Q & A with Pitino

["Sk!D" <apatt@hawknet.com.au>]

Here is a transcript from a q & a session with Rick Pitino. You can listen 
to it on RealAudio at: http://www.nba.com/celtics/qa_pitino.html

PS. If you are using MS Outlook you will get a pleasant surprise.

NBA Coaches Conference Calls: October 13, 1997
Q&A with Rick Pitino

RICK PITINO: WE ARE STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM in terms of having a young 
team with a new system, and then the system being built up with seven new 
players. We do not have the luxury of having people who have played 
together. We do not have the luxury of having a returning coaching staff 
with the same system. So we start from the bottom and we start our journey, 
someday hopefully to the top. We realize it's going to be a long and hard 
journey, but it's a journey that's filled with a lot of fun because 
building is something that is a lot of fun for all of us.

Q: Any special thoughts or emotions that you have with your return this 
week to Lexington, Ky., for a preseason game?
Pitino: Well, any chance that I get -- and I lived in Kentucky for most of 
the summer -- any chance that I get to see friends and the fans that 
treated me like royalty for a long period of time is something special. I 
am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to our team making some 
improvement off of this weekend and showing the fans some of what they've 
been used to and that's a winning effort.

Q: Do you think that owners are looking for more now than just a coach?
Pitino: I had an owner that I talked to, and it wasn't the owner of the 
Boston Celtics, and we had a discussion and he said to me that coaching was 
only one of the variables that he was looking for. He was looking for a 
leader of men and he wanted to have leadership off the court, leadership on 
the court, he wanted someone who could organize the office and he was 
looking for more than a coach. I think that is probably what most owners 
are saying. They don't just want somebody who is going to design the 
offenses and defenses. They want a little bit more than that. Coaches are 
organizers. They organize the people off the court so they know how to act. 
They organize the people on the court so they get the best shot or put 
forth the best defense possible.

Q: With all of the money and the long-term contracts, does it seem like 
coaches are getting that kind of attention?
Pitino: I think it is important for the coaches to warrant that type of 
money in certain situations, when they deserve it. I certainly feel it's 
great to see Phil Jackson, who has won all of those championships, get his 
just rewards. The same goes from Chuck Daly to Mike Fratello to Larry Brown 
to the greatest of them all -- Lenny Wilkens in Atlanta. I think it is 
wonderful to see people who deserve it get their just reward, but I think 
coaches will tell you winning is the most important thing. It's not the 
money. But for guys like that who have won so many games, it's nice to see. 

Q: Have you noticed any changes in the style of play since you were last in 
the league?
Pitino: I think that the obvious thing is that possessions have gone from 
in the high 90 area to the high 70s. The scoring has come down. I can tell 
you from just being back in a short stint that I think the defenses are 
much, much better. But I think the league is sort of in the same scenario 
that they were in with football a few years back, where now the league is 
trying to institute ways for the offense to pick up and match the defense. 
In football they stopped you from hitting receivers after the first five 
yards, and they allowed the offense to open up a little bit more to make it 
more flexible. I think the league has instituted more rules to make the 
defense a little stronger and now I think that they are taking a good hard 
look to see how they can help the offense. One of the things I think that 
they have to stop doing is if a cutter cuts he should be allowed to get to 
his destination and should not be stood up and almost blocked, and that is 
what's happening. When that happens the shot clock expires and you can't 
get a fluid offense. I think the league is going to take a good hard look 
to see what changes they can make to increase more productivity on offense. 

Q: Do you think that the need for more offense is important in terms of 
retaining fans?
Pitino: I think more possessions really help from a standpoint of seeing 
more exciting plays. I don't think necessarily that you have to score 120, 
115 to see exciting basketball. I just think that the play of offensive 
basketball should be that players can cut and the ball can be passed. I do 
not think that the fans have to see 115 or 120 points. I do think they want 
to see ball movement and player movement. That makes it more fun for them 
whether it is a 100-point game or a 90-point game.

Q: Are there any changes off the court, non-strategy-wise, about the NBA 
that you have noticed since you came back?
Pitino: Not yet. I was an assistant coach when it looked like the game was 
dying. The fans were not there. I left for two years, came back and NBA 
basketball was suddenly fantastic. The places were packed and I couldn't 
believe the change in just two short years. Now the game has gotten so big 
worldwide that we have got to make sure that we keep not only a great image 
but great basketball. I think that there are a lot of young players that 
are on the rise here that are going to become future stars and take the 
places of some of the stars that are leaving the game.

