Tom "Satch" Sanders, 13-year Celtic great and eight-time NBA champion, visited Tufts last week as part of Jan Volk's "The Business of Sports: A Study of the NBA" Ex-College class. Satch holds the third most Championship titles in NBA history behind teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones.
Satch, a New York City native who attended New York University, was the eighth pick overall in the 1960 draft by the Boston Celtics, a team he played with for all 13 seasons of his NBA career. He amassed 8,766 points and 5,798 rebounds in 916 games with the Celtics (the sixth most in team history). The Celtics retired his No. 16 jersey in 1973 and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Best known for his defensive contributions and his off-the-court personality, Satch was the player that would be called upon to defend the likes of Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere or Elgin Baylor.
After his career, Satch continued to contribute to the NBA in his retirement, essentially single-handedly founding NBA Player Programs and the NBA Rookie Transition Program, which aim to help rookies and veterans with the transition in and out of the NBA. For his contribution, Satch was awarded the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, an accolade shared by just three other Celtics: Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy and Dave Gavitt.
Tufts Daily: What's your fondest memory of being a Celtic and playing in the NBA?
Satch Sanders: Initially I wanted to be a Knickerbocker, that was home for me, but meeting the [other Celtics] I recognized that I was in the right place because it took me a little longer to become the player I became, and the Celtics had won a couple of championships so they were more patient. My greatest memory was that I was able to start in the playoffs, against St. Louis that first year, and I felt really good about that.
TD: What did you learn during the course of your career?
SS: I learned that I could not take what I wanted, and I was very physical about playing hard and trying to take a position because I didn't want to go back home and have the guys laugh. I learned that I had to win the position.
TD: What was your personal experience adjusting to life after the NBA?
SS: Well I was fortunate to still be exposed to basketball after the NBA. I coached college basketball at Harvard for four years immediately after [leaving the NBA] so that made the transition much easier.
TD: How do you think the NBA has changed since you played?
SS: The biggest thing that has changed has been the money and the fact that players are much better physical specimens than we were - they eat better, they travel better, all kinds of things in their favor now to help them be better. They aren't better, because they haven't gone through all the coaching that we had; of course, we had to go to college for four years, which made a big difference. We also had an adjustment period, you couldn't play in your freshmen year, and so you learned how to be a better player in college. A lot of the young players now are better athletes, but their knowledge of the game isn't totally there, so it takes them longer to pick up things on the pro-level.
TD: Who has been your favorite player to counsel?
SS: You're talking about hundreds of players, but I think [Charles] Barkley stands out because he was a good student of the game. He always came with questions.
TD: Who's your favorite player to watch in the NBA right now?
SS: Artest was a good player to watch early on. Right now I have moved my allegiance to Kevin Garnett, certainly Lebron James, it's easy to appreciate Kobe [Bryant] and certainly I like Rondo a lot. Stephen Curry as well.
TD: Who are your picks for the finals this year?
SS: The finals should be a toss up, either Brooklyn or Miami in the East, and in the West, San Antonio again and possibly the Clippers.
TD: Who is your pick to win it all?
SS: None of them are that superior but I think the deepest team is Brooklyn.
