi State.\u00a0 James “Babe” McCarthy was the coach at the time, and he was the reason I decided to enroll at MSU.\u00a0 He was ahead of his time as far as recruiting was concerned \u2013 he visited me, and made a real effort to sell the school to my family.\u00a0 He made sure that other individuals from the basketball program visited as well.\u00a0 Kentucky showed some interest, but [Adolph] Rupp sent Harry Lancaster, his assistant coach, with a scholarship offer.\u00a0 That was it.\u00a0 MSU just did a much better job.\u00a0 It finally came down to MSU and the University of Tennessee, and Knoxville was just too far away from home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a three-year letter-winner, you led MSU to a 61-14 record over three seasons, averaged 27 points-per-game, and helped garner the school\u2019s first-ever SEC crown.<\/strong><\/p>\n Back then you couldn\u2019t play on the varsity team as a freshman, but we defeated Kentucky during my sophomore season.\u00a0 It was the first time that had happened in thirty-five years, so that was a very big thrill.\u00a0 Another goal was to win the SEC Championship, and we were able to do that during my senior year.\u00a0 We also beat UK in Starkville that season \u2013 that was very satisfying, because back then we only played the SEC East teams once a season, while the West teams were always home-and-home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You were a two-time consensus All-American at MSU.\u00a0 Jerry West was also a member of those All-American teams.\u00a0 Did you ever have the opportunity to meet Jerry while you were playing basketball at MSU?<\/strong><\/p>\n No, I didn\u2019t meet Jerry until we were playing professionally.\u00a0 I knew who he was, and knew that he was a great talent, but our paths never crossed during college.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You were the second overall selection in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.\u00a0 What was that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n I heard about it on the radio.\u00a0 Cincinnati had the Number One pick that year, and there were rumors that the Royals were going to select me first.\u00a0 How true that is, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Back then the AAU teams were popular \u2013 teams like the Phillips Oilers and the Wichita Vickers Oilers had some of best talent in the country playing for them \u2013 and at the time AAU ball was an option.\u00a0 The league played a fifty game season, and you were trained in a management area of the company sponsoring the team.\u00a0 It was a great way to get in the door and start a career.\u00a0 Cincinnati called me before the draft and wanted to know if I\u2019d play pro ball.\u00a0 I gave them a number, but they made it clear that they wouldn\u2019t pay that kind of money.\u00a0 So there was supposed to have been a trade before the draft \u2013 I say ‘supposed,’ because in those days the deals weren\u2019t always made public \u2013 in which Detroit sent a player and money to Cincinnati, with the understanding that the Royals wouldn\u2019t take me or trade away the first pick.\u00a0 Whatever happened, the Pistons selected me with second pick and I was off to Detroit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of your teammates that first season was Early Lloyd who, earlier in his career, became the first African-American to play in an NBA game.\u00a0 Please tell me a little about Mr. Lloyd.<\/strong><\/p>\n I met Earl in training camp \u2013 he was a veteran who\u2019d been in the league for a number of years, and I was the rookie trying to take his playing time.\u00a0 But even though we were in competition for minutes, Earl took me under his wing and spent a great deal of time teaching me about the pro game.\u00a0 He was truly my mentor.\u00a0 We continued our friendship after our playing days were over, keeping in touch by phone and visiting occasionally.\u00a0 My wife and I were at his Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, and we were guests in his home not long after that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you prepare for the start of the regular season?<\/strong><\/p>\n We had training camp, played ten exhibition games, and that was it.\u00a0 When I moved on to Boston, the Celtics were still doing those barnstorming tours even though Red was no longer the coach.\u00a0 One time we played games on twenty-one straight nights.\u00a0 But as grueling as all of those games were, they always paid off in terms of a competitive advantage.\u00a0 The Celtics were the most well-conditioned team in the NBA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On November 25th, 1960, you registered NBA career-highs with 43 points and 32 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers.\u00a0 What was it like to play so well against the likes of Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a big thrill whenever something like that happened, because it didn\u2019t happen that often.\u00a0 The Lakers had Rudy LaRusso, who was their defensive stopper.\u00a0 He was a tough assignment.\u00a0 On a couple of occasions I grabbed more than thirty rebounds, but I don\u2019t remember one of them being the same night that I scored forty-three points.\u00a0 We played a double-header once, and I grabbed thirty-two rebounds against the Lakers.\u00a0 But LaRusso didn\u2019t let me score all of those points [laughs].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later that season, the Pistons battled the Lakers in the Western Division Semifinals, taking them to the five game limit.