Fishhead
I saw plenty of Dave Cowens in the early to mid 70s in the old Boston Garden. John Havlicek, a Hall of Famer in his own right may have been the captain of those two championship Celtic teams in the mid 70s but Dave Cowens was it's heart.
Dave Cowens earned a berth in the Basketball Hall of Fame because of his tenacity and work ethic as a mainstay of the Boston Celtics in the 1970s, leading the team to NBA Championships in 1974 and 1976. Playing in the era of Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain, and "Pistol Pete" Maravich, Cowens didn't possess the flash and glitz of those high-profile superstars. Instead, it was Cowens' consistency, work ethic, unselfishness, versatility and energy that established him as one of the most solid and respected centers in recent NBA history.
<TABLE class=lightBrownBG cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>G
</TD><TD align=middle>FG%
</TD><TD align=middle>3PFG%
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>FT%
</TD><TD align=middle>Rebs
</TD><TD align=middle>RPG
</TD><TD align=middle>Asts
</TD><TD align=middle>APG
</TD><TD align=middle>Stls
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>Blks
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>Pts
</TD><TD align=middle>PPG
</TD></TR><!--Copy this for Cowens, Dave data--><TR><TD align=middle>766
</TD><TD align=middle>.460
</TD><TD align=middle>.071
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>.783
</TD><TD align=middle>10,444
</TD><TD align=middle>13.6
</TD><TD align=middle>2910
</TD><TD align=middle>3.8
</TD><TD align=middle>599
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>488
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>13,516
</TD><TD align=middle>17.6
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE width="98%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="49%">Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1990); NBA champion (1974, '76); NBA MVP (1973); All-NBA Second Team (1973, '75, '76); All-Defensive First Team (1976); All-Defensive Second Team (1975, '80); NBA co-Rookie of the Year (1971); Seven-time All-Star; All-Star MVP ('73); Named One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Of his 11 years in the league, all but one was spent with the Boston Celtics. An unlikely hero in a sport dominated by men of greater size and natural ability, the red-haired lefthander relied on hustle and heart to achieve NBA greatness. His determination helped to resurrect a Celtics dynasty presumed dead after the departure of legend Bill Russell. Cowens ultimately joined his venerated predecessor in the Hall of Fame, a feat he never dreamed of achieving.
"I never thought of myself as a superstar," Cowens said on the eve of his Hall of Fame induction in 1991. "I represent the working class of the NBA. I'm honored they've selected me, because I could name a whole lot of guys who were better than Dave Cowens. You have to play with the right people and get picked by the right team. Let's face it -- I was pretty lucky."
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach realized that he needed someone to at least attempt to fill the shoes of Bill Russell, whose retirement after the 1968-69 championship season left the Celtics a team that could only muster 34 wins the following year, despite the presence of the great John Havlicek. He liked Cowens' hard-working attitude and work ethic, so Boston made Cowens the fourth overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, behind Bob Lanier, Rudy Tomjanovich and Pete Maravich. "He's a very dedicated kid," Auerbach said at the time. "A dedicated kid isn't unheard of, but there aren't as many around as we would like. But our problem with Cowens is telling him when to lay off. He does too much."
One of the things Cowens did too much in his rookie year with the Celtics was foul other players; he committed a league-high 350 infractions. (He would foul out of 90 games by the end of his career, a total that ranks among the top 20 of all time.) But he also averaged 17.0 points and 15.4 rebounds, the most ever by a first-year Celtics player besides Bill Russell. Cowens' achievements earned him a share of the NBA Rookie of the Year honors, with Geoff Petrie of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics improved to 44-38, and Cowens quickly won accolades for his hustle, mobility, tenacity and unselfish approach to the game.
At 6-9 and 230 pounds, Cowens certainly was neither the biggest nor the most overpowering center in the league, particularly when compared to the likes of Lanier, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. His versatility and energy were his greatest assets, along with a willingness to sacrifice his own scoring total -- and his body -- for the good of the team.
Cowens ran baseline to baseline, set picks, made heady passes, participated in full-court presses, blocked seemingly unblockable shots, dived into the crowd after loose balls, muscled through the paint for tip-ins, and generally made himself a nuisance to Celtics opponents. He once broke his foot in an exhibition game by slamming into a basket support while blocking a shot.
