John Havlicek
What People Say
"On stamina alone he'd be among the top players who ever played the game, It would've been fair to those who had to play him or those who had to coach against him if he had been blessed only with his inhuman endurance. God had to compound it by making him a good scorer, smart ballhandler and intelligent defensive player with quickness of mind, hands and feet." - longtime New York Knicks Coach Red Holzman
"The guy is the ambassador of our sport. John always gave his very best every night and had time for everybody-teammates, fans, the press." - Jerry West
"You tell me how many class guys there are like him anywhere. They ought to retire his number from the whole NBA. Just take 17 and stash it up there in lights." - Dave Cowens
"He epitomizes everything good. If I had a son like John I'd be the happiest man in the world." - Red Auerbach
"I'd hate to guard (John) Havlicek. He never stopped running. Just ran all the time." - Austin Carr
"Trying to guard John Havlicek is like trying to hold mercury in your hand." - Bill Bradley
"Havlicek's physical abilities were exceeded by his extraordinary basketball mind. If he saw his opponents run a play, he made a note of the hand signal or verbal call that initiated it. Thereafter he always got the jump on it. He couldn't understand why other players didn't retain basketball knowledge equally well." - Bob Ryan
"He was like the bionic man. People at Harvard were doing studies on his heart rate because he appeared to have this great stamina because he never stopped running. But John Havlicek was a great scorer and a great competitor. He was a winner in every sense of the word." - Tom Heinsohn
"John Havlicek - the measure of what it means to be a Celtic." -Red Auerbach
"John Havlicek, one of the NBA�s all-time greats, never cared whether he started, but definitely wanted to be on the court during crunch time." - Frank Derry
"His records as a Boston Celtic speak for themselves, and he may very well be the finest all around player in the history of professional basketball. He is the always ready, alwys dangerous Hondo of the Celtics, and he'll beat you by outrunning, outshooting, outplaying, and outhustling you all over the court." - Bob Ryan
In the future, when baskeball people look back inot the history of "the Game," they'll mention trendsetters such as Russell, Cousy, and MIkan. Whateveer names they come up with, you make a composite and you'll have John Havlicek. The steadiness of Mikan. The instinct and indefatigable nature of Russell. The uniqueness of Cousy. They're all pieces of El Capitan." - Tom Sanders
"His demeanor and degree of politeness never varies. Ever. You can expect the same sincere, rational behavior out of John Havlicek, whether the Celtics have won by one in 3OT or lost by 30. And if he is at fault for anything at all, he will go out of his way to point out his culpabilty." - Bob Ryan
"One of the things I like best about Havlicek the player is that he is not afraid to look bad. Too many basketball players always play it cool, refusing to inject themselves into situations where they could be humilated by a block shot or where they could get their shiny uniforms wrinkled." - Bob Ryan
