. . World News – US – K. . C.. . Jones, Celtic’s standout as a player and coach, dies at the age of 88

As a defense-oriented guard, he played on eight consecutive championship teams. He later managed to lead the team from the sidelines.

K. . C.. . Jones, the quietly tenacious Hall of Fame guard who played on eight consecutive N.. B.. . A. Championship teams with the Boston Celtics, and later the team trained to two championship titles, has died. He was 88 years old.

His death was announced by the Celtics. According to The Associated Press, the team confirmed that Jones’ family has confirmed he died in an assisted living facility in Connecticut where he has been treated for Alzheimer’s disease for several years. The team didn’t say what day he died.

Jones wasn’t a great goalscorer and was often overshadowed by more conspicuous teammates. But he was known for his defensive play – the work that doesn’t necessarily show up in boxing scores – to frustrate many opposing backcourt stars.

He was an All-American at the University of San Francisco and has teamed up with Bill Russell on teams that have won 55 straight games and won two N.. C.. . A. A. Championships. He joined Russell on the United States Olympic basketball team that won gold in Melbourne, Australia in 1956, and then played by his side as the Celtics forged a dynasty in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Jones, Russell (center) and Tom Sanders (center) played key roles in a savage Celtic defense on teams trained by Red Auerbach.

“K. . C.. . stuck to you like glue, ”Lenny Wilkens, the Hall of Fame Guardian and Trainer, told Terry Pluto for his N.. . B.. . A. Oral History, « Tall Tales » (1993). “He was with you, right with you, every step of the way. He would push you, hold you, get in your way. ”

When Russell spoke to Sports Illustrated in 1965 as the Celtics began their eighth straight championship season, he said, “K. . C.. . Jones doesn’t have a pocket full of defensive moves. He’s got a whole load of defensive moves. He’s going to molest a guy so much that the guy will start looking for K.. C.. . even when he’s not there. ”

K. . C.. . Jones – who after the N. . B.. . A. The website was named after his father, K.. C.. . An oil field worker named after Casey Jones, the legendary railroad engineer, was born on Aug.. Born May 1932 in Taylor, Texas. When he was 9 years old, his parents separated and his mother moved the family to San Francisco.

After playing basketball and soccer in high school, Jones was recruited by the University of San Francisco. As a 6-foot-1-inch guard, he played with the 6-foot-10 Russell on teams that won the N.. C.. . A. A. Championship in 1955 and 1956.

Auerbach’s Celtics was given to Russell in the first round of the N in 1956. B.. . A. Draft in a trade with the St.. . Louis Hawks and Jones selected in the second round. Jones joined the Celtics in 1958 after military service and a pre-season friendly with the Los Angeles Rams on the defensive.

After playing as reserve on five Celtic championship teams, Jones became a regular in 1963 when Bob Cousy retired. That season he was part of the first all-black grid in N.. . B.. . A. History: K. . C.. . and Sam Jones (no relationship) on guard, Russell in the middle and Sanders and Willie Naulls on the front.

Jones took the offensive while continuing to defend tenaciously for the last three championship teams in the Celtics title run. He retired after the 1966/67 season when the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics have Jones’ No.. 25 during his final season. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. in 1989. He averaged 7. 4 points per game for nine professional seasons and ranked No.. 3 in the league in assists per game for three consecutive seasons.

After retiring as a player, Jones coached basketball at Brandeis University for three seasons and then became an assistant coach to Cousy’s former partner Bill Sharman at the Los Angeles Lakers 1972 N. . B.. . A. Championship team. He later was the head coach of the Washington Bullets team, which reached the N in 1975. B.. . A. final.

Jones was named head coach of the Celtics in 1983 and took the team to championships in 1984 and 1986. He left the bank after the 1987/88 season after bringing the Celtics to the N.. B.. . A. Final in four of its five seasons with lineups with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson. After serving as a coach, he was vice president of basketball at Celtics for a season and coached the Seattle SuperSonics in the early 1990s.

« People want to see a trainer with a whip in one hand and a chair in the other, » he told Knight-Ridder Newspapers in May 1986 on his way to his second Celtics championship as a trainer. « I don’t fit into this shape. I prefer to see my players before 15. Not to embarrass 000 people just to impress the world. ”

It certainly impressed Auerbach, who once remarked: “The greatest thing that can be said about K.. C.. . is that he’s a winner. ”

Boston Celtics, KC Jones, Bill Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA Finals, Head Coach