Pervis

["Starke R. Farrell" <sfarrell@dixie-net.com>]

Never Nervous was named the 3rd captain of the c's today.....




He gets 'C' for effort 

                  Rejuvenated Ellison named a tricaptain

                  By Peter May, Globe Staff 

                      ALTHAM - Call him Captain Pervis. 

                  In yet another twist in the bizarre transformation of
Pervis Ellison from dud to
                  stud, it was announced yesterday that he is now a
Celtics captain. He joins
                  Dee Brown and Antoine Walker, giving the team three
captains in Rick
                  Pitino's first year. It's the first time the Celtics
have had tricaptains. 

                  It was Pitino who made the choice. And it was a choice
that even Pitino
                  figured he'd never have to consider a few months ago. 

                  ''Unanimously, every person I spoke to [over the
summer] said that it's never
                  going to work,'' Pitino said of his working
relationship with Ellison. ''Nobody
                  ever said a negative word about Pervis as a person.
But as a player, they
                  said his heart wasn't in it. 

                  ''From one person to another, from players to coaches
to everybody we
                  talked to, it did not look like a bright future for
Pervis with the Celtics.''

                  Instead, Ellison underwent a tough strength training
course over the summer
                  and reported to camp in shape. Despite a history of
missed workouts,
                  missed therapy sessions, and missed games, Ellison has
had a perfect
                  attendance record under Pitino. 

                  ''Pervis Ellison has been a model leader for this
team, practicing every day,
                  hard,'' Pitino said. ''He has earned this role.''

                  Ellison was caught by surprise by the whole thing. 

                  ''The hard work, I think, is something that the coach
respects,'' he said. ''But
                  we already had two [captains], although each guy has a
voice on this team.''

                  Chasing Riley

                  The Bulls are in tonight for the third straight
sellout at the FleetCenter. Coach
                  Phil Jackson needs to win eight of his next 11 games
to reach 500 wins
                  faster than any coach in NBA history. Pat Riley
currently holds that
                  distinction, having won 500 of his first 684 games.
Jackson has a 492-180
                  career record, all with the Bulls ... Pitino said Tyus
Edney will remain in the
                  starting lineup. Edney has started the last three
games in place of Chauncey
                  Billups. Ellison will start at center. Travis Knight,
who missed the Cleveland
                  game Saturday with a bruised thigh, is fully
recovered, the coach said ... The
                  last three Boston opponents have shot 50 percent or
better from the field.
                  The Bulls have yet to crack the 50 percent mark in 16
games ... In addition
                  to Scottie Pippen, the Bulls also are without Steve
Kerr, who is out with a
                  bone bruise. Newcomer Rusty LaRue, who played football
and basketball at
                  Wake Forest, has been seeing more time, especially in
the fourth quarter ...
                  The Celtics have not beaten Chica

                  o twice in one season since 1993-94, when they won
both games in Chicago
                  and lost both in Boston.