J-Speaks: The New Reality For Timberwolves All-Star Center Because of COVID-19

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic has taken a lot from us in 2020. It has taken from a lot of us our lively hoods, personal relationships, and changed our feelings towards many things in life. The Coronavirus has more than anything taken over 330,000 of our friends and family. No matter if you were wealthy or not, this pandemic has changed all of us and for a number of people their lives will never be the same. No one understands this better than one of the National Basketball Association’s young star players of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who life was changed forever because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

A week ago, two-time All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves began his sixth NBA season, hoping to put what was an awful fifth NBA season in the rearview mirror.

For most of his life, Towns was known as someone who played basketball from a young age growing up in Edison, NJ where he rise to stardom began at St. Joseph High School, to his lone collegiate season playing for the University of Kentucky and head coach John Calipari.

In June 2015, Towns was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Timberwolves and won Kia Rookie of the Year and was named to the 2016 NBA All-Rookie First Team. Two years later he earned the first to back-to-back All-Star selections and made the All-NBA Third Team in 2018.

Then came the 2019-20 NBA season where the 25-year-old Towns not only struggled through the first injury plagued season of his NBA career (playing in only 35 games) but the Timberwolves missed the playoffs for the 15^th time in the last 16 seasons. Their season abruptly ended early on Mar. 11 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and were they were one of eight NBA teams not invited to the NBA’s restart in Orlando, FL.

If that was not bad enough for Towns, he lost his mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who was one of the early casualties on Apr. 13. While Towns’ father, Karl. Sr. also contracted the virus he was able to recover.  

On Mar. 25, Towns expressed his emotions in a video that he posted on Instagram that explained his mother was placed on a ventilator and was in a medically induced coma as a result of the virus, which led to her death. Mrs. Cruz-Towns was 58 years old.

Towns not only lost his mom effervescent, who lit up every room she walked into, he lost his biggest cheerleader who was the first to congratulate him with a hug when he got drafted six years ago. Attended all the Timberwolves home game. She was also by his side at charity events.

“It always brought me a smile when I saw my mom at the baseline and in the stands and stuff, and having a good time watching me play,” Towns said. “It is going to be hard to play. It’s going to be difficult to say this is therapy. I don’ think [playing basketball] will ever be therapy for me again. But it gives me a chance to relive good memories I had.”

He posted several videos to his social media which detailed his ordeal as he cared for his sick mother, and his feelings after she died. He said that he felt it necessary to share those videos in order for people to better understand the ramifications of COVID-19.

“I didn’t want people to feel the way I felt,” Towns said. “I wanted to try to keep them from having the ordeal and the situation I was going through. It just came from a place that I didn’t want people to feel as lonely and upset as I was. I really made that video just to protect others and keep others well-informed, even though I knew it was going to take the most emotionally out of me that I’ve ever been asked to do.”

Towns was particularly transparent about how devastating the passing of his mom was in an 18-minute mini-documentary YouTube early last month entitled, “The Toughest Year of My Life.”  

What took even more out of Towns was the loss of six other family members due to complications from COVID-19.

“I’ve seen a lot of coffins in the last seven, eight months,” Towns said. “I have a lot of people who have—in my family and my mom’s family gotten COVID. I’m the one looking for answers still, trying to find how to keep them healthy. It’s just a lot of responsibility, you know. A lot of responsibility on me to keep my family well-informed and to make all the moves necessary to keep them alive.”

The help of his teammates, guard D’Angelo Russell in particular is what helped Towns navigate in the weeks after the passing of his mother. He received a plethora of supportive phone calls and text messages from all members of the Timberwolves organization, especially from head coach Ryan Saunders, who lost his father in former Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards head coach Philip “Flip” Saunders died on Oct. 25, 2015 after a two-month and 14-day battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma that he was diagnosed with on Aug. 11, 2015. The now 34-year-old Saunders lost his dad at age 29 when his dad was just age 60. Towns’ new teammate in lead guard Ricky Rubio, who was acquired in the offseason lost his mother when he was just 25 years old.

When the Timberwolves played their first preseason game on Dec. 12 versus the Memphis Grizzlies, it really Towns that he was playing his first game without his mother, let alone any fans in the Target Center that he could not even get off the sidelines during the introduction of the starting lineups.

How difficult of a night was that first game for Towns, he was just 4 for 13 from the field, including 0 for 5 from three-point range for 13 points, eight rebounds and three block shots.

While the emotions remained fresh, Towns’ production was per usual with 22 points, 11 rebounds seven assists, and two block shots on 6 for 10 shooting, including 2 for 4 from three-point range in the Timberwolves’ (2-2) 111-101 win versus the Detroit Pistons (0-4) in their season opener at home on Dec. 23 as they outscored the Pistons 31-16 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit in the third quarter.