"I thought he was a wild man," former teammate Paul Silas said. "I'd never seen anybody with that much talent play that aggressively." Cowens's tenacity came to the fore in a game against the New York Knicks in his rookie season. Already burned once in the contest by a head fake from Dave Stallworth, Cowens retaliated by coming out of nowhere to block a two-handed dunk attempt by Stallworth. The amazing rejection brought the Boston Garden crowd to its feet, and brought Cowens a step closer to acceptance by tough-sell fans in a town synonymous with basketball excellence.
Bio by NBA.com
I saw plenty of Dave Cowens in the early to mid 70s in the old Boston Garden. John Havlicek, a Hall of Famer in his own right may have been the captain of those two championship Celtic teams in the mid 70s but Dave Cowens was it's heart.
Dave Cowens earned a berth in the Basketball Hall of Fame because of his tenacity and work ethic as a mainstay of the Boston Celtics in the 1970s, leading the team to NBA Championships in 1974 and 1976. Playing in the era of Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain, and "Pistol Pete" Maravich, Cowens didn't possess the flash and glitz of those high-profile superstars. Instead, it was Cowens' consistency, work ethic, unselfishness, versatility and energy that established him as one of the most solid and respected centers in recent NBA history.
<TABLE class=lightBrownBG cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>G
</TD><TD align=middle>FG%
</TD><TD align=middle>3PFG%
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>FT%
</TD><TD align=middle>Rebs
</TD><TD align=middle>RPG
</TD><TD align=middle>Asts
</TD><TD align=middle>APG
</TD><TD align=middle>Stls
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>Blks
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>Pts
</TD><TD align=middle>PPG
</TD></TR><!--Copy this for Cowens, Dave data--><TR><TD align=middle>766
</TD><TD align=middle>.460
</TD><TD align=middle>.071
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>.783
</TD><TD align=middle>10,444
</TD><TD align=middle>13.6
</TD><TD align=middle>2910
</TD><TD align=middle>3.8
</TD><TD align=middle>599
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>488
</TD><!--remove if necessary--><TD align=middle>13,516
</TD><TD align=middle>17.6
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE width="98%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="49%">Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1990); NBA champion (1974, '76); NBA MVP (1973); All-NBA Second Team (1973, '75, '76); All-Defensive First Team (1976); All-Defensive Second Team (1975, '80); NBA co-Rookie of the Year (1971); Seven-time All-Star; All-Star MVP ('73); Named One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Of his 11 years in the league, all but one was spent with the Boston Celtics. An unlikely hero in a sport dominated by men of greater size and natural ability, the red-haired lefthander relied on hustle and heart to achieve NBA greatness. His determination helped to resurrect a Celtics dynasty presumed dead after the departure of legend Bill Russell. Cowens ultimately joined his venerated predecessor in the Hall of Fame, a feat he never dreamed of achieving.
"I never thought of myself as a superstar," Cowens said on the eve of his Hall of Fame induction in 1991. "I represent the working class of the NBA. I'm honored they've selected me, because I could name a whole lot of guys who were better than Dave Cowens. You have to play with the right people and get picked by the right team. Let's face it -- I was pretty lucky."
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach realized that he needed someone to at least attempt to fill the shoes of Bill Russell, whose retirement after the 1968-69 championship season left the Celtics a team that could only muster 34 wins the following year, despite the presence of the great John Havlicek. He liked Cowens' hard-working attitude and work ethic, so Boston made Cowens the fourth overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, behind Bob Lanier, Rudy Tomjanovich and Pete Maravich. "He's a very dedicated kid," Auerbach said at the time. "A dedicated kid isn't unheard of, but there aren't as many around as we would like. But our problem with Cowens is telling him when to lay off. He does too much."
One of the things Cowens did too much in his rookie year with the Celtics was foul other players; he committed a league-high 350 infractions. (He would foul out of 90 games by the end of his career, a total that ranks among the top 20 of all time.) But he also averaged 17.0 points and 15.4 rebounds, the most ever by a first-year Celtics player besides Bill Russell. Cowens' achievements earned him a share of the NBA Rookie of the Year honors, with Geoff Petrie of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics improved to 44-38, and Cowens quickly won accolades for his hustle, mobility, tenacity and unselfish approach to the game.
