The Scott Wedman Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Sunday, November 14th, 2004
You
were born on July 29th, 1952 in Harper, Kansas. Harper is located
within 60 miles of the hometowns of former Celtics Bob Brannum (Winfield, KS)
and Ernie Barrett (Wellington, KS). Please take me back to your childhood in
Harper. What are some of the things that stand out in your mind after all these
years?
We lived
in Harper a very short time during my childhood– my parents moved to Denver when
I was five years old. Harper was a farming community, so there were plenty of
wide-open spaces for kids to play. Both sets of grandparents were there, so it
was a good, wholesome family atmosphere. We moved back to Harper briefly, which
was during my fourth and fifth grade years, before moving to Denver for good. I
have fond memories of my time there, though. Being close to my grandparents and
enjoying them are probably the memories that stand out most.
You
graduated from Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado. Please tell me about
the path that led you to Mullen High, and also about your basketball career
there.
I was raised
Catholic and attended Mullen, which is a Christian Brothers Catholic
school. It’s known for both academics and athletics, so the majority of the
student body was there to excel in one or the other – or, in some cases,
both. As a freshman I wasn’t much athletically. I was 5’-6” tall and 120
pounds, which made me one of the smallest players on the team. That first
year at Mullen I was second string on the B team, but the important thing to
me was that I didn’t get cut [laughs]. It took me a while for my body to
catch up with my skill level. I kept working and practicing, and by my
senior year I was 6’-4” varsity player and made the all-state team.
I was fortunate to have a good basketball foundation prior to attending
Mullen. Bill Harris was my first significant coach, and he did a fantastic
job of teaching me the fundamentals. He was a Denver policeman who
volunteered his time and energy, and who provided a real calming effect as I
began my career in competitive athletics. He coached my sixth grade team to
the city championship, worked with me for more than two years, and helped to
get my game on solid footing.
My high school coach at Mullen was Rick Egloff, who played quarterback at
the University of Wyoming. He led the Cowboys to the 1966 Sun Bowl team.
He was a young head coach, probably twenty-four or twenty-five at the time,
and was very supportive in my development as a basketball player. He
contacted Bill Strannigan, then the head coach at the University of Wyoming,
who offered me a full scholarship to play basketball. The University of
Colorado entered the picture at about the same time, so I had two schools
from which to choose. I ended up choosing Colorado and went there on a
partial scholarship.
While at
Colorado, you set the field goal percentage record by shooting 53.5% from
the floor. As a professional, you shot above 50% for three consecutive
seasons and earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most deadly shooters.
What was the secret to such outstanding marksmanship?
I think my secret
was a love of the game. For me, practice was never laborious. I would
practice with the team and then work out on my own, and I truly enjoyed ever
moment of it. My goal was always the same – to make ever shot. This helped
me to stay focused on the proper mechanics, such as squaring up, releasing
the ball, and following through. I think enjoying basketball so much was a
big advantage for me, because I wanted to learn more and I stayed longer to
practice on that aspect of my game. Also, it really helped that I had
excellent coaches and teachers along the way.
I never stopped shooting. While with the Celtics, I remember Danny Ainge
giving me a hard time for shooting so much. He used to tell me that I was
going to wear myself out, and that I needed to save myself for the games.
He was probably right [laughs], but I really enjoyed shooting the
basketball.
At Colorado, freshman weren’t allowed to play on the varsity team. That was
probably a good thing for me, because I don’t think I was ready to play at
that level of competition. Cliff Meely was on the varsity squad at the
time. He would go on to play several years with the Houston Rockets in the
NBA, and I remember going against him in practice for the first time. He
was the most awesome player I’d ever seen. It felt like playing against a
super being [laughs]. But those types of experiences make you better, and
by my sophomore year I was ready to play major college basketball. The team
suffered some injuries and we started the season 0-8, but we ended up having
a pretty good year. I think I averaged 15 points-per-game.
After the season I concentrated on my jumping. I worked hard to improve my
vertical leap – I’d put on a weight vest and do between 100 and 200
explosive jumps – because I felt that it would help me to become a better
player. Spring was always one of my favorite times to work on my game. I
could play without restriction once the season was over, and this gave me
the opportunity to expand on my skills. It became an extension of what I
was doing during basketball season, and I couldn’t imagine doing it any
other way.
Russell “Sox” Walseth was the head coach at Colorado, and he was the one who
really helped to improve my defense. Sox was an icon at CU, where he
coached both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. I enjoyed his
practices tremendously – I was usually the first to arrive and the last to
leave – and his instruction was so valuable in terms of my growth as a
basketball player. He passed away earlier this year. It was a great loss –
Sox meant a great deal to me.