\u00a0 What was that experience like for you, and what still stands out about it after all of these years?<\/strong><\/p>\n The biggest thing was playing against Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.\u00a0 In my opinion, West ranks as one of the greatest guards to ever play the game \u2013 easily in the top three or four.\u00a0 And as for Baylor, I still consider him to be the top forward in the history of the NBA.\u00a0 I remember trying to stop him, and then realizing that nobody was going to stop Baylor \u2013 especially me [laughs].\u00a0 So I went into each game with the mindset that I was going to make him earn his points.\u00a0 He might score thirty, but he was going to take a lot of shots to get there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What was it like competing against those great Celtics teams?<\/strong><\/p>\n When we played the Celtics, they had some of their greatest teams.\u00a0 Players like Bill Russell, Sam Jones, and Tommy Heinsohn were in their prime.\u00a0 Bob Cousy was winding up his Hall of Fame career.\u00a0 As for Havlicek, he started out playing the role of Sixth Man, and he wasn\u2019t an outstanding shooter at that point in his career.\u00a0 He later became a terrific shooter through practice and dedication, and that was part of what made him so great.\u00a0 The other thing was his tremendous stamina.\u00a0 I believe his resting heart rate was close to forty beats-per-minute, which allowed him to outrun and outlast the opposition.\u00a0 He\u2019d just keep running, and eventually the other guy would wear down.<\/p>\n Havlicek was a difficult matchup.\u00a0 He was big enough to play forward and quick enough to play guard.\u00a0 Because of these advantages, he really presented problems wherever he was asked to play.\u00a0 He could run the floor against the big, slow guys, and he could step out on the quick guards and really play great defense.\u00a0 Kevin McHale was the only other player I saw who really posed the same kind of matchup problems.\u00a0 McHale also started out as the Celtics\u2019 Sixth Man, and he was really able to use his height \u2013 and long arms \u2013 at the forward position.\u00a0 He could do this because he had Robert Parish playing center beside him.\u00a0 Having Chief there allowed McHale to shoot over the forwards, but he could also use those incredible moves to get around the slower players.\u00a0 So where Havlicek got his mismatches against guards and forwards, McHale got his against forwards and centers.<\/p>\n When the Pistons played the Celtics I wasn\u2019t matched up against Havlicek.\u00a0 It was usually Tom Sanders.\u00a0 He was the Celtics\u2019 defensive stopper, and he going to Boston I always knew I\u2019d be in for some difficult times.\u00a0 Tom played me well, and that was only part of it.\u00a0 There was all of that talent and tradition, and the great Bill Russell.\u00a0 He was the league MVP, and probably the greatest player ever.\u00a0 So playing Boston was not an easy assignment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following five seasons with the Pistons, you found yourself in Baltimore.<\/strong><\/p>\n Baltimore was an expansion team \u2013 they were known as the Chicago Zephyrs during the 1961-62 season, but then moved to Baltimore and changed their name to the Bullets.\u00a0 They had some successful teams early on.\u00a0 In Detroit, we finished second in the West to the St. Louis Hawks (1959-60) and then really struggled.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t win half of our games after that, but each season we seemed to improve.\u00a0 I felt that we were getting ready to contend for the Western Division title.\u00a0 Coach Dick McGuire retired after the 1962-63 season, and then the Pistons brought in Charlie Wolf.\u00a0 Charlie had coached the Cincinnati Royals for three seasons prior to taking over in Detroit.\u00a0 He changed a lot of things and, looking back, he made a lot of bad decisions.\u00a0 We won only 23 games that year.\u00a0 The Pistons didn\u2019t fire him \u2013 instead, they decided to make a gigantic trade involving a bunch of players.\u00a0 Four or five went to Baltimore, along with a draft choice, and three or four of the Bullet players ended up with the Pistons.\u00a0 The Pistons started the next season 2-9 and Wolf was fired.\u00a0 They were able to rebuild with players like Dave Bing and Dave DeBusschere, and really get the franchise back on its feet.<\/p>\n The Bullets had a really good club, but the team concept was lacking.\u00a0 We won most of our home games, lost most of our road games, and never really figured out how to play together.\u00a0 We won thirty-seven games that season and wound up in third place in our division.\u00a0 We played the Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, splitting the two games in St. Louis and then winning the next two at home.\u00a0 We just couldn\u2019t beat the Lakers on the road.\u00a0 They took us 4-2 in that series.\u00a0 All six games were competitive.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1966, Red Auerbach acquired you in a trade that sent Mel Counts to Baltimore.\u00a0 What do you remember most about that first season in Boston?<\/b><\/p>\n It was a big thrill to go to a club with mediocre success to a team that had won eight NBA championships in a row.\u00a0 I got to play with players like Sam Jones, John Havlicek and Bill Russell, which was very special for me because they were such special people.\u00a0 The Celtics were the defending champions when I arrived, but they were aging together as a team.