My brother and my father both taught me a great deal about the game.  I often found myself playing against older kids, which meant that they were usually bigger and stronger, and I benefited greatly from those experiences.  It certainly furthered my development as a basketball player, both from a fundamentals standpoint and a confidence standpoint.  My dribbling and ball handling skills improved tremendously.

You graduated from Redondo Beach's Aviation High in 1968, where you were named CIF “Player of the Year” as a senior after averaging 32.5 points a game.  What was the social and political climate like during this phase of your life, and did it affect your basketball in any way?
 
Redondo Beach was pretty much a bubble, and in many respects we really weren’t affected by the turbulence of the times.  It was a great place to grow up.  There was no tension in our neighborhood, and you could go outside and play without fear.  It was a great childhood – I rode my bike everywhere, played baseball, you name it. 

My father was an aeronautical engineer, and very much devoted to his family.  We had a comfortable lifestyle.  We weren’t rich by any means, but we didn’t have to scratch, either.  It wasn’t a hard existence.  We had everything we needed, really.

Basketball allowed me to travel quite a bit, and somewhere during this period I gained a reputation for being a pretty good player.  I was just as comfortable going up against the inner-city kids from Compton as I was the competition in Redondo Beach.  I took great pride in my ability to excel in these environments.

The 1960s was known for many things – Vietnam, JFK, Martin Luther King, the Beatles.  It was also the decade of dominance for the Boston Celtics.  Did you follow the Celtics at all, and what were your impressions of those great battles with the Los Angeles Lakers?
 
Oh yes, I was very much aware of the Celtics’ accomplishments, as well as the intense rivalry that existed between the two teams.  For his part, Chick Hearn put Laker basketball on the map.  By listening to him I gained a true appreciation for those battles between the Lakers and Celtics.  I knew about the great Bill Russell and the legendary Red Auerbach and all of those great teams, and I’m proud to have been a part of that storied tradition.  Even though I played in Boston for just three seasons – and never started a game [laughs] – I still consider myself a Boston Celtic.  There are still people today – especially those who followed the game closely at that time – who still associate me with the Celtic organization.

My  connection to the Celtics actually goes back further than my playing career.  I can say that I was there the night Bob Cousy played his last game.

How old were you?

I was on an all-star team in junior high.  We would travel and play exhibitions, and one of our games happened to coincide with Cousy’s farewell.  We played at halftime, and I remember how special that occasion was…I have nothing but fond memories of that event.

You were a three-time All-Pacific 8 Conference performer and a two-time All-American at USC, which is the same school attended by former Celtic great Bill Sharman.  Were you aware of Mr. Sharman’s basketball accomplishments, and did you think you would follow him into the NBA?
 
Sure I did.  I was very familiar with Bill’s career, both as a player and as a coach.  He was highly respected, and it was an honor to be follow in his footsteps at USC.  He enjoyed success on so many levels, winning championships as a player with the Celtics and later as coach of the Lakers.

As a junior, USC compiled a 24-2 record during the 1970-71 campaign, with the only two losses being to cross-town rival UCLA.  Please tell me a little about John Wooden.  Also, did he influence your coaching in any way?
 
Yes, Coach Wooden has been a tremendous influence on me.  In my opinion he is the greatest collegiate basketball coach the game has ever known, and I also feel that Red Auerbach holds the same distinction at the professional level.  And although I didn’t play for either of them, I certainly feel that I’ve studied under both of these great men.  They are so different and yet so very much the same.  Both were obviously influenced by their environments, with Coach Wooden living out west and Red being born and raised in New York.  But at the core, both have so much in common, especially basketball-wise.  Both understand the importance of playing unselfish, team-oriented basketball, and both have that rare ability to cut directly to what matters most in a given situation.