Before the game, the Timberwolves held a moment of silence during pregame as well as had a video tribute for Mrs. Cruz-Towns.

In his postgame interview with Timberwolves sideline reporter for FOX Sports North Marney Gellner, Towns said that he was going to give the game ball to his father to put next to his mother.

“It was heavy,” Towns, who made the Timberwolves first field goal of the game after a 0 for 7 start to their home opener said to Gellner about the emotions he played with in memory of his mother. “It was different, you know. It’s just always different. I’m just happy I got this for her. I told her I wanted to get her this win and get her this ball, so I’m was just happy to be able to get it done.”

In the span of eight months, life for all of us changed because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. We all lost something from either our lively hoods to family and friends or both.

For Karl-Anthony Towns, his foundation was altered not only with the loss of his mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, but he lost six other family members, and nearly lost his father as well because of the Coronavirus.

His life changed forever, and while he still can do what he has done for nearly two decades in not just play basketball for a living, but he is playing in the NBA.

While being able to compete at the highest level of basketball competition of the National Basketball Association (NBA), might take his mind of what has happened to him in 2020, Towns will never be the same person because his biggest cheerleader and one constant in his life I his mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns is no longer here to route her son on.

Life will eventually get back to normal where most of us will work or find new work and be able to hug, love, and be present for our family and friends again. But no matter if you have or have not lost someone that meant a great deal to you, how everyone sees life will never be the same again.

“I don’t even recognize most of my other games and year I’ve played, and how I’ve felt those days. I don’t really recall or really care,” Towns, who registered his 180^th career double-double (most since the 2015-16 season) said in his virtual postgame press conference after the Timberwolves win versus the Pistons.

“I only know what I’ve been through from Apr. 13 on. You may see me smiling and stuff, but that Karl died on Apr. 13. He’s never coming back. I don’t remember that man. I don’t know that man. You’re talking to the physical me, but my soul has been killed off a long time ago….”

“I only know how I feel from Apr. 13 on, and to say it’s been day-by-day is probably an understatement. I think it’s moment-by-moment.” 

Towns added about how he plans to be for his Timberwolves teammates moving forward, “No matter how bad my situation is, how [expletive] my life is, I’m gonna keep being here for these guys. I’m gonna let them see me smile even though inside I’m not smiling whatsoever. I owe that to these guys as a leader, I owe that to them as a teammate.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/4/2020 www.espn.com story, “Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns Says Season Will Be Difficult Amid Off-Court Tragedies,” by Malika Andrews; 12/15/2020 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Paul Pierce; 12/23/2020 2 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” from Los Angeles, CA with Linda Cohn and Stan Verrett; 12/24/2020 www.espn.com story, “Emotional Karl-Anthony Towns Reflects on How He Has Changed Following First Game Since Mother’s Death,” by Royce Young; https://www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=401265833; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/boxscore?gameid=401267178; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Saunders; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Saunders.  

J-Speaks: The Passing of Another Celtics Legend And Champion

 On Nov. 9, the Boston Celtics suddenly lost one of their legendary faces who was a player, coach, and longtime broadcaster for the team. 9. On Christmas Day, the boys from “Beantown” said goodbye to another legend won helped them win a plethora of titles both as a player and coach.

On Friday morning, the Celtics before their Christmas Day national television tilt versus the Brooklyn Nets got the sad news that Hall of Famer K.C. Jones died at an assisted living center in Connecticut, which was confirmed by his family.

Jones is survived by his wife of four decades Ellen, and their son K.C. Jones (Kipper) III, and his five children other children (Leslie, Kelly, Bryna, Holly, and Christopher) from his first wife Beverly Cain, who he was married to for 18 years (1960-78).

Jones had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, and for the past several years has received care for the disease at the aforementioned living facility.

He is the third Hall of Famer from the 1965 Celtics’ title team to die this year: the previously mentioned Mr. Heinsohn on Nov. 9 and fellow Hall of Famer John Thompson, who too had greater success as a coach as the leader of the Georgetown Hoyas, who died in Aug. 30.

Before their 123-95 loss on Christmas Day versus the Brooklyn Nets (2-0) on ABC, the Celtics (1-1) held a moment of silence in remembrance of Jones, who is one of seven players in NBA history to have won an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

In a report from ESPN/ABC sideline reporter Ariel Helwani during the game between the Celtics and Nets, Jones’ daughter Bryna noted on Twitter that her dad was born on May 25, 1932, died on Dec. 25, 2020, and wore No. 25 in his career with the Celtics saying, “he loves that number.”  

During the quarter break between the third and fourth quarters, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens in speaking about the passing of Jones, and the passing of Mr. Heinsohn back in November said, “Merry Christmas to all the Celtics fans we wish were here, and specifically to the Jones family and the Heinsohn. Huge losses for all of us. We certainly miss you. We love you and we’re thinking about you today.”