\u00a0 The key players were brought in at roughly the same time, and the team always had the last pick in the draft.\u00a0 That made it much harder to bring young guys along, so Red offset this by making trades to improve the team.\u00a0 Willie Naulls is a good example of this.\u00a0 Don Nelson and Wayne Embry played for the Celtics because of Red\u2019s shrewdness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Auerbach looked like a genius after that trade.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mel Counts was a backup center, a seven-footer who couldn\u2019t shoot from outside.\u00a0 And because Russell was playing forty-eight minutes a game, Counts never got the opportunity to play.\u00a0 Red used this to his advantage.\u00a0 He had an unknown commodity, so he built Counts up in the eyes of the Baltimore brass.\u00a0 There was a glut of forwards on the team at the time, thanks to a trade with New York, and there wasn\u2019t really a center on the roster.\u00a0 Johnny Kerr was at the end of his career, and he was dealing with back problems.\u00a0 Bob Ferry wasn\u2019t really big enough to play center.\u00a0 So when the Bullets traded Walt Bellamy to the Knicks just eight games into the 1965-66 season, the team began to explore trade opportunities.\u00a0 They decided to part with either a Bailey Howell or a Gus Johnson in order to get their center.\u00a0 It was a big break for me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The great Bill Russell was your teammate during your first three seasons in Boston.\u00a0 Please tell me about Mr. Russell.\u00a0 How did he handle the dual roles of player\/coach?<\/b><\/p>\n It was a very difficult job, without question, but he handled it well.\u00a0 The team was getting up in years.\u00a0 Philly was the up-and-coming team.\u00a0 The previous season the Sixers had the better record, and then they set the record for most wins.\u00a0 They had players like Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham.\u00a0 And after Philly beat us 4-1 in the playoffs, everyone from the media to the fans was saying that the dynasty was over.\u00a0 Boston was dead.\u00a0 But we still had Bill Russell, and that was the biggest factor working in our favor.\u00a0 Great players make the game easier for his teammates.\u00a0 Bill did that.\u00a0 He was the greatest MVP that ever walked onto the floor.<\/p>\n As a coach, Bill learned a lot that first year.\u00a0 He also had a veteran team, which really helped, because the players knew what it took to win a championship.\u00a0 I\u2019m not so sure it would have worked if he had a roster full of younger players.\u00a0 He was able to win championships those last two years, even though the team was continuing to age, and even though the Celtics were winning few games during the regular season.\u00a0 We were 48-34 in 1968-69, but we were able to win the games that counted.\u00a0 Bill deserves a lot of credit for that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It would be hard to find a greater guard during that era than Sam Jones.<\/b><\/p>\n Sam was a great person, a prolific scorer, and a complete basketball player.\u00a0 He was also a big guard with a magic touch.\u00a0 Whatever he did, he did well \u2013 whether is was playing cards, basketball, or anything else for that matter.\u00a0 Anyone who played with him knew that Sam was a competitor and a winner.\u00a0 The Celtics had a lot of guys like that.<\/p>\n Sam was at his most productive on the nights when the Celtics needed him most.\u00a0 He was always a better player in the big games \u2013 not because he was holding back at other times, but because he loved to play under pressure.\u00a0 He could raise his game when the stakes were the highest.\u00a0 Sam Jones was a joy to play with.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1967, the Celtics had their streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships snapped.\u00a0 Many experts thought that Boston was too old to win another title, but in 1968 that\u2019s exactly what happened.\u00a0 What was it like for you to finally win an NBA championship?<\/b><\/p>\n It was very satisfying.\u00a0 We won that \u201968 title by beating the Lakers in six games, the last of which was in Los Angeles.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t surprise me, because our road record that year was outstanding.\u00a0 We took two of three road games against Detroit in the first round of the playoffs, three-of-four from Philly in the Eastern Division Finals, and then two-of-three from the Lakers to win it all.\u00a0 Philly had the best record in the league again, with basically the same club that won the title the year before, and we finished even farther behind them in the standings.\u00a0 But we played better at the most crucial times.\u00a0 We won Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7 in Philly \u2013 in our minds, the team that presented the biggest obstacle in winning it all.\u00a0 We were favored to beat the Lakers, and we dominated them.<\/p>\n The next year Wilt was traded to Los Angeles.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t the same without him, and we beat the Sixers 4-1 in the opening round.\u00a0 New York was developing a really good club at that time, with players like Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley.\u00a0 They were the up-and-coming team, but we beat them head-to-head and ended up facing the Lakers again in the Finals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your Celtics defeated the Lakers in the 1969 NBA Finals, winning that memorable Game 7 in L.A.\u00a0 Please take me back to that classic series.