The Terry Duerod Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Saturday, April 16th, 2005
You hear players talk about the dreaded “Rookie Wall”.
Did you hit the wall that season, and what was it like
adjusting to all of that travel?
I
think there really is something to that. There is just
so much travel – much more than you ever experience in
college – and the season is so much longer as well. You
have to adjust to getting up earlier. For a college
kid, getting up at 5AM is a big change. I ran into all
of these things my rookie season. I just kept working
hard and trying to make it through.
The Boston Celtics signed you as a free agent on
December 4, 1980. What was it like to play for Bill
Fitch?
It
was a great experience. The coaching staff, the
players, the fans – it was all very special for me.
Being a part of something like that was another dream
come true. Max – Cedric Maxwell – was my man [laughs]!
Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were great teammates. We
had Tiny Archibald and Larry Bird – I couldn't have
asked for better teammates! It was a very positive
situation, which was nice because I'd come from a
negative situation in Dallas. It was totally
different. The team was focused on winning, and it was
loaded with great, young talent.
Big Chief [Parish] took me under his wing. He helped me
a lot. A lot of people don't realize this – I didn't
until I got there – but Chief, Kevin and Larry are all
very funny people. Great jokesters. They all talked
some trash, told some jokes, and pulled some pranks. So
there was never a dull moment [laughs]! In addition to
being great players, they were a great bunch of guys.
You played 32 games for the Celtics that season,
becoming a fan-favorite. The familiar chant of
"DO-O-O-O" could be heard at almost every home game.
Please tell me about the fans in Boston.
Best
fans in the world. Period. They treat the players
great, and support the team no matter what the record
is It was a super experience for me to play in front of
them!
Nate “Tiny” Archibald was also on that team. As a
fellow guard, what did you learn from a player of his
stature?
Tiny
was also giving me pointers and showing me things. He
was left-handed but could shoot right – it wasn't the
prettiest sight, but it went in [laughs]. He was always
teaching the young guys. I don't know if he did a lot
of that early in his career, but by the time I got there
he was a very good mentor. He was a funny guy as well.
He has a reputation for being quiet and shy, but once he
starts talking you can't get him to stop [laughs]!
