Why Scary Terry Could Be the Next Boston Area Legend

Terry Rozier is no stranger to adversity. Now that he is shining on the biggest stage, expect more of the same from the Boston guard.

If you were sleeping on the Boston Celtic’s Terry Rozier, chances are you aren’t anymore.

After Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the remainder of the 2018 season Rozier, the third-year guard out of Louisville, was forced into action. The Celtics had already been playing without key pieces due to injuries sustained throughout the year. Five minutes into the season, Gordon Hayward fractured his ankle and was ruled out for the entirety of 2017-18. Jaylen Brown has missed significant time (including all of game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semis), and is still not 100% with a hamstring injury. Back up Shane Larkin has only played in 54 games due to a sore knee, and illness, yet has been thrust into starting role in the playoffs.

Despite all of this, Boston has managed to get by a talented Milwaukee Bucks team, and is now out to a 2-0 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers. Possibly the most important piece right now for the Celtic’s team is Terry Rozier. Regarded as a serviceable back up in his first three seasons, Rozier is finally showcasing the skill set that many who have followed him closely have grown accustomed to.

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In 9 playoff games, Rozier is averaging 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists to 1 turnover, on 44% shooting and 43.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Rozier went from never starting a playoff game, to starting all 9 thus far. He has more than doubled his minutes, going from 16.3 mpg in the 2017 playoffs to 36.1 this season.

To many who have followed him since high school though, this success has not been a new revelation. Rozier comes from humble beginnings, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. According to his family, he often lashed out as a child as a result of growing up in a tough area without a father figure. Although Rozier became a top prospect as he neared the end of high school, he had a hard time with grades, and struggled to qualify to play college basketball. He pledged to the University of Louisville during his senior season, but ultimately ended up at Hargrave Military Academy, which gave him a second opportunity to boost his grades and his attitude. There, he made improvements to his life, but also to his game. Most memorably, Rozier scored 68 points in a game at the Louisville High School Hoopsfest in 2013 in front of 2,000 Louisville fans.

At Louisville, Rozier’s path to success was similar to his early life. Although he was a highly regarded recruit, he was forced into limited playing time behind All-American Russ Smith and veteran guard Chris Jones. In his Freshman season, he averaged only 7 points per game in 19 minutes of action. After Smith’s departure, however, his numbers skyrocketed in his second season. In 2014-15, he averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists and 2 steals per contest.

Sitting on the bench for much of his freshman year, and learning behind veterans like Russ Smith, Luke Hancock, and Chris Jones at the guard and wing spots, as well as learning the defensive tenacity that people came to expect from Rick Pitino-coached teams, ultimately worked wonders for Rozier. When it was his time to take the reigns at Louisville, he was more than competent. His numbers improved each game as the season progressed. He led a Chris Jones-less Louisville team through the postseason to an elite eight appearance where the Cards were one free throw away from a third straight final four appearance. In the 9 game stretch following Jones’s dismissal, he averaged 15.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, and played 357 out of 365 possible minutes for the Cardinals.

Sound familiar?

Rozier went from never starting a playoff game, to starting all 9 thus far. He has more than doubled his minutes, going from 16.3 mpg in the 2017 playoffs to 36.1 this season.

3 years later, Rozier is being asked to fill big shoes again. Only, instead of those shoes belonging to an often-forgotten college transfer, they belong to Kyrie Irving. Uncle Drew. NBA Champion. Top 10 NBA player, Kyrie Irving. Not only is Rozier filling them adequately, he is doing so in ways that often remind fans all too well of Kyrie Irving. In his first career start, he recorded a triple double (17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) against the New York Knicks, becoming the second player in NBA history to accomplish said feat. He is distributing the ball well (7-1 turnover rate), he is shooting the ball well (44% from 3), and he is doing it with some swagger.

His play is incredibly similar to Irving or Dwayne Wade, the way he makes everything he does look smooth and effortless. He can jump out of the building to go up for a dunk, block, or rebound, or he can cross you over for a game-winning 3 pointer.

Rozier’s “troll game” has been off the charts in the NBA playoffs as well. When the Milwaukee Bucks’s Eric Bledsoe said he didn’t know who Rozier was, a few minutes later Rozier “mistakenly” called Eric Bledsoe “Drew Bledsoe,” confusing him (or not, you decide) with the former New England Patriots quarterback. Rozier says it was an accidental slip up, but he doubled down with the shade a few days later by showing up to a game donning a Drew Bledsoe Jersey. In the days after, Rozier’s epic shade-throwing went viral, so he has since worn his popular “Scary Terry” T-shirts, with the figure now wearing a Drew Bledsoe jersey. Additionally, he will wear shoes for his third round playoff game with the Scary Terry figure wearing the jersey as well.

This kind of off-court swagger, in addition to him already being one of the top 3 stories of the NBA playoffs, has rocketed Rozier to almost instant stardom. But, in a way, those who have followed Rozier closely over the years have known this was coming. Rozier has always had adversity to overcome. From a difficult upbringing, to not qualifying for college, to having to wait his turn time and time again, Rozier has always stayed the course.

When arriving at the University of Louisville, Rozier decided to wear the number “0,” because he saw it as a fresh start; a new beginning, and a new life away from his problems at home. Now, at Boston, he wears the number 12, and he is replacing number 11 (Irving). Boston fans are very familiar with a number 12 replacing a number 11, when a player you might have heard of- Tom Brady- replaced number 11- Drew Bledsoe in 2001.

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Rozier will likely never have the same fame and success as the Brady in his time in Boston, but don’t put anything past him. Just like so many times before, Terry Rozier is making the most of his opportunities.