Two nights before in their 122-121 win versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night on TNT, the Celtics held a moment of silence in remembrance of the Celtics’ Hall of Famer and Jones’ teammate in the 1950s and 1960s, and his coach in the 1970s Tom Heinsohn, who died on Nov. 9. 

Jones, who was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986; the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989; and to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 won two NCAA titles (1955 and 1956) as a member of the University of San Francisco, playing alongside fellow Celtics teammate and Hall of Famer Bill Russell. The two also led Team USA to a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

With the Celtics, Jones, a Second-Round pick by the team in 1956 won 11 of his 12 titles with the Celtics, winning eight as a player in his nine NBA seasons with the C’s (1958-67), the third most in NBA history. He won a titles in his five seasons as a Celtics assistant coach (1978-83) and two more as the head coach (1984 and 1986) in his five seasons (1983-88) as the Celtics’ sideline leader of Hall of Fame trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, who also won five Atlantic Division titles in that span as well. The Celtics during that time represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals for four straight seasons (1984-87).

His No. 25 is one of 24 numbers that Celtics have retired and are high above the floor of TD Garden in Boston, MA.    

“K.C. Jones was among the most decorated champions in the history of our game,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Friday. “His relentless defense as a player and remarkable poise as a coach made him essential to 12 NBA championship teams, including 11 with the Boston Celtics. From winning two NCAA titles to earning an Olympic gold medal to helping the Celtics win eight consecutive NBA Finals during his Hall of Fame career, K.C. extraordinary accomplishments and impact will long be remembered. Our thoughts are with K.C.’s loved ones and the entire Celtics organization.”

Only Russell (11) and fellow teammate and Hall of Famer Sam Jones (10) have won more NBA titles as players than K.C. Jones.  

“I just received a call letting me know my x-roommate/teammate & most of all friend the great KC Jones pass this morning. Prayers to his family. We have been friends from almost 60yrs… Friends for life #2020Usuck! #RIP @NBA @Celtics.”

Jones is one of seven players (Russell and Sam Jones, and fellow Hall of Famers Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Lucas, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Michael Jordan, and Quinn Buckner) in basketball history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Following his retirement as a player in 1967, Jones’ coaching journey began in college as the head coach at Brandeis University (1967-1970) and then as an assistant coach at Harvard University for one season before joining the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant in the 1971-72, where he earned another championship ring. Jones also had head coaching stints with the San Diego Conquistadors (1972-73) of the ABA and led the then Washington Capitals/Bullets (now Wizards) from 1973-76, coaching them to the 1975 NBA Finals. He then was an assistant coach for one season with the Milwaukee Bucks (1976-77) before going on to the Celtics and making all the aforementioned history he made as a coach.

That history began when Jones won his 10^th title with the Celtics as an assistant on fellow Hall of Famer Bill Fitch’s staff in 1981.

Jones took over for Fitch three years later and over the next five seasons never won fewer than 57 games in the regular season or failed to lead the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals.

“He was a great coach to work for. He was a class act, and yet he had this competitive edge that was fierce,” Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, who played for the team from 1981-88 when Jones was an assistant coach and then head coach said before Friday’s loss versus the Nets.  

“He had this gentleness and kindness. He was a great leader of men. I looked to him as a mentor, and a friend. Much more than a coach.”  

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who was coached by Jones with the Celtics from 1984-87, winning a title as a member of the 1986 squad said Jones was a “beautiful man who knew the balance between structure for a team and giving the players the freedom to play.”

ESPN play-by-play analyst Mark Jones noted in the Celtics loss versus the Nets on Friday that Coach Jones in his time with the Celtics was a man of “very few words.”

In speaking with Celtics radio commentator and fellow champion on the Celtics teams in the 1980s Cedric Maxwell said that Jones as a coach was a man of “very few words, terse and quiet.” But when he summoned you to sit beside him on a plane ride, it was known as being “in the hot seat.” When you were in that hot seat, Coach Jones had something urgent and important to tell you.”

Color analyst Doris Burke mentioned during Friday’s telecast that in reaching out to former longtime Celtics beat writer Jackie MacMullan, who now works for ESPN.com telling about how Larry Bird was not happy when the change was made where Jones replaced Fitch as head coach of the Celtics back in the 1980s. Bird loved Coach Fitch, his teammates, not so much.

There was one story of how Bird in a tight game says that he demanded the ball and that everyone else get out of the way. Coach Jones said to Bird to take a seat on the sidelines. In the huddle, it is Jones who says to the team to get the ball to Bird and for everyone else to get out of the way.

Burke said to that moment, “That’s intelligence untouched by the great K.C. Jones.”

