![]() The Celtics trounced an overmatched Minneapolis Lakers squad in the 1959 NBA Finals, capturing the championship in a four-game sweep. Spelling Cousy for 12 to 13 minutes per game, he averaged 3.5 points. Not surprisingly, Jones saw limited playing time as a reserve during his rookie year. When Jones arrived in 1958 Boston’s backcourt boasted two All-NBA guards in Cousy and Bill Sharman. Jones was a key cog in the Celtics’ machine of the 1960s. They were about to begin winning championships routinely, revolutionizing basketball by emphasizing defense and shotblocking as the trigger for a high-scoring, fast-break attack.ĭuring his playing days, K.C. Like baseball’s New York Yankees, the Celtics were setting a new standard for excellence. With the welcome mat from the Celtics still out, Jones headed for the Boston training camp, where Auerbach had assembled a powerhouse club. After playing several exhibition games as a defensive back for the Rams, Jones suffered a leg injury and quit the sport. Although Jones hadn’t played college football, Pete Rozelle, a former University of San Francisco public relations official and future NFL commissioner who had seen him excel in high school, brought him to the attention of the Los Angeles Rams, who made him a late draft pick. ![]() When his hitch with the Army was finished in 1958, he again sidestepped professional basketball. He later said that he thought he wouldn’t have made the 1956-57 Celtics team because the squad had such a deep bench. Instead of going to camp with the Celtics, however, Jones joined the Army and served for almost two years. While scouting Russell, sharp-eyed Celtics coach Red Auerbach took notice of Jones and selected him in the second round of the 1956 NBA Draft. Olympic Team that won a gold medal at Melbourne, Australia. Jones averaged 8.8 points during his college career. Neither Russell nor Jones shot well, but they led the Dons to 56 consecutive wins and back-to-back NCAA championships in 19 (although Jones did not play in the 1956 NCAA Tournament because his eligibility had expired late in the regular season). A quick 6-foot-1 guard, he made his mark with sticky man-to-man pressure and a knack for steals. The soft-spoken guard showed plenty of spark on the court. That was the extent of our communication, until one day when he started talking like a normal person.” “He’d slap my bunk on the way out of the room in the mornings, and he’d nod at the salt or sugar during the silent meals we ate in the school cafeteria. In his book Second Wind, Russell once recalled that Jones didn’t say a word to him for the first month. The sociable, outgoing Russell was a stark contrast to Jones, who was so shy when he first appeared on campus that people wondered whether he ever spoke at all. Jones and Russell entered into a lifetime friendship while rooming together at the university. In a classic rags-to-riches story, Jones starred in football and basketball at San Francisco’s Commerce High School and then won a scholarship to the University of San Francisco, where coach Phil Woolpert had also recruited an unknown, gawky kid named Bill Russell. Jones left a legacy that was synonymous with winning. There he learned to play basketball on a patch of gravel in an impoverished neighborhood.Ĭeltics legend K.C. When he was 9 years old, his parents separated and he went with his mother and siblings to San Francisco. grew up in a poor family in Texas during the Depression. Named after his father, who had been named for the legendary railroad engineer Casey Jones, K.C. In recognition of a career that produced more championship rings than Jones had fingers, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989. When his playing days ended, Jones continued his winning ways as a coach, employing a low-key, laissez-faire approach that won seven division titles, five Eastern Conference titles and two championships. He contributed mightily to the Celtics by running the offense, ball-hawking and wallpapering himself to opposing teams’ star guards. Serving first as a reserve and then as the heir to Bob Cousy at point guard, Jones won championships in the first eight seasons of his nine-year career. Overshadowed by more glamorous teammates, the quiet, modest Jones was rarely in the spotlight, but he was the personification of success. Jones, whose initials “K.C.” are his given name, was a defensive standout with the fabled Celtics dynasty of the late 1950s and 1960s. Jones not only survived, he thrived for nine seasons as a key member of so many winning Boston Celtics teams that a sportswriter once suggested the initial “C” in his name stood for “championships.” Few have survived more than a season or two with career percentages of. Jones was both a successful coach and player during his lengthy NBA career.įew NBA players have won distinction by scoring 7.4 points per game.
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