The Henry Finkel Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, March 20th,
2006
A
year later the Celtics won twelve fewer games, finishing 56-26, but the end
result was a world championship – the team’s first since the retirement of
Bill Russell. Please tell me about that playoff run, the win over the
Milwaukee Bucks, and what it was like to be a part of that first
post-Russell championship team.
Well,
Milwaukee had a pretty good team, too. They had Kareem at center and Oscar
Robertson at guard. They had Bobby Dandridge. I remember getting to play
quite a bit in that series, because Kareem got Dave in foul trouble a couple
of times. It was just a great feeling to win the championship, but there
was more to it than that. I’ve said all along that being a Boston Celtic
was the greatest thrill of my basketball career. Winning the championship
was the icing on the cake. When you’re a part of an organization that has
Red as the general manager and Heinsohn as the coach, and all of those great
players as teammates, that’s the epitome of playing for the Celtics.
The second
greatest thing was my teammates. You go from Silas to Havlicek to Cowens,
and on down the line. Jo Jo, Don Chaney, Paul Westphal. You just can’t
beat playing with guys like that. And the third greatest thing was winning
that championship, because everybody wants to win a championship. But
again, the greatest thrill was just being a part of the Celtic family.
Nothing compares to that.
You played one more season before retiring from professional basketball.
Don Nelson, your former teammate later offered you the chance to scout for
him. Please tell me a little about Mr. Nelson.
Nellie
was a great shooter. A great team player. Knew the fundamentals. Always
looked out for his teammates on the court, but he was a great shooter. I
remember once particular incident where Nellie had 9,999 points, and he
needed another hoop or another foul shot to get 10,000 points – which was
quite a feat in the NBA, especially at that time. There was a timeout, and
Heinsohn asked Nellie what he wanted. And Nellie said, ‘Have Finkel set the
pick.’ Sure enough, I set the pick, and Nellie came off of it, hit the
basket, and surpassed 10,000 points. Nellie wasn’t a superstar, but he was
a basic, fundamental, all-around player. That’s why he was so successful as
a coach. He knew the entire game.
The Celtics would win two championships during the 1970s but, in many ways,
these titles tend to get overlooked. Do you think this is because both
titles were sandwiched between the Bill Russell and Larry Bird Eras?
Probably.
You got two players right there that are the greatest in franchise history –
and two of the best in the history of the NBA. Red has said that if he had
to start a team from scratch, he didn’t know if he would pick Bird or
Russell. So, you are probably right. But I’ll tell you what – I’ve said it
before and I’ll say it again; you’ll never see another Dave Cowens. The guy
was 6’9”, and he played with so much heart and tenacity. You’ll never see
another guy that size play center and be that effective in the NBA. And
then you have Havlicek, Jo Jo, Chaney, and Westphal. We had great teams,
too, but you’re probably right. The marquee names of Russell and Bird are
what causes us to get lost in the shuffle.
You have a special relationship with the Volk family. Please tell me a
little about the late Jerry Volk, and also a little about his son, Jan.
Jerry
Volk, in my opinion, was just a perfect gentleman. I was put on waivers,
and my wife and I were contemplating going back to San Diego. The weather
was nice, and I had an opportunity to teach school out there. I had already
lived in Boston for seven years. We owned a house and had two children who
were in the school system there, and this was the place we’d lived the
longest since college. So my wife and I were trying to figure out what to
do when Jan called. He said that his father wanted to talk to me. This was
in November, when all of the teaching and coaching jobs were pretty much
taken. So Jerry said, ‘I don’t know what your plans are, but what don’t you
go to work for me? You could make a few bucks and see if you like
business.’ And the rest is history. It’s because of Jerry Volk that I own
a business now.
Unfortunately I went to a Celt game when Larry Bird was playing, and Rick Weitzman was sitting next to me at the press table. He said, ‘Did you hear what happened to Jerry today?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Jerry had a heart attack and dropped dead.’ That just broke my heart. I’m forever indebted to Jerry for giving me that opportunity. He was just a great guy. And Jan Volk – I didn’t know him as general manager of the Boston Celtics, to be honest with you. But I understand that he was really good at managing the salary cap and organizing a team.
And your relationship with Tommy Heinsohn?
I
can’t say enough about Heinie. I think he really appreciated the way I
would dive on the floor. I think he appreciated that I wasn’t afraid to
bump and bang and shove. He really appreciated those kinds of things. He
kept me on the team for six-plus years, so he must have liked what he saw
out of my effort. Great coach. I think he retired prematurely. He’s been
very successful in broadcasting, and he’s making a good buck, but I still
say that it doesn’t matter where he went, he would have made a great coach.
He made the playoffs seven out of eight years, and he won the championship
twice. Nowadays you have 30+ teams, so you have a lot of mediocre teams.
Back them you had fewer teams, and every team had at least two superstars.
Golden State had Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond, plus a multitude of other
players. Cincinnati had Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. And back then
fewer teams made the playoffs. It was much harder to qualify. So Heinsohn
really did a heck of a job.
Final
Question: You’ve achieved great success in your life. You are universally
respected and admired by many people, both inside and outside of the NBA.
If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that
be?
The
same thing that Red Auerbach always said to us. He said, ‘I’ll tell you
something; you’re either going to play, or you’re not going to play. There
is no gray area.’ And he said, ‘If you’re not going to play, then let me
know. I’ll put someone else in that will play.’ That’s why he had a place
for each of his players. He wanted guys that would give him 110% every
single night, no excuses. That’s why I don’t accept excuses now from my
children or anybody. There is no gray area in anything in life. It’s
either black or it’s white. You’re either going to do it or you’re not.
And my choice was not only to do it, but to give it 110% every night. I
learned that from Red.
