Dream Come True for #32

June 11, 1980

Kevin McHale blew into the Boston Garden yesterday with a Music Man-type fervor that had everybody in the room eagerly awaiting Opening Night.

"I'm elated," he declared. "Boston is a team where I can fit in without a lot of pressure. And it'll be nice playing with The Bird."

It was a dizzying day for McHale, who left Minneapolis late Monday morning, was introduced to the media in New York during yesterday's NBA draft and then was flown to Boston, arriving at the Garden around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. It was all the more fascinating because when he left Minneapolis, he expected to return as a member of the Golden State Warriors.

But that was before the Celtics traded the first and 13th picks in the draft for Golden State's third spot and center Robert Parish. "I've got to admire Boston," McHale said. "They got two players with one pick. When they go about something, they do it right. That's impressive."

When the season began, McHale was considered to be among the top 10 or 12 prospects, but when the draft dawned, he had been placed in a trio that included Joe Barry Carroll and Darrell Griffith as the best players. "Everybody hopes to be drafted that high," McHale said, "but I didn't think it would happen. But after a few of the all-star games had been played, it began to be a reality. It's extremely exciting."

He says he remembers watching Red Auerbach coach on TV when he was very small, and that he's always had an admiration for Boston. "My father is probably dancing an Irish jig in the kitchen right now," he said when he learned he had been taken by the Celtics. "He's really turned on by shamrocks."

His immediate aim is a long-planned fishing trip to Red Sand Lake in Canada with his older brother and a mutual friend. The Hibbing, Minn., native is a big hunting and fishing enthusiast, and one of his first queries of team publicist Howie McHugh, a noted angler, was about the type of freshwater fishing to be found in the area.

There is no question that he could use a rest. "It was a long season," said the affable McHale. "At the end of my junior year there were just three weeks off and then I went to the Pan-Am trials. After the Pan-Ams it was the World University Games. We had a 32-game season. Then there were all the all- star games. I need a little break."

But what he considers his real break is his selection by Boston. "It is just," he decided, "a dream come true."