Under his leadership, the US won gold in , destroying the Soviet Union Once he reached the NBA, under the guidance of Auerbach, Russell quickly became the most prominent African American player in the league. Russell played for 13 seasons, winning the NBA championship in 11 of them. Over the course of his career, Russell averaged 15 points per game.
However, his defensive prowess that defined him with 22 rebounds per game. In , Russell broke down a major NBA color barrier. Athletically awkward at first, Russell struggled to find playing time on the team at McClymonds High School in Oakland. But by his senior year, his game had picked up enough to earn him a starting spot.
Russell's 6'9" frame also earned plenty of attention. In the fall of , he tried out as a walk-on at the University of San Francisco and earned a scholarship. During his three-year varsity career, in which he led the team to consecutive NCAA titles in and , he averaged Russell capped his amateur career by leading the U.
Louis Hawks and traded for the draft rights to the young center. With Russell anchoring the middle of the floor, the Celtics finished with the NBA's best record in , and went on to win the title over the Hawks in a tense seven-game series. It was the start of an unprecedented championship run for Russell and the Celtics. Over his 13 seasons in the league, the team played in 12 NBA finals, winning 11 of them. Even against more physically imposing centers, like Wilt Chamberlain , Russell was a defensive and rebounding force.
In the News : L. James , K. Durant , J. Embiid , J. Harden , S. Curry , L. All-Time Greats : E. Hayes , J. Stockton , H. Olajuwon , W. Chamberlain , D. Schayes , J. Active Greats : L. James , L. James , C. Basketball" Mikan , whom he met when he was in high school. In his early years, Russell struggled to develop his skills as a basketball player.
Although Russell was a good runner and jumper and had extremely large hands, he simply did not understand the game and was cut from the team in junior high school. However, coach George Powles saw Russell's raw athletic potential and encouraged him to work on his fundamentals. Russell, who was used to racist abuse, was delighted by the warm words of his white coach. He worked hard and used the benefits of a growth spurt to become a decent basketball player, but it was not until his junior and senior years that he began to excel.
Russell soon became noted for his unusual style of defense. He later recalled, "To play good defense When I started to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots, I was initially corrected, but I stuck with it, and it paid off.
Russell was ignored by college recruiters and did not receive a single letter of interest until Hal DeJulio from the University of San Francisco USF watched him in a high school game. DeJulio was not impressed by Russell's meager scoring and "atrocious fundamentals", but sensed that the young center had an extraordinary instinct for the game, especially in clutch situations.
When DeJulio offered Russell a scholarship, the latter eagerly accepted. Sports journalist John Taylor described it as a watershed in Russell's life, because Russell realized that basketball was his one chance to escape poverty and racism; as a consequence, Russell swore to make the best of it. Woolpert emphasized defense and deliberate half-court play, concepts that favored defensive standout Russell.
Woolpert was unaffected by issues of skin color. In , he became the first coach of a major college basketball squad to start three African American players: Russell, K. Jones and Hal Perry. In his USF years, Russell used his relative lack of bulk to develop a unique style of defense: instead of purely guarding the opposing center, he used his quickness and speed to play help defense against opposing forwards and aggressively challenge their shots.
Combining the stature and shot-blocking skills of a center with the foot speed of a guard, Russell became the centerpiece of a USF team that soon became a force in college basketball. However, the games were often difficult for the USF squad.
Russell and his African American teammates became targets of racist jeers, particularly on the road. In one notable incident, hotels in Oklahoma City refused to admit Russell and his black teammates while they were in town for the All-College Tournament.
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