K.C. Jones Says That He's Optimistic About Beating Prostate Cancer

Jet, Oct 29, 2001

Basketball Hall of Famer KC. Jones is suffering from prostate cancer, but the outlook for a full recovery is favorable.

"I got it, but they caught it early enough," Jones told the Boston Herald from his home in Connecticut. "I'm just checking with the doctors right now to get their opinions, and then we'll go from there."

Jones, a member of eight championship teams with the Boston Celtics, told the paper the cancer was recently detected after a routine checkup.

"I was in a couple of weeks ago and they saw a jump in the blood numbers," Jones said. "I always get checkups, and the last time they called me back in and said they wanted to do more testing.

"What they saw is that there's cancer in there. Now I'm just talking to the doctors. I saw doctors here and in Boston, and the big thing they're telling me is they got it early. They just have to find the best way to deal with it."

Enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989, Jones won six NBA titles in his 10 years as a player with the Celtics and two more as coach in 1984 and 1986. From 1983-88, Jones posted an amazing 308-102 record as Celtics coach.

Jones, 69, is currently preparing for another season as a radio broadcaster for the University of Hartford basketball team.