RIP KC JONES

another one gone.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30595836/boston-celtics-legend-kc-jones-dies-88

So sorry to lose KC. What a great one.

Shit

A true gentlemen. Our past is slipping away slowly but surely. No one could say a bad word about KC. He made defense his main strong suit and led the Celtics in 1986 to that wonderful season.

I am sad for the Celtics family, his family and the world. We have lost another great one

Man this sucks, a real gut punch.

KC WAS A WINNER. DEFENSIVE STOPPER. HALL OF FAMER. TWO TIME NBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COACH. EIGHT TIME NBA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYER. TWO TIME NCAA CHAMPION. OLYMPIC CHAMPION. A TRUE CELTIC AND A GREAT HUMAN BEING. REST WELL KACE...

This man was a true Boston Celtic!

He helped win many championships with hardly ever even getting the game ball or much public recognition.  And for me, such accomplishment a joy part of being a Celtics fan.

TheBillRussell
@RealBillRussell
I just received a call letting me know my x-roommate/teammate & most of all friend the great KC Jones passed this morning. Prayers to his family. We have been friends for almost 60yrs, this our last photo together. Friends for life #2020Usuck!  #RIP ⁦
@NBA
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@celtics
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11:57 AM · Dec 25, 2020·Twitter for iPhone






Bob


.

Yes, 2020 u suck.

Hopefully, this too shall pass. I hope for all that 2021 brings us a better life experience than we have had this past year. For me, I can't wait to see the end of this year, it has been a trying time

https://sports.yahoo.com/little-story-kc-jones-kindness-220740117.html



A little story on KC Jones’ kindness


Guy Zucker

Sun, December 27, 2020, 2:07 PM PST·3 min read



NBA legend KC Jones, winner of 12 championships as a player or coach, died this week at age 88. Longtime agent Guy Zucker reminisces on his first interaction with the then head coach of the Boston Celtics.

In early 1987, I was a freshman at Boston University. Having been a journalist in Israel prior to my arrival in the U.S., I continued to cover sports for various media outlets there during my studies.

The Celtics were the reigning NBA champions at the time.

I approached KC Jones, the head coach, after one of the games at the old Boston Garden, and asked him for a short interview. “Give me your number,” he said, ” Someone from the Celtics will be calling you.”

I was quite certain that he was just being polite and did not expect a call. However, within two days, I got a call from a staff member who told me to be ready at 3 pm the next day to be picked up to go see KC.

“Are we going to practice?” I asked Wayne Lebeaux (the Celtics equipment and road Manager), the man who picked me up the next day. “No, we’re going to KC’s home,” he said.

I couldn’t believe it.

Once inside KC’s home, he couldn’t have been nicer. Although I was young and a foreigner, he treated me with incredible interest and respect. There wasn’t even a trace of the inflated egos that are so commonly found in pro sports.

“What are you studying,” he asked (politely, I thought) before we started the interview.

“Sociology.’

“Anything interesting?”

“Actually, I’m writing a term paper about the evolution of leaders in street basketball.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ve been observing streetball for the past six weeks and I’ve discovered some patterns that seem to repeat themselves in every situation. It seems that it takes no more than 5-10 minutes for leaders to emerge, despite the fact that the players usually don’t know each other prior to playing together.”

As I was saying this I noticed that KC was listening, seriously. Then he said: “Can you make me a copy, once you are done?”

“Sure,” I said. “What do you need it for?”

“It sounds really interesting,” he said, “Maybe I could learn something from it.”

I was totally floored. Here was the head coach of the NBA champion Boston Celtics asking for my sociology paper because he thought he could learn something new from it!

Wow.


A moment of silence for former Boston Celtic and Hall of Famer K.C. Jones before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on December 25, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)


And so, once I was done, I made KC a copy, which I gave to him after another Celtics game. He thanked me. He also never forgot to say hello whenever he saw me afterwards. He once spotted me in a summer league game, when he was the Seattle Supersonics head coach. He came over, sat next to me and we watched an entire half together.

I never forgot KC’s graciousness, humility, and curiosity. It taught me a great lesson. When I read of his passing, a few days ago, I decided to share this story, for the first time.

Thank you, KC Jones!


Bob
MY NOTE:  One of the recurring themes we are seeing about the Russell Celtics is their underlying goodness as human beings.  Russ was a pioneer for civil rights.  Cousy took Chuck Cooper, the first African-American ever drafted by the NBA, under his wing and made him his roommate on the road in an era when blacks weren't allowed in certain hotels but Cousy could get Cooper in because he was The Cooz, one of the NBA's first superstars.  Havlicek was a good man.  Tommy, Satch, all of them.  We love their exploits on the court but let's not overlook the men they were and the impact that fundamental goodness and racial inclusiveness had on the City of Boston, which did NOT have a good reputation for race relations back then, and on our country at large.


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I remember KC Jones.  

I remember the summer of 1962 when games were played around Boston and on one rare occasion KC Jones and Satch Sanders played one hot summer night in Roxbury on the outdoor court of the Norfolk House.  I was there with my friends awe inspired, to see two Celtics players in front of me.

KC had more dazzle with the ball than I had ever seen during a Celtics game.  He was throwing passes by cuffing the ball and flipping it to teammates. I remember waiting for someone to dunk the basketball and as time was running down finally it happened.  KC hit Satch for an alley-oop dunk as the clock expired.  After the game we stopped at a local Pizza shop where I got a slice of pizza and the melted cheese was so hot it nearly burned the roof of my mouth.

I do not know why I am telling you about this but it just popped in my head as I was remembering KC Jones, a great Celtics player, coach and human being.

I have said it alot recently, with the deaths of these old time players, the great ones and even the not so great ones, we are losing our connection to Red. Losing KC and Tommy in such a short time is such a blow to our organization. The stories of old time players coming into practice to just watch and talk to all the guys, were wonderful thoughts. As each one passes, we lose a little bit more. This is a sad time for the Celtics organization