Jones, K. C.
Basketball
b. May 25, 1932, San Francisco, CA
He may be the poorest shooter in the Basketball Hall of Fame, but Jones was a great defensive player. He teamed with Bill Russell to lead the defense-minded University of San Francisco to 55 consecutive victories and two straight NCAA championships, in 1955 and 1956. Later, they played together on Boston Celtics teams that won eight NBA championships.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound guard entered USF in 1951, a year ahead of Russell, but he played in only one game as a junior because of an emergency appendectomy, so he was granted another year of eligibility. USF lost only one game the following season and defeated LaSalle 77-63 in the NCAA championship. The key to the victory was that Jones held LaSalle's high-scoring All-American forward Tom Gola scoreless for the first 21 minutes of the game, even though Gola was five inches taller.
USF went undefeated in 1955-56 and won a second NCAA title. After playing for the U. S. gold medal Olympic team, Jones served in the Army for two years. He had a tryout as a defensive back with the Los Angeles Rams, who had chosen him in the NFL draft, then rejoined Russell with the Celtics.
At first a backup behind Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, Jones became a starter after Sharman retired in 1961. His defense and play-making were key ingredients in the Celtics' success during his nine seasons with the team. He retired in 1968 to become head coach at Brandeis University for three years, winning 34 games while losing 32.
Jones took over the San Diego Conquistadors in the American Basketball Association in 1972, then coached the Capitol Bullets of the NBA for three seasons. He returned to the Celtics as head coach in 1983 and guided them to two NBA championships in his first three years. He left after the 1987-88 season. Jones then took over the Seattle Supersonics in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
As a player, Jones scored 4,999 points in 675 regular season games, a 7.4 average, and had 2,904 assists. He won 552 games and lost 306 as a professional coach and had an 81-57 record in playoff competition.