Pitino quoted in Boston Globe and on TV

[jmc@ptc.com (Jonathan McIntyre)]

Lots of stuff has been said recently on Williams and Mills, and this 
morning's Boston Globe should clear some things up for folks:

casey soulies said:
> He can stroke the 3 and will fit right in on Defense.  Mills has a good
> attitude and won't be any problem as a free agent in a year.  Compared to
> others that have just signed contracts, Mills and Edney might be K-Mart
> shoppers.

Yes!  These are definitely things that make Mills better all-around than 
Williams, who was good at only one thing, although he was a master at it 
and fun to watch doing that one thing... getting into the paint and drawing 
the foul. 

Mark Berry said:
>         Statistically they are similar, but you have to consider the
>         slow-down play of the Cavs when considering Mills' stats.
>         Put him in the wide-open (undisciplined) system of M.L Carr,
>         and Mills likely would have bettered Williams' numbers.

Exactly!  On top of that, there's an even more important distinction 
between them, which was made clear in a Boston Globe article this morning. 
Mills is a very hard worker, who improves his game every year.  Eric 
Williams is not a hard worker, and is not likely to improve much from 
his rookie season.  Pitino was not happy with his "time commitment" to 
the club.  The Globe pointed out how Williams came into last year 30 
pounds heavier than he was his rookie year, and that wasn't added muscle. 

When I look at Mills' stats I see a guy whose FG% was around 41% his first 
2 years and 46% his last 2.  His FT% has significantly increased each year 
of his 4 year career.  His other totals have also gone up while Cleveland's 
offense has slowed down.  This guy is a hard-worker, constantly working to 
improve his game, and that's why Pitino likes him over Williams.


Someone said:
> I personally have trouble with the claim that  Mills is better than
> Williams - I could not understand anyone claiming Bowen or Massenburg is
> better than Williams.  We gave up Williams for nothing because of bad
> planning.  There is no other excuse.  We never even talked to his agent,
> so it wasn't because he was demanding to much next year.  
> Adam A Suchocki

That Globe article explains why this is not true.  It asks Pitino if there 
is a master plan, or if everything is just one event leading to another.  
Pitino said his master plan is to get a team full of players who: 
  1.  Are already hard workers, willing to work EXTREMELY hard to improve.
  2.  Have tremendous upside potential.
  3.  Are very flexible (I imagine this means they can play different 
        positions well, and also includes durability, so they can survive 
        whatever comes at them)

Pitino said Williams scored extremely low on number 1, as he had many 
chances to prove his willingness to work, and he failed all of them.  
Make no mistake... Pitino wanted to dump Williams... it wasn't a salary 
cap thing.  Williams also doesn't seem to fit #3, either. 

Pitino seems to be doing an excellent job of getting players which fit the 
above description, and I believe his plan is an excellent formula for success, 
when you add in Pitino's coaching ability. 


danny3 said:
> Don't think Dee is capable of lighting up the new Boston team or any other
> team for 30-50 big ones. His best years are behind him. He never could hit
> the money shot. over-rated from the beginning.=20
> >> If he has a good year, don't expect it to be in Boston.  I think Brown,
> >> Barros,  Ellison, & Minor are on the first bus who will take them for a
> >> decent return. These guys are pros, if they have that "I will play when
> >> everyone else does" attitude, we don't need them, they are not Celtic
> >> material and tarnish the franchise name.
> >
> >Agreed, but dont laugh when Dee lights up Boston for 30 to 50 big ones!
> >
> >Warwick

I think Pitino is planning to keep Dee.  I don't think he's just trying 
to hype him up to increase his trade value.  Dee seems to fit with all 3 
of Pitino's criteria for his players, and he's most impressed with Dee's 
hard work, which is most important to Rick.


Mark Berry said:
>           I believe Ellison likely will start the season on the
>           injured list, easing the roster squeeze until a deal can be
>           worked out for Brown/Barros/Minor.

I agree, they'll probably claim someone's "injured" if they can't move 
someone by their first game.  Barros and Minor probably each only fit one 
of Pitino's 3 criteria for players, although if Minor shows a desire to 
work hard he'll be close to all 3, while Ellison fits none, so they're all 
on their way out eventually (it just may take a while, and Minor might just
get his act together and stay), while again, Dee Brown will be kept in my 
opinion.


Gary Alter said:
> In all the disscussion about Pitino's ethics, lieing etc., what bothers me
> most is his standing up for Minor. Here's a guy that refused to support his
> kids, smacks his girlfriend around and claims he's a victim of his agent.
> More than any of the roster moves, I would have respected RP a heck of a lot
> more if he just said we don't want that kind of person on our team and cut
> him. In this case, RP need to put a positive spin on everything doesn't cut
> it for me.

Pitino was interviewed by Channel 7 in Boston which was shown Sunday night 
at 11:30pm, and in the interview he was asked about Minor and he said there's 
no place in the Celtics organization for behavior like that, and that they're 
dealing with it.  That doesn't sound like a guy who's standing up for Minor.


Jon McIntyre