With the 2019 NBA draft taking place later this month, we will spend the next few weeks taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From a future Hall of Famer selected 2nd overall in 1959 (60th anniversary) through a conference POY picked in the 2nd round in 2009 (10th anniversary), these stars have all seen their dreams come true in past drafts. We begin our series with Scott Stricklin, athletic director at Florida whose wife Anne happens to be the youngest daughter of Hall of Famer Bailey Howell. At Middleton High School Howell set a Tennessee state high school scoring record, then graduated from Mississippi State with the most PTS/REB in school history. After being drafted 2nd overall by Detroit in 1959, he made 6 All-Star games in a 7-year period from 1961-1967 before winning a pair of titles with Boston in 1968/1969. In 1997 he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Scott about the 60th anniversary of his father-in-law getting drafted and the 50th anniversary of winning back-to-back titles.
Your father-in-law grew up in Middleton, TN: what made him choose Mississippi State? My understanding is that he did not want to go too far from home. Coach Babe McCarthy was a great recruiter and really made the entire Howell family feel very comfortable.
He was known for both his hook shot and his work ethic: how did he develop each of these keys to his success? His parents instilled a good work ethic in him and he was a great competitor. He was determined to do everything possible to prepare to be successful. I know from playing family board games that he is an intense competitor: he plays to win!
On February 1, 1957 he set a school record with 34 REB in a game against LSU, and his 1277 career REB remains a school record: what was his secret for being a great rebounder? I know that he was just a tenacious competitor who studied his teammates’ shots and knew where they were going to come off the rim.
In 1959 he was named 1st-team All-American after leading the Bulldogs to a 24-1 record and the 1st SEC title in school history: how on earth was Kentucky the only SEC team to make the NCAA tourney?! Back then only the conference champion was eligible, and Mississippi had a history of not allowing their teams to compete against schools with integrated teams, which is not something we are proud of. In 1963 we defied the wishes of the sitting governor to play against Loyola-Chicago in East Lansing, MI. It was similar to the Texas Western-Kentucky game a few years later and it was great for us to take that stand. Bailey was very disappointed that his team did not get to prove how good it was.
He was drafted 2nd overall in the spring of 1959 by Detroit: what did it mean to him to get drafted? A lot of guys played AAU basketball and had to get real jobs so that they could support their families. The NBA was not a financial boon back then so a lot of guys got off-season jobs. At 1st he was not sure whether to join the league but eventually decided to give it a shot.
He played at least 75 games during each of his 12 years in the NBA: was he just fortunate to escape any serious injuries, or tough enough to play through them, or a little bit of both? Bailey has really taken care of himself with clean living, even to this day. After he retired he was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid, which caused him to feel fatigued. If that happened in the 21st century with today’s medicine then his career would have probably lasted even longer.
Take me through the magical 1968 NBA playoffs when he was a member of the Celtics:
After losing to the 76ers in the 1967 Eastern Division Finals, he scored 17 PTS in a 4-PT win at Philly in Game 7 of the 1968 Eastern Division Finals: how was Boston able to become the 1st team to ever come back from a 3-1 series deficit? Boston won a bunch of titles before he arrived, and I have heard him say that when they lost in 1967 he felt like a bit of a jinx until they won it all the following 2 years.
He scored 30 PTS in Game 6 of the Finals against the Lakers to help the Celtics clinch their 10th title: how did he adjust to having Bill Russell as a player/coach, and what did it mean to him to win a title? It was a pretty veteran group who would sub themselves in and out because they had developed a rotation that respected everyone’s role. It was unusual by today’s standards but pretty normal back then. There was 1 game where Russell could not make it to the arena and Red Auerbach had to step in to coach. Bailey missed his 1st few shots that night but Auerbach told him to keep shooting and he ended up with a career-high scoring night.
In Game 7 of the 1969 Finals he scored 9 PTS in a 2-PT win on the road over the Lakers: how intense was the Boston-LA rivalry back then, and how did they triumph on the road against a team featuring Elgin Baylor/Wilt Chamberlain/Jerry West? Everyone thought that Celtics team was past its prime and during their shoot-around that day there were flyers on the fans’ seats outlining the planned celebration. Boston used that as motivation and despite being a bunch of “old guys” they made sure that the Lakers would not celebrate that night.
After he retired he worked for the Converse shoe company: how did he like the job, and what has he been up to since then? He liked it from the standpoint of providing for his family. He retired more than 20 years ago and has lived in Starkville ever since. He owns some rental properties here, is active in his church, and attends a lot of Bulldog sporting events.
He was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1997 and the College Hall of Fame in 2006: where do these rank among the highlights of his career? Bailey is a pretty humble person but I think he would say that it was a neat experience. In typical fashion I also think that he would be quick to credit everyone else who was a part of his life, but speaking for his family it was neat to see him honored in that way.