After his time with the Celtics, Jones then coached for the then Seattle Supersonics (1989-92) first as an assistant and then as a head coach for two seasons. He then was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons (1994-95) before returning to the Celtics as an assistant for the 1996-97 seasons. Jones concluded his coaching career as the head coach of the New England Blizzards of the women’s American Basketball League in its final 1.5 seasons of existence.

Jones compiled a 522-252 record in his NBA coaching career in the regular season with the Bullets/Capital, Celtics, and Supersonics (81-57 mark in playoffs) is also one of three people in NBA history (Atlanta Hawks’ Rajon Rondo and Lovellette) to have won a title with the Celtics and Lakers.

In a time in our nation where equal opportunity has been at the forefront of our subconsciousness, especially in pro sports when it comes to seeing more minority representation in ownership and head coaching, when Jones got his chance, he made the most of it. He grinded his way up the coaching ranks in both college and the pros as an assistant and then as a head coach first where he really etched his name in the NBA record books with the Celtics.

“KC Jones was the first Black Coach I ever saw on TV,” Jay Scott Smith tweeted @JayScottSmith on Friday about the impact Jones had on him. “That he was the coach of the team I hated with a passion didn’t matter. I didn’t know until I was in college that dude was a Hall of Fame player with eight rings and played w/Bill Russell in College & the NBA.” #RIPKCJones.

Bill @mrcoaster1 tweeted those same sentiments saying of Jones, “Sorry to hear of KC Jones’ passing. I loved watching him as a player and coach and the impact he had on those great Celtics teams. Gone, but never forgotten”

Ben Jackson tweeted @BJacksonWrites, “Sad to read this. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of conversations with K.C. Jones when I was a teenager. He was kind and generous with the time and advice. RIP.”

Dr. Rob O’Lynn tweeted @DrRobOlynn, “KC Jones was a Celtic through and through, first as a player and then as a coach. He was a fierce competitor who respected his team and the game. I will always be a fan of Doc [Rivers] and Brad [Stevens], however I prized KC’s coach trading card as a kid,” @celtics #RIPKCJones.  

In early November, the Boston Celtics said goodbye to one of the pillars of their organization in the great Tommy Heinsohn. On Christmas Day, they said goodbye to another legend of their organization in K.C. Jones.

The two men were champions as players and then as head coaches. They were staples for over two decades, over five decades in the case of Heinsohn. They did a lot of winning. A lot of celebrating with the organization and the fans of “Beantown” as a result of those wins. More than anything, they created a lot of lasting memories for the residents of Boston, MA and their families that will live forever.

In a statement released on Friday, the Celtics said, “Where K.C. Jones went, winning was sure to follow. K.C.-his given name-was a twelve-time NBA champion as a player and coach, a two-time NCAA champion, and a Gold medal-winning Olympian and Hall of Famer. In NBA history, only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones have more championship rings during their playing careers. K.C. along with Russell, Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Michael Jordan, are the only players in history to achieve basketball’s “Triple Crown”—winning an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal. His number 25 has hung from the rafters since 1967.”

“K.C.’s coaching career was similarly illustrious. He was named to lead the Celtics in 1983, beginning what is one of the most remarkable head coaching runs the NBA has seen. K.C. helmed the Celtics for two of the most memorable seasons in the team’s rich history, first leading the team to a championship in 1984 over the Lakers during a peak of that soared rivalry. Two seasons later, he led what many consider the greatest team in NBA history, the 1986 Champion Boston Celtics. These were the highlights of an astonishing four consecutive seasons in the NBA Finals, one of the most impressive and beloved Celtics eras.”

“K.C. demonstrated that one could be both a fierce competitor and a gentleman in every sense of the word. He made his teammates better, and he got the most out of the players he coached. Never one to seek credit, his glory was found in the most fundamental of basketball ideals -- being part of a winning team. The Celtics family mourns his loss, as we celebrate his remarkable career and life.”

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/25/2020 5 p.m. “Brooklyn Nets versus Boston Celtics,” presented by State Farm on ABC with Mark Jones, Doris Burke, and Ariel Helwani; 12/25/2020 8 p.m. “Dallas Mavericks versus Los Angeles Lakers,” presented by State Farm on ABC with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Rachel Nichols; 12/25/2020 www.nba.com story, “Celtics Legend K.C. Jones Dies at 88,” by Jimmy Golden of “The Associated Press;” 12/25/2020 https://www.bostonglobe.com story, “K.C. Jones, A Celtics Legend And 12-Time NBA Champion, Dies at 88,” by Joseph P. Khan; https://starsoffline.com piece, “Ellen Jones Bio: K.C. Jones Wife, Age, Job, First Husband;” 12/25/2020 https://www.hitc.com story, “Who Is K.C. Jones’ Wife Ellen Jones? Boston Celtics Legendary Player Passes Away at 88,” by Prerna Nambiar; and  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._C._Jones#; and   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Carlisle.