Re: Antoine's Game

[Lots of speculation about Antoine Walker's future snipped...]

>What exactly do you guys expect?  AW is a mere 20 years old.  Do you
>think Birdy was playing his best at 20?  Walker has the ability to
>develop into a premier player, maybe even more.  That all depends on his
>coaching and desire.  AW has shown tremendous instinct and ability. 
>This has to be developed and honed.  Let's hold off on the premature
>judgements and predictions.  Patience, my fellow fans.

I think Bird was 23 as a rookie, and I think it's safe to say that even at 23,
Antoine ain't gonna be another Bird.

I would think it would make a lot of sense to analyze and try to predict a
players future at a young age.  Why invest time and money in a player who
doesn't look like he's going to work out? 

In a credible basketball magazine, I read an interview with two scouts, one from
the Knicks and the other from Detroit.  (Can't remember their names, which is
embarrassing since they were both former players.) One of the things both agreed
on was that you could usually tell if a player was going to pan out or not
within a few days after getting him in camp.  Sure, sometimes there are 
surprises, but there are folks out there who have seen a lot of players come 
and go, and there are signs to look for.

However, the Celtics are never going to let us know *exactly* what they think
of Antoine - they're always going to sugar-coat it for the media.  Speculation
on this list is fun but frustrating since most (probably all) of us don't 
*really* know what's going on behind the scenes.  It's been over ten years since
the last championship (yikes!) and it looks like there'll be a few more before
banner 17 is lifted to the rafters.  Patience is wearing thin (yep, we're sure
spoiled).

All said, I still believe the off-season will define what sort of Antoine will
become, and what sort of future he'll have in Boston.

Dan


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