Reggie anniversary

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just to make a change from the eternal usual debates over what's wrong with 
the Cs and whose fault it is...
Later this month is the 10th anniversary of Reggie Lewis' death. Jeff Twiss 
of the Cs (a very nice man himself) put a nice article up on the Cs website 
titled Remembering Reggie, including a nice Steve Lipofsky photo of a 
grinning Reggie (hey JB - and you thought the Brazilian kid has a great 
smile???) with Red's statue

BTW, anyone else surprised by the 100 hat trick stat at the end? I didn't 
know that one. Not many other surprises in the article, and no controversy, 
but worth spending the time it takes to read it to remember Reggie. For all 
the talk of our needing a PG and rebounder, can you imagine what he'd be 
like on this team? Especially with his having enough defense (MJ called him 
one of the toughest or the toughest for him to play against, and one game 
where he absolutely shut down MJ in his prime is one of the ones I best 
remember. That and his kangaroo jump shot and looooooong loping strides) to 
make the coaches happy and everyone else more effective.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/070203_RememberingReggie.html

Remembering Reggie...
By: Jeff Twiss

He was the quiet Celtic with the infectious smile. He was reserved and 
almost shy but his actions, both on and off the basketball court, spoke 
much louder than any words. He was a 6-7-basketball player, the captain of 
the team and the leading scorer. He was a devoted husband, father and 
friend to many. He was the torchbearer to a new Green and White generation. 
He was a soft-spoken yet powerful leader. Reggie Lewis, 27 years old, fell 
victim to natural causes and on Tuesday, July 27, 1993, Celtics fans 
tearfully said, 'good bye'.

Ten years later, Celtics.com fondly remembers him.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis enjoyed success and early 
fame as a key member of a 50-0 Dunbar High School basketball team that also 
featured future NBA players Reggie Williams, David Wingate and Tyrone 
"Mugsy" Bogues. But he never let undefeated seasons or 30-point scoring 
nights interfere or distract the soul, the personality, the man himself.

That was not Reggie Lewis, nor his style.

He went on to college to Boston's Northeastern University and became an 
instant success averaging 17.8 points per game in his freshman year. Three 
years later, he would conclude his brilliant collegiate career averaging 
22.2 points while connecting on almost half his field goals 
(1,043-for-2,098, 49.7%). The Huskies captain graduated as the team's 
all-time leading scorer, ninth-best in NCAA history, and in ceremonies on 
January 21, 1989 had his familiar number 35 retired to the Matthews Arena 
rafters.

Basketball experts often use words like, 'potential' and 'prime'. Reggie 
Lewis played only six seasons with the Boston Celtics and he had barely 
reached his 'peak'.

He was Boston's top draft choice (22nd pick overall in the first round) in 
1987. The Celtics top management team of President Red Auerbach, General 
Manager Jan Volk and Head Coach Jim Rodgers liked what they saw in Lewis on 
that day, June 22, 1987.

Like most rookies in Celtics history, the first year is a learning one, 
i.e. sit and watch, and Lewis' was no exception. But he observed and 
learned and pushed himself in year two and appeared in 81 of the 82 regular 
season games and finished the campaign averaging 18.5 points per game. More 
importantly, he stepped in and comforted Celtics fans' fears and worries, 
after Larry Bird missed almost the entire season due to surgery.

Celtics fans witnessed true flashes of brilliance in Lewis during 1991-92, 
as he averaged a career-best 20.8 points per game (he averaged the same 
figure the following season) while playing in all 82 games.

He posted a spectacular career-high 28.0 points per game in the 1992 
playoffs and was the lone Celtic to be named the NBA Eastern Conference 
All-Star Team.

By 1992-93 he had replaced the legendary Bird as the captain of the 
Celtics. The soft-spoken guard had joined a select group of Celtic greats, 
like, Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Dave Cowens, as the team 
leader. Quite often, verbal remarks seemed to take a back seat. As Auerbach 
said, "Reggie doesn't say a lot of words, he lets his game speak for him."

Ironically, Reggie was marking his first playoff game as team captain, on 
April 29, 1993 at the Boston Garden facing the Charlotte Hornets, when 
after pouring-in 17 points (on 7-for-11 field goal and 3-for-4 free throw 
shooting) in just 13 minutes he collapsed on the famous parquet floor. It 
proved to be his final game.

There will never be a clear method of telling just how good Reggie Lewis 
would have been. We caught a brief moment. We have many memories.

His spirit lives on. The beautiful Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center 
located in Roxbury, MA is a testament to the Hall of Fame status he has 
achieved in the community. He remains the only Celtic in the 57-year 
history of the franchise to have had 100 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals 
and 100 blocked shots in a single season (1991-92 with 394 rebounds, 185 
assists, 125 steals and 105 blocked shots). And, joining twenty other 
distinguished legends that have had their number retired, his #35 will 
forever be observed and honored in the rafters of the FleetCenter.