Doc Rivers remembers his former coach at Marquette: Hank Raymonds

Celtics coach Doc Rivers took time Tuesday to reflect on former Marquette coach Hank Raymonds, who passed away Monday at the age of 86. Rivers played for Raymonds from 1979-1983, making three NCAA tournament appearances during that span.

"He was very important for me," said Rivers. "Coach Raymonds and I were very close. I flew back probably three or four times per summer, just to see him. Honestly, I would not be here without him. In a lot of ways, he saved me as a person. I thought, for him, he was one of those coaches that care far more about the kids than the program. Very few college coaches like that any more.

"We had a great run with him. He’s just a terrific person. He called me, literally, every day during the playoffs last year and that’s when I found out he was sick because, during the Finals, I wasn’t getting calls any more. I checked with my sister and said, ‘What’s going on with Coach?’ She found out that he had a brain tumor. But I got to see him a week before [the 2010-11 NBA] season, got to see him one more time. He was still pretty much there, and so we got to spend a lot of time together."

"I use Hank’s lines all the time. The line I always use that he used on me a lot is, ‘I’m never going to coach you for who you are today. I’m going to coach you for you should be someday, and what you should be someday.’ I use that on my players, I use that on my kids, and I think it’s a great thing. To me, that sums Hank up as much as anything."