The Wisdom of Red

Here's Red Auerbach on Adolph Rupp:

“Let me tell you something about Rupp. All I ever hear from people is that he was a racist. You know what? He did hate black guys — who couldn’t play! He also hated white guys who couldn’t play, blue guys who couldn’t play, and green guys who couldn’t play. He hated Jews who couldn’t play, Catholics who couldn’t play, and Muslims who couldn’t play. That was it. All these people who never met the guy said he was a racist. I knew the guy. I traveled with him. I spent time with him. I never saw any sign from him or heard anything from him that indicated to me that he was a racist or a bigot in any way.

“Now cheap, that was another story. He was the single cheapest person I’ve ever met in my life.”

...and on Traitor Rick Pitino:

“The guy can coach. I’ve watched him. He’s really good. He just fell into the same trap that so many guys fall into nowadays. He wanted everything. That might have worked forty or fifty years ago, but it can’t work today. You need guys you can turn to and really depend on to tell you the truth about everything — whether it’s good or bad. I don’t think Rick ever really trusted anyone but himself, which is really too bad.”