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Wedman- King of the Knights
** Someone was asking about Wedman. Here's the latest. Doesn't sound like
he's too interested in an NBA job.
King of the Knights
Former NBA star is right at home coaching Kansas City's ABA team
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Scott Wedman walked into the restaurant, shook the hand of Knights owner Jim
Clark and promptly produced a legal pad listing each of the NBA's 29
franchises. More than half the teams were check-marked, signaling the general managers
and directors of player personnel whom Wedman knew personally.
b That's a great way to start off an interview,b Clark said.
Wedman then mentioned he spoke with Larry Bird b NBA legend, Indiana Pacers
GM and close Wedman friend b who had a few players he wanted Wedman to consider
if he took the job.
b Dang, Scott,b Clark said, b that's another great way to start an interview.b
So it was, right there at an IHOP in the Northland (hey, this is minor-league
basketball), that Wedman, 51, officially rejoined the sport that made him
famous as the coach of the Knights in the city that's been his home since 1974.
He's a two-time NBA All-Star, a former No. 1 draft choice with the Kansas
City Kings and a world champion with the Boston Celtics now toiling in the
anonymous, no-frills world of the ABA. Where he once starred in Kemper Arena, he now
mans the sidelines next door at Hale Arena.
He dropped 45 points on Adrian Dantley and the Utah Jazz one night and made
more money than each of his teammates b even Bird b when he joined the Celtics
in 1983. But his friends describe a man grounded enough that he routinely
drove an elderly woman to the grocery store while with the Kings, and only
recently replaced his 15-year-old car (a former total).
Hank Young was a freelance photographer who often worked with professional
athletes and was the first person Wedman met in Kansas City 30 years ago.
b I remember pulling into the parking lot at the arena, and it was just full
of Jaguars and Mercedes and BMWs,b Young said. b There was a lot of pressure,
especially on the rookies, to drive a fancy car. Well, Scott drove a VW bus.b
***
Most of the guys he's coaching have no idea what kind of player Wedman was.
They don't know he averaged more than 15 points six straight seasons, scored
more than 10,000 points in 13 years and was a key contributor for the 1985-86
Celtics, widely considered one of the best teams in NBA history.
Sports Illustrated ranked Wedman No. 19 among the greatest Colorado sports
figures, but the Knights players probably don't remember much about any of that.
Heck, remember it? None was alive when Wedman was drafted sixth overall out
of Colorado in 1974; some were in kindergarten when Wedman retired in 1987.
Wedman's players might see an old Celtics-Lakers game on ESPN Classic, but
it's tough to see through the grainy picture.
b Every once in a while one of the guys will say something about it,b Wedman
said. b They usually make fun of how short the shorts were back then.b
There's a book about the greatest offensive players in NBA history, called b
Smooth Moves.b Wedman's name is listed twice in the index. Once because he hit
all 11 of his shots against the Lakers in game one of the 1985 finals, a
record that still stands.
The other reference is in a section devoted to b stop-and-pop shooters,b
defined as players who took the bulk of their shots off the dribble or screens.
For such players, Wedman's 48.1 career field-goal percentage is listed as the
all-time best, just ahead of Jerry West and Reggie Miller.
The 45-point night in Utah was Wedman's career high and came in January 1980.
Otis Birdsong was usually the Kings' first option, but he stepped aside as
Wedman gave Dantley the business on 19-of-31 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven
assists. He hit a three-pointer that sent the game into overtime, and the Kings
eventually won 128-121.
b Adrian Dantley was a heck of a player, but Scotty just lit him up that night,
b Birdsong said. b He just gave him a steady diet of jump shots. Man, it was
a thing of beauty.b
Wedman and Birdsong helped the Kings reach the Western Conference finals in
1981, where they lost to Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets. Kings ownership
broke up the team that summer, and Wedman signed as a free agent with
Cleveland.
He played a season and a half there before a trade to Boston, where Wedman
played on two world champions and served as Bird's primary backup.
Star forward Kevin McHale missed about three weeks of the 1985-86 season,
forcing Wedman into the starting lineup. He scored 24 points in a victory over
Washington one night.
Wedman was reading a book in the hotel lobby the next day when Bird walked
up, slammed down a copy of the newspaper and pointed to the headline, b Wedman
leads Celtics past Bullets.b
b You believe that (expletive)?b Bird said. b This is my team. That will never
happen again.b
Wedman said, b I still think he was kidding, but he wasn't laughing.b
***
Knights forward Doug Wrenn was 5 years old when Wedman won his second NBA
title in 1986. Still, Wrenn knows all he needs to about his coach's pro career,
thanks to an Internet search.
b Second-team all-defensive player, scored almost 20 a game, won a couple of
championships,b Wrenn said. b He's the truth. You gotta respect that. He put it
down when he was in the league. He knows what the (heck) he's talking about.b
The Knights are 22-9 and in second place in the ABA heading into tonight's
regular-season finale at Hale. The credit should be shared among the players and
front office, but Wedman is the Knights' driving force.
