The Greg Kite Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Tell me about the 1983 NBA Draft. What was
the experience like for you, and how has the
draft changed over the years?
That summer the Celtics traded Rick Robey to
the Phoenix Suns for Dennis Johnson and a
first round pick. What that did was
open up a spot for a backup center. Red
Auerbach really wanted to pick Roy Hinson
from Rutgers. Hinson was a heck of a player
who ended up having some knee problems later
on, and Roy had really long arms like Kevin
McHale. He could reach four or five inches
higher than I could, even though he was only
6'-9”. So Red really wanted him and hoped he
would last until the Celtics could pick, but
Roy was selected by Cleveland. I was the
alternative. Red knew who I was – BYU played
St. John's and St. Joe's in a holiday
tournament at Madison Square Garden in New
York, and Red had been there scouting. I
didn't think much about it then, but I must
have made an impression on him.
As I said before, I was disappointed in how
I played at BYU, particularly on the
offensive end of the court. I wasn't much of
a scorer in college – I could score here and
there, but overall I was pretty erratic. So
I don't think a lot of people expected me to
be drafted as high as I was. But I got was
some good advice from various people, and
after my senior year was over I really
cranked up the workouts and stayed in great
shape. I got to play in a couple of college
all-star games and did very well in those,
particularly one in Hawaii - the Aloha
Classic – that had a lot of scouts there. I
also played well in the Chicago pre-draft
camp. So I think those things helped my
stock, and probably helped move me from
being a second round pick to a low first
round pick.
In those days they still had the draft on
cable. I remember sitting in my in-laws'
house in Orlando, Florida. I'd had some
conversations with teams but most of that
had been over the phone. In those days they
didn't fly you in for workouts like they do
today. So I really had no advance indication
that Boston was going to pick me. The top
ten or fifteen guys were in New York but I
wasn't there. I was just reached by phone
immediately after being picked. So it was
pretty exciting. I had some indication that
I may go late in the first round, but I
didn't know for sure and I didn't know which
team I might be going to.
To be selected by the Celtics was fantastic.
What an opportunity, with Bird, McHale,
Parish and DJ being there and with all of
that championship tradition. To join a
championship-caliber team as a rookie was
very fortuitous.
What was
it like to meet Red Auerbach for the first time? What do you remember about
him the most?
The Celtics used to have their rookie camp
in Marshfield, Massachusetts, and I believe
that's the first time that I met Red. I
think he was driving around on a golf cart,
because we'd play our day games on the
outside courts and then we'd play our night
games at the gym at Marshfield High. We were
there for five days. The first time I saw
Red he was sitting on that golf cart smoking
a cigar. I guess if you'd take that cigar
away from Red he'd probably tip over
[laughs].
Red was very, very wise. He was very sure of
himself, too, but he could obviously afford
to be. But I think the wisdom and foresight
to know that the team needs the right parts
and the right chemistry to truly be
successful is what set Red apart. You also
had to have the individual experience of the
player, and also the collective experience
of the team. Red was a master at finding the
right pieces and putting them together.
That's what helped to create all those
championship teams in Boston. They were the
right individual pieces that fit together to
form a great team. Red was a genius at
recognizing talent and understanding people.
Tell me about your first NBA head coach, KC
Jones.
I
loved playing for KC. I've always said that
if you were a basketball player and you
couldn't get along with KC Jones then you
couldn't get along with anyone. He's about
as nice a guy as you could imagine. Guys
really enjoyed playing from him. He was a
very good basketball mind. He probably
doesn't get the credit that he deserves, but
he was a great fit for that team and those
years. We had some very experienced veteran
players, so we didn't need someone leaning
on us.
There are a lot of great stories from those
years. I remember occasions during games
when KC would call a timeout and huddle us
up, and he'd start to draw diagrams on his
clipboard. He might tell Larry to inbound
the ball, DJ to run to the corner, Chief to
go to the low post and set a screen, and
Danny to rotate over on the wing. And then
he'd tell Larry to come off a screen, and
then everyone would realize he'd just put
Larry in two places on that inbound play –
he'd have him inbounding the ball and coming
off the screen [laughs]. Which wasn't a bad
idea, because if you could get Larry in two
places on the court at the same time you'd
do that every time. We had a big laugh over
that one, but all in good fun.
But seriously, KC was a great basketball
mind. He'd played his college ball at the
University of San Francisco with Bill
Russell, and then he'd come to the Celtics
via the draft and played his entire NBA
career for the Celtics. So he knew about
winning from his days at USF, and as a
Celtic player he'd absorbed the culture that
Red had developed in Boston. That really
helped make him the perfect coach for us,
because he knew what made people tick and he
knew how to manage people. He really knew
how to lead in that regard, which was what
we needed because of the great players
assembled on that team. He could get
everyone to check their egos at the door and
put aside individual goals in favor of team
goals. I loved playing for KC.
Dennis Johnson joined the Celtics the same season as you. Please tell me about the late Dennis Johnson.
Dennis was a great teammate. All of those
guys were good guys and we all got along. We
had fun, we rode each other hard, and DJ was
a big part of that. He had a great sense of
humor and he was a fun guy to be around, but
he was also an excellent player. He was a
player who wasn't afraid of the big-time
situations and who wasn't afraid of the
pressure. He excelled well in those
circumstances.
He was also a good guy who was concerned
about the other guys on the team, including
the rookies and the guys who weren't ever
going to be stars in the league. He was
always willing to give you a little advice
here and there, whether it was on the court
or off the court, and we really liked him as
a teammate.
The interesting thing with DJ is that Red
and Larry both recognized the things that
made DJ tick. Larry is famous for calling DJ
the best player he'd ever played with. One
of the things that was important to DJ was
him getting that recognition for what he
brought to the team. And that was especially
important in Boston with so many future hall
of fame players on the roster – guys like
Bird, McHale, Parish and later Bill Walton.
So if DJ wasn't getting that recognition,
those were the times when he might be down a
little bit. But it was briefly, never more
than a game or two, but Red and Larry
understood how important it was to keep DJ
upbeat and motivated, so they were very
quick to recognize DJ publicly for the
things he brought to the team.
