We ran an up-tempo, transition-style of game at Boston College – very similar to what we ran when I played for Arnold.

You have to remember that coaching wasn’t sophisticated back then – you didn’t have the camps, clinics and all the technical advances that are available today – so from that standpoint, playing with a cast on my arm was a fortunate event in my life.

That seemed to be the case with most of the teams based in the smaller towns – the fans were more rabid, and they wanted to literally kill the opposition.

We played every night. Sometimes we’d stay overnight after a game, but we’d usually drive on to our next destination.

Back then every small town had a gym, and if itseated more than 2,000 then we’d be interested in playing in it.

The NBA wasn’t a big deal at that time, so it wasn’t really in my career plans.

I once heard that Paul Seymour said as much as winning an NBA Championship, he’d like to see the Celtics lose a game after Auerbach brought out the cigar so he could go up to Arnold and stuff the cigar in his face.

We lived in Yorkville, which is located on the East End of Manhattan. It’s further east than Hell’s Kitchen, and back then it was the kind of place where the roaches and cockroaches were big enough to carry away small children.

Race wasn’t an issue. My family was French, but Yorkville was a melting pot of races and cultures.

Bob Brannum was my body guard on the court. He was 6?-6 and built like a bulldog.