Only Wedman's b driveb is a little different. When Birdsong heard Wedman was
coaching, he wondered whether his old friend had the temperament for it.
b My concern was that he might be too nice,b Birdsong said. b You rarely saw
Scotty argue a call or throw a tantrum or anything like that. I didn't know if
he could be tough enough on the guys.b
Wedman hasn't lost that easygoing nature. His voice is sometimes hard to pick
up over the chatter of the gym during Knights practices. His idea of arguing
with a referee is to ask, rather politely by coaching standards, whether he's
really sure about the call.
Knights forward Paul Shirley played for famous screamers Tim Floyd and Larry
Eustachy at Iowa State.
b After that, I think everybody seems laid-back to me,b Shirley said. b But
Wedman's a little more detail-oriented, which is great for players like myself
who need some organization. It's tempting to just put your five best players on
the floor and let them go, but he seems to think things through a little more.
b
With Wedman's NBA connections, the Knights players figure to have every
opportunity. In fact, Shirley has a workout this morning with the Chicago Bulls.
b Scott has credibility in my eyes and the eyes of a lot of people in this
league,b said Danny Ainge, a former teammate of Wedman's and now the GM in
Boston. b It's not just that he played, but who he was as a player and the way he
went about it. He's the same way now. He really tries to sell his players.b
People ask Wedman about the NBA all the time, but the truth is that the ABA
lifestyle is perfect for him. He can stay in Kansas City (b best place I've ever
lived,b he said) with about half the travel of an NBA schedule and a small
fraction of the stress.
b It's just not what I'm interested in right now,b Wedman said of the NBA. b
I'd rather my players get there than me.b
***
Wedman often works from home, in a basement corner overlooking Weatherby Lake
in Platte County. A computer, printer, fax machine, two phones and the
controls to his pride-and-joy stereo system are all within reach.
Across the way sits a Galaga arcade machine and a pool table. Outside is a
sailboat, a pontoon boat and a trampoline. Wedman bought his first trampoline
when he was 11 with the money he made working at a horse track and has owned one
ever since.
For the last 20 years, Wedman has made his money primarily in real estate,
mostly with apartments and town homes. His partner is covering while the Knights
are in season. Wedman is also a silent investor in a car restoration business
and holds a basketball camp every summer.
Kim Wedman, Scott's wife, was in Costa Rica last week on business. She's an
alternative-health practitioner and travels a lot these days. That's one reason
Scott likes the low-maintenance ABA life. He figures with all the traveling
and lonely nights she put up with during his years in the NBA, it's Scott's
turn to sacrifice.
Scott proposed to Kim in July 1977. After she said b yes,b he called a few
friends and asked that they meet at the justice of the peace that same day.
Scott and Kim were engaged for about four hours.
Everyone has a story about Wedman. Kim likes to tell the one of how her
husband signed over a check from a shoe company to help out the Special Olympics or
when he sent a weekly bouquet of fresh flowers to his two bed-ridden
grandmothers.
b Scott's great at observing the need and coming to someone's aid with what's
needed,b Kim said.
Birdsong remembers Wedman as a b flower child.b A yoga-practicing, vegetarian
NBA player who meditates in his spare time tends to catch some grief from
teammates. Rick Carlisle, a former Boston teammate, used to hide a piece of
sausage under macaroni and cheese and offer it to Wedman.
Ainge talked about running up a $30 cab bill in the 1980s driving all over
Dallas to find a bottle of water for Wedman, who never drank from a faucet.
McHale sometimes stole Wedman's bottle, filled it up from the tap and put it back
like nothing happened.
Wedman took all the ribbing with a smile. He has always been able to laugh at
himself.
b Some guys are different, and they're never able to fit in,b said Cotton
Fitzsimmons, who coached Wedman for six years in Kansas City. b That was never the
case with Wed. I'd like to come up with somebody who didn't like Wed, but I
don't think I could.b
***
Before taking the Knights job, Wedman talked to Bird and to Fitzsimmons, who
is now the senior executive vice president for the Phoenix Suns.
There were more friends in the league Wedman could have talked to, general
managers like McHale (Minnesota), Ernie Grunfeld (Washington) and Kiki
Vandeweghe (Denver). Or coaches like Mike D'Antoni (Phoenix) and Carlisle (Indiana).
But Wedman didn't talk to any of them. Instead, he called Ron Butler, a
longtime friend and self-described b terribleb basketball player whom nobody in the
NBA has ever heard of. Butler has a daughter whom Wedman coached in youth
leagues from the time she was in fourth grade to high school.
b We joked about this, but it's kind of true,b Butler said. b If he could
coach those middle-school-aged, high-strung, hormonal girls, I figured he could
coach anybody.b
To reach Sam Mellinger,
sports reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4389 or send e-mail
to smellinger@xxxxxxxxxx
TAM