Dishing Out Hope To Cancer Patients

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/10/dishing_out_hope_to_cancer_patients




Dishing out hope to cancer patients




Photo by: Chitose Suzuki
SURVIVOR: Former Celtics guard Jo Jo White in front of the leprechaun logo at the team’s offices in Boston.

Friday, October 24, 2014
By:  Justin Barrasso




Jo Jo White won a gold medal, earned the Most Valuable Player award in the NBA Finals, and captured two championships with the Celtics, but he met his fiercest opponent away from the basketball court.

The 67-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May 2010, and doctors gave a grim prognosis as he went into surgery a week later to remove the walnut-sized growth.

“Brain surgery is a different beast,” said White. “I had to learn to live my life all over again.”

White is serving as the honorary chair for the Boston Brain Tumor Walk on Sunday. The former point guard, whose No. 10 is draped from the Garden rafters along with the numbers of several other Celtics legends, is distributing hope and awareness about brain tumors like he once dished the ball.

“It’s so nice to still have this connection with the people of Boston,” said White. “At first, when I got here in 1969, I was thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ But it’s turned out to be the best place for me.”

White’s health deteriorated in 2009. His weight dropped dramatically between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he began vomiting daily. Doctors originally were unable to find what was wrong, and the tumor continued to grow.

The Celtics then intervened the following spring, and team doctor Brian McKeon noticed White walked with a noticeable tilt to the left. But due to the size of the tumor and such late detection, there was little hope of recovery for White. After seeing his CAT scan, doctors were surprised he was even alive.

“I’ve been on basketball teams that were rebuilding,” he said, referring to his arrival in Boston after Bill Russell retired and the Celtics transitioned from NBA champions in 1969 to only 34 wins in White’s 1970 rookie season. “That’s what I needed to do (in life).

“But I’m healthy and I’m here,” said White, who came out of surgery learning to live his life all over again. Brain tumors affect a person’s motor skills, so White re-learned to walk, speak, move his hands, and even re-attain his memory.

“Everything I know,” said White, “I learned from someone else. So it’s not mine to keep, it’s mine to pass on.”

During his playing days, he helped the Celtics add two championship banners to the Garden rafters, as well as earned himself the Finals MVP against the Phoenix Suns in 1976 (“I thought that game was never going to end,” he said, referring to the triple OT thriller in Game 5 when he scored 33 points and dished out nine assists). His only regret is he wished his tenure with the Celtics would have overlapped with Larry Bird.

“Larry understood what being a Celtic meant,” he said. “He had a chance to be in that system, and Larry became so proud to be a Celtic. He carried himself in that same respectful, professional way — that high standard that the Celtics set.”

White does not see too many similarities between himself and the current NBA players, with the lone exception being Rajon Rondo.

“Out of all the players in the league, Rondo is the closest to me,” he said. “Rondo’s a great player, but there is one big difference — I could shoot.

“Also, I was playing with John Havlicek and Dave Cowens, and it’s rare you can play with those type of talents on the floor. We were so proud to go out on the floor. So often now, they just throw the ball in the air (and) play.”




bob
MY NOTE:  Looking good, Jo Jo, looking good.


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God Bless him. I see him at times walking out on the floor at the Garden. Still suave and debonair. It is wonderful that he has been able to recover. It is a battle for sure, but he has a way about him, you just have to love the guy. I remember how excited I got when he was drafted, Red knew what he was getting.

Rosalie

most underrated point guard in NBA history, could dish, go end to end, stop and pop, defend.

Earl the Pearl had a cool nickname, but really couldn't hold JoJo's jockstrap.

Other old Celtics like Heinsohn and Havlicek, rightfully get a lot of credit for remaining on the Boston scene and being worthy representatives of Celtics tradition.  But Jo Jo, in his own quiet way, has been ever present and committed to being a good team ambassador and philanthropic man about town.  (Tom Sanders is another one.)  A good soldier when he played, and a good soldier ever since, Jo Jo deserves all the best that life can bring. 

Sam