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The Jo Jo White Interview

By: Michael D. McClellan | Red Auerbach has a decision to make. It’s the spring of ’69, and the architect of the Celtics’ championship run faces a post-Russell rebuild, a dreaded day thirteen years in the making. The heavy lifting starts with the first selection in the 1969 NBA Draft. Get it right, and the rebuild moves along ahead of schedule. Botch it, and who knows how long it takes to recover. The Milwaukee Bucks win a coin toss, land the top pick, and draft Lew Alcindor—later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—the only surefire, can’t-miss prospect in an otherwise underwhelming draft. Auerbach and the Celtics, by virtue of winning the ’69 NBA Championship, draft ninth. They watch as guys like Terry Driscoll and Bob Portman and Larry Cannon Smith are selected, players who will barely make a mark in a league suddenly competing with the upstart ABA for talent. Auerbach doesn’t want any of them. He has his eye on a sweet-shooting point guard from Kansas, a player perfectly suited to the Celtics’ up-tempo attack. What he needs is a little luck. He needs the teams picking in front of him to whiff, to chase big men like Neal Walk, who goes on to have a solid NBA career but who can’t possibly serve as the cornerstone of an NBA champion.

And whiff they do.

One after another, teams picking in front of Boston ignore the Jayhawk All-American. The Phoenix Suns select Florida’s Walk with the second pick, point guard Lucius Allen goes next to the Seattle SuperSonics, and then a run on shooting guards and big men begins. When it’s the Celtics’ turn, Kansas guard Jo Jo White is still on the board.

In fairness, the teams drafting ahead of the Celtics know that White has the talent to be a game changer. It’s his two-year military obligation that causes trepidation. Auerbach has no such qualms. He’s prepared to wait for a player of White’s caliber. When White ends up in the Marine Reserve program a few months later instead, the draft day gamble looks like another Auerbach masterstroke.

“Red wasn’t afraid to take risks,” White says with a smile. “If he were, then the Celtics wouldn’t have ended up with Bill Russell or Larry Bird.”

White, who grows up playing multiple sports in St. Louis, is a gifted all-around athlete. Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Reds burn draft picks on him.

“Sports taught me teamwork, discipline, and commitment. They also brought our community closer together. Everyone in the neighborhood played whatever sport was in season.”

White plays high school ball first at Vashon and then at McKinley, and by graduation he receives more than 250 scholarship offers. Oddly, the University of Missouri is not among them. He instead chooses Kansas University, where he becomes a three-time All-Big Eight Conference selection and is twice voted All-American.

“I visited Lawrence on a recruiting trip and got to see Gale Sayers play,” White says. “I was in awe of him, and watching him perform was something I’ll never forget. Kansas was the right fit for me. I wanted to go to a school where my parents could see me play, and where I could get back home when I needed. Kansas was within that radius. The basketball tradition was rich, and yet the school had never had an All-American guard to graduate from KU. That became a big goal for me.”

Because freshman aren’t allowed to play varsity, White has to wait until the second semester of his sophomore year to become eligible. The coach is Ted Owens, who helms the Jayhawks for 19 seasons, is named National Coach of the Year, and leads two teams to the Final Four. Owens’s program is struggling when White arrives, but his presence on the court helps jumpstart the rebirth of Jayhawk basketball.

“I was very excited because I wanted to play as soon as I became eligible, but nervous because the decision was in the hands of the coaching staff. They could have opted to sit me out until the following year. Coach Owens thought we had a legitimate shot at winning the NCAA championship, and he also felt that those chances improved with me on the floor. We went on a seven-game winning streak and won the conference title outright, the first time that had happened in nine years.”

White helps Kansas reach the 1966 NCAA regional finals against eventual champion Texas Western. He hits a dramatic jumper at the end of overtime that would have given Kansas the victory, but the shot is disallowed because the referee rules that his foot is out of bounds.

“I remember having the ball in my hands and taking that final shot,” White says. “I literally fell back into a woman’s lap after the release, and I remember everyone celebrating after the shot went in. Then the official ruled that my foot was out of bounds. The call gave the game to Texas Western, who went on to defeat Kentucky for the championship. To this day my teammates kid me about my feet being too big and costing us the game.”

White laughs, but the loss still stings.

“The official made the call, but game film shows that I was inbounds when I released that last shot. I have the sequence framed on my wall at home, three photographs that show the position of my feet.”

White is selected to play for Team USA in the 1968 Olympics. It’s the ultimate honor. Harry Edwards, a native of East. St. Louis, is calling on black athletes to boycott the Olympic Games in Mexico City. Lew Alcindor, Elvin Hayes, and several other great black college players boycott.

“It wasn’t a tough decision,” he says. “Being a member of Team USA and representing my country were great honors. Nothing compares. We weren’t even considered the favorites to win the gold medal. The Russians were, but they lost to the Yugoslavians in the semifinals. Winning the gold was my greatest athletic accomplishment.”

