Sloan remembers Red with respect

When Jazz coach Jerry Sloan tied Red Auerbach on the NBA's all- time coaching victories list by notching No. 938 against the Los Angeles Lakers in March of 2005, Sloan said at the time, "I'm embarrassed to even have my name mentioned with his, because what he has on his resume is certainly greater than anything I've ever done in this league."

Separating the two: Auerbach coached nine Celtics teams to NBA titles.

"He's one of the all-time great coaches because of what he was able to accomplish," Sloan said after learning Saturday night of Auerbach's passing. "I don't know if anyone will ever be able to do that in the history of basketball."

Sloan -- along with Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Larry Brown and Bill Fitch -- is one of only a half-dozen coaches with more all-time wins than Auerbach's 938.

Sloan and Auerbach also are only the two coaches in NBA history to have 10-plus straight winning seasons with the same team -- Sloan with 16 in Utah, Auerbach 11 in Boston.

Only Riley, Sloan and Phil Jackson, in fact, have coached more total consecutive winning seasons than Auerbach.

"But I'm not in that category," Sloan said Saturday. "I've never won a championship -- I just had an organization that's stuck with me and given me a chance."

Auerbach had the Celtics, and Sloan suggested he'll always respect his work as both coach and later general manager of that legendary franchise.

"He had a unique style, but he had a unique team most of the time," the Jazz coach said. "They pushed the ball up the floor, they kept pressure on you and they were great defensive teams.

"If we ever went to Boston Garden and got a win -- the Jazz, or when I was playing -- it was a rare occurrence," Sloan added. "Every time you went in there you knew you'd have a tough battle on your hands."

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