The Scott Wedman Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Sunday, November 14th, 2004
How did the death of Lenny Bias alter the state of the franchise?
Lenny
was going to be an impact player for twelve to fifteen years. I saw him
play while he was at the University of Maryland, but I never had the
opportunity to play against him. It was devastating to the Celtics, because
he was going to be the team’s future. A player of that caliber was also
going to extend Larry’s career, so it was tremendous blow to the
organization.
You are close friends with Larry Bird. Please tell me a little about your
former teammate, perhaps a side that the public doesn’t see all that often.
I can tell
you a story about him that not many people know. I liked to run after
practice, and Larry used to give me a hard time about it. But then one day
I saw Larry running around the court after we’d finished up our drills, and
the next thing you know it had become a part of his routine. Well, I had an
aerobic instructor named Louise Bollen who also happened to be a
marathoner. She was going to run in a charity 10K that spring, and it fell
during a break in our playing schedule. She wanted me to run it with her,
so I asked Larry if he wanted to join us. Larry talked to K.C. about it,
who was a little concerned that we might pull a hamstring and spend some
time on injured reserve. But he was somehow able to get K.C.’s blessing to
let us run. The race started in front of the Boston Garden. It was a
beautiful day, and I was surprised to see so many people show up for a 10K.
At that point I realized that we’re in a legitimate race.
We started out in the middle of the pack, with Louise setting a comfortable pace. Most of the people were very respectful. They would offer a kind word or wave as they passed us. But as the race went on, we heard more than one person say “Hey, I’m passing Larry Bird!”, and I could tell that it was starting to bother Larry. Finally, we’re one mile away from the finish line. It’s downhill. Larry said, “That’s it, nobody else is passing me.” And off he went, hitting that last mile in a dead sprint. For me, it was a chance to see the heart of a champion in an arena other than basketball. I was able to fully experience Larry’s drive, and his will to win. It was an incredible sight – although I’m not sure that K.C. would have been happy with Larry going all-out like that [laughs].
Kevin McHale was known as a big practical joker. Were you ever on the
receiving end of his pranks, and do you have any that stand out after all of
these years?
I only
drank bottled water, and Kevin claims that he poured it out on many
occasions and replaced it with tap water. He teased me about it many times
back then, and still sticks to his story.
You were a two-time NBA All-Star. Looking back, how does it feel to be
recognized in such a way?
It was an
honor to be recognized in that way, but I’m more proud of my selection to
the All-Defensive second team. Because of injury I was only able to play in
one All-Star game, but it was a very rewarding experience.
Final
Question: You’ve achieved great success in your life. You are universally
respected and admired by many people, both inside and outside of the NBA.
If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that
be?
Follow your
heart. It’s the surest way to realize true happiness in life.