At 6-9 and 230 pounds, Cowens certainly was neither the biggest nor the most overpowering center in the league, particularly when compared to the likes of Lanier, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. His versatility and energy were his greatest assets, along with a willingness to sacrifice his own scoring total -- and his body -- for the good of the team.
Cowens ran baseline to baseline, set picks, made heady passes, participated in full-court presses, blocked seemingly unblockable shots, dived into the crowd after loose balls, muscled through the paint for tip-ins, and generally made himself a nuisance to Celtics opponents. He once broke his foot in an exhibition game by slamming into a basket support while blocking a shot.
"I thought he was a wild man," former teammate Paul Silas said. "I'd never seen anybody with that much talent play that aggressively." Cowens's tenacity came to the fore in a game against the New York Knicks in his rookie season. Already burned once in the contest by a head fake from Dave Stallworth, Cowens retaliated by coming out of nowhere to block a two-handed dunk attempt by Stallworth. The amazing rejection brought the Boston Garden crowd to its feet, and brought Cowens a step closer to acceptance by tough-sell fans in a town synonymous with basketball excellence.
Bio by NBA.com
I was actually at this game and had greeat seats to boot. The Celts lost but won game 7 in Milwaukee a few days later.
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Dave Cowens came to my junior high school around 1972 or 73. I think he may have been in uniform. He spoke a little and then he played a couple of guys from the boys varsity team a few possesions of one on one. He towered over them and was a beast.
A friend of mine from Cape Cod knows Gary St. Jean (I've met him too). My friend spent many years out in the SF bay area. When Gary was GM of the Warriors and Cowens was coach, my friend went to a team reception as Gary's guest. Gary went to introduce my friend to Dave Cowens. Cowens shook his hand but never really acknowledged him. After Cowens walked away, Gary St Jean turned to my friend and said "I'm firing his ass tommorrow". And he did.
A friend of mine from Cape Cod knows Gary St. Jean (I've met him too). My friend spent many years out in the SF bay area. When Gary was GM of the Warriors and Cowens was coach, my friend went to a team reception as Gary's guest. Gary went to introduce my friend to Dave Cowens. Cowens shook his hand but never really acknowledged him. After Cowens walked away, Gary St Jean turned to my friend and said "I'm firing his ass tommorrow". And he did.
That's funny. You got me to look it up too.
He actaully DID drive a cab for a short period of time before returning to basketball:
From wiki : During the early part of the 1977 season, Cowens took a leave of absence from the Celtics and worked as a cab driver. He explained that he just needed "to clear his head" and that he was "suffering from burnout."
Cowens played with all heart. He has a summer camp for many many years that is still going strong. One camp like 30 years ago he drove by in his truck and my two buddies were swearing at him to "show some guts and play"...Cowens stopped and got out of the truck palming a basketball in each hand. He played and dominated in Cowens style.
HE gave Jabbar fits with his physical style.
Pat Riley said recently that "that big guy could play for me anytime"...he had trouble complimenting a Celtic but there was no denying the respect for Dave Cowens.
Cowenss wa a true Celtic. What a player.
HE gave Jabbar fits with his physical style.
Pat Riley said recently that "that big guy could play for me anytime"...he had trouble complimenting a Celtic but there was no denying the respect for Dave Cowens.
Cowenss wa a true Celtic. What a player.
Dave Cowens Basketball School Link....
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Florida State basketball star Dave Cowens used hustle and hard work to carve his place among the Seminole all-time greats. He scored 1,479 points over his 78-game career at FSU, but was even better known for his rebounding skills. He averaged a startling 17.1 rebounds per game totaling 1,340 over his career. He led the Seminoles to the 1968 NCAA Tournament as a sophomore and the Hugh Durham coached squad finished with a 19-8 record. Cowens' jersey number 13 was the only men's basketball jersey retired in the 20th century. Cowens was a first round draft pick by the Boston Celtics in 1970 and was voted to the NBA Hall of Fame.
