The Ernie Barrett Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Sunday, August 22nd, 2004
Please tell me about Mr. Cousy.
There’s so much to say that you could probably write a
book on him and not cover it all. Bob was my roommate,
and he was an unbelievable player. He’s one of the rare
players from that era who could play in the NBA today.
To show you how times have changed, he was the highest
paid player in the NBA in those days and his yearly
salary may not have been $20,000. Red always told us to
keep our eye on the ball when Bob was on the floor. I
made that mistake once during an exhibition game in
Bangor. I took my eye off the ball for just an instant
and Bob hit me in the face with a perfect pass.
[Laughs].
The two of you have remained very close through the
years. Do you have a funny story that you would care to
share?
There are so many! We went to Philly for a road game,
and we’re rooming together. I’m asleep in my hotel room
and Bob is out on the town. The phone rings, wakes me
up. It’s him. He says, “Rook, what are you doing?” I
say, “Sleeping!” Then Bob says, “Get out of bed and
come get me.” I say, “This is Philadelphia. How do I
know where you are?” Then Bob looks at the flashing
signpost on the corner and says, “I’m at the corner of
Walk and Don’t Walk!” [Laughs].
Bill Sharman is legendary for his free throw shooting.
What kind of player was Mr. Sharman?
Bill is another outstanding individual. We used to play
one-on-one after practice, and we had some real
knockdowns. I always accused him of taking an extra
step during those games, but he always responded with
“It’s legal in this league.” [Laughs]. Bill was very
quick, and a great athlete – he was an outstanding
baseball player. Red worked a lot of screens for him,
so that he could get off those jumpers and set shots.
And he was the best free throw shooter in the NBA.
The 1955-56 Boston Celtics led the league in scoring
with a 106 ppg average. Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman and Ed
Macauley finish 6th, 7th and 8th
in the league in scoring, respectively. Please take me
back to that season, and tell me a little about Mr.
Macauley.
Ed was an outstanding player as well. I played against
him in college, and that’s when I realized how good a
shooter he was. He was tall, but he didn’t weigh much,
so he wasn’t very physical. He wasn’t a strong
rebounder. Red worked him into the fast break, which
took advantage of his speed and his ability to run the
court.
