From Page One of the Prov. Journal

[Mike Dynon <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>]

10.9.97 07:23:46 
           CELTICS
           Drill sergeant looks familiar at Camp
           Pitino 

  Former PC coach Rick Pitino returns to Rhode Island and puts his
 new Boston Celtics team through the paces at a seven-day boot camp
 in Middletown. 

 BY MIKE SZOSTAK 
 Journal-Bulletin Sports Writer 

 MIDDLETOWN -- It's 6:15 on a Wednesday evening, and most of Rhode
 Island is having dinner, watching television or doing homework. 

 But in Building 1801 of the Naval Education and Training Center here,
 13 Boston Celtics are sprinting up and down a basketball court. They
 are scrimmaging with an emphasis on defense. 

 Coach Rick Pitino, the choreographer of these practices, has divided
 the Celtics into three teams. He moves units in and out and exhorts
 everyone to run. And they do. After baskets. After misses. After
steals.
 They run and they chatter. 

 Suddenly, a buzzer sounds, and a team official reads the score. The
 white team wins and gets to rest. Green and black get to sprint, from
 baseline to midcourt and back, from baseline to baseline and back. 

 Then, everybody gets a water break. 

 Camp Pitino, a seven-day boot camp for The New Boston Celtics, ran
 its final evening program last night, the first open to reporters. The
 Celtics have been here since Friday for double sessions, but they have
 worked out only before the critical eyes of Pitino and his staff and
the
 interested eyes of selected guests. 

 Newport may be Vacationland for most visitors, but not for The New
 Celtics. They have seen the sparkling waters of Narragansett Bay as
 they have left the gym and the touristy shops on Thames Street as they
 have returned to their hotel on Goat Island. They have had little time
to
 venture into the city's bars and restaurants. Monday night, the
beverage
 of choice for several players was ringers lactate by intravenous drip.
 Pitino said he had never seen anything like it, so many dehydrated
 players with IV bags gathered around a television to watch Monday
 Night Football. 

 Pitino says he is happy his players have seen Newport's beauty and
 experienced none of it. The New Celtics have worked hard, starting
 early and sometimes staying late. Last night's session was supposed to
 begin at 6, but the Celtics were already in high gear by then, working
at
 three different stations. 

 Pitino, concerned that he won't have as much time with his players
after
 they break camp today and head for State College, Pa., and the start of
 the pre-season schedule, has used this time to teach his system.
Building
 1801 has been his classroom, the Celtics his students. A huge American
 flag serves as a prominent backdrop at the end of the gym. Last night,
 spectators auditing this seminar filled two sections of portable
stands.
 There was little talking and no spitballs, and for good reason. Earlier
this
 week, Pitino halted practice when he heard a cell phone beeping and
 asked anybody with such a phone to turn it off. 

 During drills, Pitino doesn't hesitate to interrupt. 

 ``You can run along the baseline, Lorenzo. Don't stand in cement,'' he
 tells Lorenzo Colemans, the huge 7-foot-1-inch, 300-pound rookie
 center from Tennessee Tech. 

 After a basket, rookie point guard Chauncey Billups dribbles up the
 court against Tyus Edney, another new Celtic who spent last year in
 Sacramento. Billups isn't running fast enough. 

 ``Bust it!'' Pitino cries. ``Bust it!'' 

 When someone fails to get a rebound, Pitino is quick to criticize. 

 ``Don't be a test-tube rebounder. It's not going to fall into your lap.
Go
 after the basketball,'' he says. 

 He shouts directions for a more aggressive transition defense. 

 ``When you change ends, if you pick up your man below the foul line,
 you will lose all the time. You have to get him earlier. Okay, let's
go.'' 

 During a rebound drill in which players circle at the foul line and
assistant
 coach Winston Bennett launches a three-point shot, Pitino raises his
 voice: ``A guy goes from the three-point line, and the ball hits the
rim,
 and you don't see it?'' 

 At 6:50, after another brief water break, they return to the floor for
one
 12-minute quarter. Nobody dreams about walking the ball up the floor.
 It's nonstop running. Bennett patrols one sideline, yelling
encouragement.
 Assistant coach Jim O'Brien stands on the other sideline and does the
 same. Pony-tailed Leo Papile, Pitino's chief scout, referees. 

 After a Dana Barros three-pointer, Billups fast-breaks into the lane
and
 snaps a pass to Chris Mills on his left. Mills drives for a layup. 

 ``Great play!'' Pitino says from the opposite end. 

 When Andrew DeClercq misses a jump shot and a White teammate
 gets the offensive rebound, Pitino is not happy. 

 ``We got everything we wanted. We got a quick jump shot and we
 didn't get the rebound. Basketball suicide,'' he says. 

 White beats Green, 38-29. 

 After a one-minute water break, The New Celtics are back on the
 baseline, running full-court three-man layups drills. 

 When they finish, it's 7:30. The worst is over. Shaun Brown, the new
 strength-and-conditioning coach, directs the players in stretching.
Pitino
 grabs his warmup jacket, strolls to the baseline and talks to his
general
 manager, Chris Wallace. A few players return to the floor and shoot
 free throws, but most head to their seats to take off their shoes. 

 Reporters drift over and click on tape recorders and cameras and start
 scribbling notes. Pitino holds court near the basket. 

 As interviews wind down, fans line up for autographs. After smiling and
 signing, players get up and walk gingerly to their bus. They will
return
 this morning for their last session of Camp Pitino. Then they can go
 home for a few hours.
              Copyright © 1997 The Providence Journal Company
                     Produced by www.projo.com