Another difference is the immediacy of today’s draft.  I didn’t realize who drafted me until Mary Wayland, who was Red’s secretary at the time, called to tell me that I’d been chosen by the Celtics.  Back then, players received telegrams letting them know which team had chosen them.  My telegram was delivered to the wrong destination – Southern California College instead of USC – so I didn’t actually receive mine until two days later [laughs].

As for the draft itself, I had absolutely no idea where I’d end up being taken.  I’d injured my knee during my senior year at USC and missed the second half of the season, and that made it difficult to figure out where I’d go.  I felt that I could have been anywhere from the top two or three players selected to not being drafted at all.  Because of my knee, the Celtics took a big chance on me.  They had no idea whether it would be sound enough to withstand the rigors of NBA basketball, and that made their selection somewhat of a gamble.

You joined the Celtics in the fall of 1972.  please take me back to your first NBA training camp.
 
Today it can take an NBA player up to three days just to pass a physical.  Why?  Because the monetary concerns dictate that teams be much more thorough when it comes to a player’s health.  When I played, I took my physical a full ten minutes before the first practice [laughs].  There was a doctor on a stool in the locker room, and his examination wasn’t much more than a simple turn-of-the-head-and-cough.

I remember playing outdoors, on asphalt – that stands out in my mind because of my knee.  We practiced at Camp Milbrook and at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  Red wasn’t the coach but he was always there.  We would practice defense for an hour in the mornings, and then follow that with an hour-long scrimmage.  The afternoon session was focused primarily on the offense, so we’d run through our offensive sets for an hour and then go straight into another scrimmage.  It was hard.  There were times when we’d practice to the point of exhaustion.

The Celtics had a great system in place for bringing along young players.  The coaching staff didn’t yell at the young guys, so they weren’t scared or afraid to make a mistake.  It was a very educational experience, and one that was helpful in my development as a professional basketball player.

The Celtics won 68 games during your rookie season, still a team record.  Was it a bittersweet accomplishment, given that the team lost in the conference finals to the Knicks?
 
This was one of the times when I felt that the best team in the NBA didn’t win the championship.  We had a phenomenal year, but Havlicek was hurt and couldn’t raise his arm above his shoulder.  He just wasn’t himself.  It was a very disappointing series.

It was one of those series where nothing seemed to go right for us.  I remember the ref making a horrible call on a lob pass that I caught in midair.  When I caught the ball I was going to shoot it, but it just didn’t feel right in my hands.  I decided to come down with the ball and then go back up, but the referee called traveling on the play.  That call cost us possession of the basketball.  The whole series seemed to be like that.

Dave Cowens was named the league MVP following the 1972-73 season.  Please tell me what you remember most about Dave’s play that year.
 
[Pause].  What can I say?  There is so much, but if I had to pick one thing it would be the intensity that Dave brought to the court.  The look in his eyes is something that I can’t find words to adequately describe.  You had to see that look for yourself to know what I’m talking about.  It was scary.  He was so focused on the game.  It didn’t matter whether it was ripping down a big rebound or diving for a loose ball.  Dave and Paul [Silas] were quite a combination on the boards.

Tom Heinsohn was your coach while with the Celtics.  Do you see any of Tom’s traits in your own coaching?
 
I hope so.  Tommy is such a special person – not to mention my first professional coach.  He had more success and received more criticism than anyone I’ve ever known, and much of this had to do with him following in Red’s footsteps as the head coach of the Boston Celtics.  When Tommy was winning a lot of people assumed that Red was coaching behind the scenes.  It was unfair, and very much a sore spot with him.

Tommy was an intense competitor, both as a player and a coach, and at times he felt he could win by the sheer force of his will.  It was easy to see how much he cared about the Celtics.  He played as hard as anybody, and he coached the same way.