<\/strong><\/p>\n We barely made the playoffs that season.\u00a0 We were 48-34, but we were able to put it together in the playoffs.\u00a0 The Finals against the Lakers was a tough, competitive, hard, monumental struggle.\u00a0 We prevailed, but I remember having no energy left after it was over.\u00a0 I was so tired, but it still felt great because we\u2019d won another championship.<\/p>\n That seventh game was famous for a number of reasons.\u00a0 Everyone remembers that Wilt took himself out of the game with a leg injury, and that [Lakers head coach] Butch\u00a0van Breda Kolff refused to let him back on the court with the game close in the fourth quarter.\u00a0 There was about six minutes left in the game when Wilt twisted his right knee and left the game, but what many people don\u2019t know is how mad Russell was when that happened.\u00a0 He was really angry, because the Lakers were really being beaten when Wilt left.\u00a0 In his mind it ruined a good game.\u00a0 Russell wanted to win the championship with both teams at their best, and he openly questioned whether Wilt was seriously injured.\u00a0 He felt that Wilt wanted out because the Celtics were winning the game so decisively, and that the injury was an excuse to leave the game.\u00a0 It tarnished the last battle between the game\u2019s two greatest centers.\u00a0 They eventually patched things up, but for many years that game was a great source of friction between them.\u00a0 That says something about Russell\u2019s competitive drive.<\/p>\n Wilt\u2019s injury changed the momentum of the game.\u00a0 We had a letdown after that.\u00a0 Mel Counts came off the bench and helped to spark a Laker rally, and suddenly the game got tight.\u00a0 Wilt wanted to return, but van Breda Kolff wouldn\u2019t let him back off the bench.\u00a0 And then Don Nelson hit that big jumper, the one that rattled home and helped us win the series.<\/p>\n The other memory is one of all of those balloons \u2013 Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke had thousands of them hanging in a giant net high above the court, ready for the championship celebration.\u00a0 Russell and Sam Jones took one look at that, got very angry, and used it as a source of motivation.\u00a0 They were going to make sure that those balloons didn\u2019t come down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everyone, it seems, has their favorite Red Auerbach story.\u00a0 Do you have one that stands out?<\/strong><\/p>\n I only played for Red in two All-Star Games and one regular season game, because Red had retired as head coach after the 1965-66 season.\u00a0 There was a terrible snowstorm coming in off the ocean that first season.\u00a0 It dumped a lot of snow in Boston, making it really hard to get around.\u00a0 Well, back then we used to play doubleheaders, which meant that the visiting team would arrive in town a day early, and on this occasion it actually made it easier for our opponent to reach the Boston Garden.\u00a0 They were already in a downtown hotel.\u00a0 The only Boston players who made it to the game that night were the ones who lived close.\u00a0 I walked a mile over frozen tracks to make it.\u00a0 John Havlicek got stuck on the Mystic River Bridge \u2013 he left his wife and car and walked in.\u00a0 Russell got stuck on the same bridge, but he wasn\u2019t about to abandon his Lamborghini [laughs].<\/p>\n So Russell didn\u2019t make it that night.\u00a0 Red called a timeout during the game, and in the huddle he looked over to me.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t been shooting the ball well.\u00a0 Red said, \u201cHowell, don\u2019t worry about missing those shots.\u00a0 I\u2019ll worry about you missing those shots.\u00a0 Just make sure that you take the open shot \u2013 if you don\u2019t, then you\u2019re going to be sitting on the bench with me.\u201d\u00a0 Well, I went on to have one of my most productive nights.\u00a0 I think I scored thirty-seven points.\u00a0 Red was a genius at handling people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On September 29, 1997 you received basketball\u2019s highest honor.\u00a0 Please take me back to your Hall of Fame induction.<\/strong><\/p>\n That was icing on the cake for me.\u00a0 Many of my heroes \u2013 the people that I admired and looked up to \u2013 were already in the Hall of Fame, so it was a thrill to join them.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t have the words to describe what I felt that night.\u00a0 It was a great evening.\u00a0 I was very proud \u2013 most of my family was there, so it was one of the big highlights of my life.\u00a0 To be recognized in my profession as one of the people who achieved, as one who tried to reach my full potential\u2026it was a very humbling experience.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Final Question:\u00a0 If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t take any shortcuts.\u00a0 Be willing to go the extra mile, and to do things the right way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Michael D. McClellan |\u00a0The game came easily to him. From the first time he picked up a basketball, to later earning All-America honors in both high school and college, Bailey Howell possessed a gift that quickly set him apart from his peers. He was a natural on the court, at home within its geometric […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[774,773],"tags":[351],"class_list":["post-16288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics-dynasty","category-featured-interview","tag-bailey-howell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/basketball.png\")
<\/p>\n