Well, I still don't have my new high-speed up yet (that will come on Friday), but I'll still do my player profile tonight. Throughout the Boston Celtics' rich history, they've had great centers, from Bill Russell to Robert Parish. The middle man (no pun intended) between Russell and Parish had a stellar career as well. He is "Big Red", Dave Cowens.

Dave Cowens was born October 25, 1948 in Newport, Kentucky. He attended Newport Central Catholic High School in his hometown, but quit after his freshman year because of a conflict with his coach. He eventually returned as a junior, and after averaging 13 PPG and 20 RPG as a senior, he was highly sought after by Ohio Valley Conference schools. Cowens would have preferred to go to Kentucky, but when the Wildcats didn't recruit him, he chose Florida State University despite the fact that the Seminoles were on probation and would not be on TV or in the NCAA tournament. Cowens thrived at Florida State, averaging 19 PPG and 17.2 RPG, earning second-team All-America honors as a senior in 1970. Although many people felt he'd be too small to play center in the NBA, the Boston Celtics chose him fourth overall in the 1970 NBA Draft.

Cowens had an excellent rookie season, averaging 17 PPG and 15 RPG, leading the Celtics to a ten win improvement over the previous season, and earning co-Rookie of the Year honors with Portland's Geoff Petrie. He led the Celtics to a division title the following year, and in 1972-73, he had his best pro season, with averages of 20.5 PPG and 16.2 RPG (both would be career highs) and helping Boston win a still-franchise record 68 games. For this, Cowens was named league MVP, the first Celtic to do so since Bill Russell in 1965. Cowens eventually led the Celtics to two NBA titles in 1974 and 1976, with his best work coming during the first title, when he defended Kareem Abdul-Jabbar solidly and was big in the clinching game 7 with 28 points as the Celtics won 102-87.

Cowens made his reputation in the NBA for being one of the fiercest competitors the league has ever seen; the scene that displays this trait comes from the 1974 NBA Finals, when he dived on the floor to snatch the ball away from Oscar Robertson. Cowens also had a flaky side, as well; he slept on a park bench in Boston after winning his first NBA title, and during the 1976-77 season, he left the team for a sabbatical to drive a taxi cab because he was feeling burnout. But Cowens produced even as the Celtics declined as a team in the late 1970s; he averaged a double-double in eight of his ten seasons, and was an All-Star seven times (1972-78, with an All-Star MVP in 1973). During the 1977-78 season, when the Celtics won only 32 games, he led the team in scoring (18.6 PPG), rebounds (14.0 RPG), assists (4.6 APG), steals (102 steals) and blocks (67 blocks), which has only been done by two players since (Scottie Pippen and Kevin Garnett). It showed just how versitile Cowens was, and why Boston fans loved him.

Cowens played for the Celtics through the 1979-80 season (playing with rookie Larry Bird) before he retired. After two seasons in retirement, he was lured back into the league by the Milwaukee Bucks, who gave up Quinn Buckner as compensation (the Celtics still owned his rights, so compensation was required). Cowens played the season with the Bucks before retiring. Cowens would eventually coach the Charlotte Hornets and the Golden State Warriors, with some success in Charlotte (54 wins in 1996-97) before settling into an assistant job with the Detroit Pistons. When he called it quits as a player, he had scored 13.516 points (17.6 PPG career) and had 10,444 rebounds (13.6 RPG career), and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. Dave Cowens is proof that, in the NBA, sometimes, size doesn't matter.

Season-by-Season Statistical Review:
1970-71: 81 GP, 17.0 PPG, 15.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 42.2 FG%, 73.2 FT%
1971-72: 79 GP, 18.8 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, 48.4 FG%, 72.0 FT%
1972-73: 82 GP, 20.5 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 45.2 FG%, 77.9 FT%
1973-74: 80 GP, 19.0 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 43.7 FG%, 83.2 FT%
1974-75: 65 GP, 20.4 PPG, 14.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 47.5 FG%, 78.3 FT%
1975-76: 78 GP, 19.0 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 46.8 FG%, 75.6 FT%
1976-77: 50 GP, 16.4 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 43.4 FG%, 81.8 FT%
1977-78: 77 GP, 18.6 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 49.0 FG%, 84.2 FT%
1978-79: 68 GP, 16.6 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, 48.3 FG%, 80.7 FT%
1979-80: 66 GP, 14.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 45.3 FG%, 77.9 FT%
1980-81: did not play (retired)
1981-82: did not play (retired)
1982-83: 40 GP, 34 GS, 8.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 44.4 FG%, 82.5 FT%