Auerbach’s draft day gamble pays off when White is moved to the Marine Reserve program. The rookie reports to Celtics training camp in the fall of ’69.

“Was it as hard or as difficult as I thought it would be? It was a very demanding camp, but I was a Marine and I was in excellent condition. I’d been through all the physical and mental challenges that comes with military training, so I felt like I had an advantage.”

Auerbach is no longer coaching the team, but, to a young Jo Jo White, he seems omnipotent.

“Red’s fingerprints were everywhere when I got to Boston,” says White. “From the banners overhead to the shrewd roster moves, to him being there during training camp and at practices. And the cigar smoke—if you were ever around Red you know what I’m talking about. Until you actually meet a legend like Red you can only go on what you hear. Then you spend time with him and realize that he’s one of the most knowledgeable basketball minds in the game. Red Auerbach was a true genius. He outlasted players, coaches, general managers, and just about everyone else in the league.”

The Celtics struggle in White’s first season with the team. A year later, Auerbach strikes gold, drafting Florida State center Dave Cowens.

“There was so much to like about Dave’s game. He played with a tremendous amount of tenacity, which was a huge key to our success. He was versatile, and was able to utilize his quickness against the other centers in the league. He could guard the little guys when the situation called for it. He had an excellent outside shot. His desire was what made him so special.”

The Celtics win a franchise record 68 games during the 1972–73 season, but suffer a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“Havlicek hurt his shoulder and we fell behind 3–1 in that series,” White says. “Heinsohn adjusted the rotation by giving Don Nelson and Paul Silas more minutes, a move that reduced Bill Bradley’s effectiveness. The strategy worked, and we tied the series. Game 7 was back in the Boston Garden, and Tommy decided to start John instead of staying with the hot lineup. I can certainly understand the logic because John was our go-to guy. John gave it everything he had, but he just wasn’t the same player. It was a tough loss, especially after having such a successful season.”

A year later the Celtics beat the Knicks and face Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals.

“People still talk about Kareem’s skyhook at the buzzer of Game 6 to even the series,” White says. “There were eight seconds left in overtime and we were ahead by one point. We knew we were one big stop away from the title. Kareem’s skyhook was almost automatic, especially from the baseline, so during the timeout we talked about putting pressure on the ball and denying the entry pass where he liked to get it. Hank Finkel and Don Chaney did a great job of pushing Kareem away from the basket. He still got that shot up. Somehow it went in.”

The loss sends White and company back to Milwaukee for Game 7. If the Celtics are going to win its first title without Bill Russell, it’s going to come in hostile territory.

“We knew that conditioning was going to be the primary factor. Our goal during the series was to wear them down. We knew that their legs were gone, and that we would have the advantage in the later stages of the game. This isn’t to say that we took the Bucks lightly. Kareem was a player that we truly feared. We wanted to soften him up, make him work for his shots, slow him down.

“We applied constant pressure and tried to contest every shot. Oscar Robertson was Milwaukee’s only true ball handler, so we hounded Oscar and made it as difficult as possible for him to bring the ball up the court. The shot clock became a factor, and the pressure led to a lot of bad shots. We ran at every opportunity. The strategy took its toll. We won Game 7 easily.”

Two years later the Celtics return to the NBA Finals, this time against the Phoenix Suns. In Game 5, White plays 60 minutes in the sweatbox of Boston Garden, dropping 33 points while playing hellish defense and helping the Celtics escape with a win and a 3–2 series lead. White’s performance lifts Boston to its 13th NBA title. He’s named the Finals MVP.

“It was a very fast-paced game, so early on I realized that conditioning was going to be key,” White says. “This played into my strengths because I considered myself the best-conditioned athlete on the floor. My mental approach was, ‘If I’m tired then everyone else on the court must be dead tired.’

“Havlicek hit that running jumper at the end of the second overtime, and we all thought the game was over. We immediately started towards the tunnel because the crowd was pouring onto the court to celebrate. Then we find out that the clock stopped following Havlicek’s basket, and that the refs had put two seconds back on the clock. I had already cut the tape off my foot. My thought was, ‘What can happen in two seconds?’ Then Gar Heard hits his shot and we go to another overtime. Thankfully there wasn’t a three-point line at the time.”

White ends up playing a record 488 consecutive games in a Celtics uniform, an ironman streak of which he’s rightfully proud.

“It all comes back to conditioning,” he says. “John Havlicek is a prime example of that. He was always in phenomenal shape. You watched the way he took care of himself and you understood why he was such a great athlete.”

White doesn’t finish his career in Boston, but he later returns to work in the front office. His number is retired by both Kansas University and the Celtics. He’s also a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Anytime you are recognized for your accomplishments it’s truly an honor,” he says. “To have my jersey retired to the Boston Garden rafters was a very special moment for me. Being honored at Kansas was also a thrill, and something that will always be very special. My mother was able to attend both ceremonies. I’m very thankful for that. And there’s no greater honor than to be voted into the Hall of Fame. I’ve been very blessed. I wouldn’t trade my journey for anything.”

Michael McClellan
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