"Hail fellow well met" is an English idiom used when referring to a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly, and congenial, in the affirmative sense.
It took an excellent CelticsBlog article by Dan Kelley to once again remind me why the hell K C Jones has not been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. Read Dan's article for many specifics.
Both former Celtics coaches, Bill Fitch and Rick Pitino, are in the Hall as coaches. Why isn't K C there?
I was never a fan of Fitch and still despise Pitino. Rick came close to ruining a treasured sports franchise (Celtics) and I didn't care for Bill - even though Larry Bird still showers praise on him.
I first learned of Fitch's harsh treatment of his (then) assistant, K C Jones after reading Jones' book, Rebound. Fitch's abuse of K C was well-known (per latimes.com's Thomas Bonk):
"Fitch had little use for K.C. Jones, who was one of his assistant coaches, but who succeeded him as head coach. Fitch shunted Jones off to one side, to the degree that Jones often had to ask reporters what time practice was."
It is past time to induct this "hail fellow well met" into the HoF as a coach. He should join Red Auerbach and Tommy Heinsohn in that honor. Exceptional leadership from the bench and wonderful demeanor off it have earned the late K C Jones that distinction.
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