Q: Who has been stood out for your team as far as practices and the first 
preseason game?
Pitino: I truly believe this, not only because I recruited him in college, 
but I think Antoine Walker is one of the future stars I just eluded to. I 
think he sort of reminds me when I used to watch Magic Johnson. Watching a 
person 6-9 who can do so many things with the ball. I don't mean to put 
that type of praise on Antoine yet to even compare him to Magic, but I 
think he does things that remind me of Magic. He handles the ball, he finds 
open people, when the shot clock is winding down he'll create instant 
offense for you, he can also pound it inside and make great moves in the 
interior. I think he's without question a star right now. Now we have to 
enhance some of the other great players. I am also very impressed with 
Travis Knight. He's 7-1 and shoots the ball with great range. He 
understands how to play the game. He needs to get physically stronger but 
that's coming as well.

Q: As the college season is ready to get started are there any feelings you 
have about not being a part of it?
Pitino: I am a pro guy all the way now. I think that in the beginning I 
will be rooting for Kentucky, very hard but we are so tied up every second 
of the day that you don't have time to miss it. I do miss the people. I 
don't necessarily miss the game, but Kentucky is in great hands with Tubby 
Smith and my total focus right now is on the Celtics. In the back of my 
mind I hope that Kentucky wins every game. But right now this team needs 
all the focus that we can give them.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about you system and if you think you can 
implement the fast break more often?
Pitino: Yes I do. I think that it is going to take some time. It is no 
different than with the Knicks or Kentucky or Providence College. It is 
going to take a good month, month and a half before we start really 
developing and understanding the system. I think right now that the only 
player on this ballclub that has any concept of what to do and what not to 
do is Antoine Walker in this system. I do think that the players will catch 
up and I think come the early part of December we will be a much improved 
basketball team. This team right now is not that way and it is going to 
take some time. I think we will start scoring more points, start passing 
more and I think that you will see improvement with each game out.

Q: What affect do you think it has on the players that a coach is being 
paid big money? Does it translate to more respect for authority?
Pitino: Going back to what I said earlier with the one owner looking for 
leadership, I think everybody is looking right now to having a coach that 
is sort of like the old fashioned coach, a little bit of a throwback that 
he's in charge of the basketball team both on and off the court. The 
coaches have to be responsible for that. So when you pay a coach more money 
what you are saying is that I am putting all our faith in you, that we want 
you to lead both on and off the court. I think that is what is happening 
here with the security. Players have to understand that there is now a 
person out there that is going to lead them and be responsible for their 
actions as well. Does that mean that we can control everything off the 
court? No, but we will have to be responsible and make decisions. If 
something happens off the court, the coach is now responsible for the 
discipline as well.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about Ron Mercer's development?
Pitino: Ron had a very good preseason. Unfortunately the preseason in the 
NBA is eight days and you go to preseason games right away, so it is very 
early to tell. I think Ron is going to be a great one at this level. I 
think that he is someone who is instant offense. I think he has to get his 
defense to catch up to his offense. He has got to learn to play a little 
more north and south rather than east and west.. But I think his 
development is coming along. We have two players, Chauncey Billups and Ron 
Mercer, who are only juniors in college, and we have our best basketball 
player who is only a senior in college in Antoine Walker. We are young and 
hopefully we will be effective before the season is out.

Q: Why is it so enjoyable to you to build a program from the ground up?
Pitino: I think you see so much improvement. Right now as I left practice I 
am looking at a team fundamentally that just doesn't have it. I am looking 
at a team which doesn't know how to play certain facets of the game. To 
take the individuals and make them more fundamentally sound and work with 
them and improve their shooting, and their low post game, and then take the 
next step together as a team and see them improve as a team, I think is a 
great deal of fun. I think I had an awful lot of pride that I built up 
after winning a championship at Kentucky but I think I had more fun the 
second, third and fourth years watching those years of development. 
Sometimes the journey is actually a lot more fun than the destination. I 
think that is where we are right now. I don't think you will ever see the 
Boston Celtics with as few players, with this little talent, as you will 
right now. Watching these players develop into more talented players and 
watching the group come together is a great deal of fun. Is it frustrating 
for the players and coaches at times? Sure it is, but those frustrations 
turn into smiles if you stick together.

Q: Can you speak about the improvements of the players that remain at 
Kentucky and how they have changed since they arrived?
Pitino: Antoine Walker is developing into the future superstar in the NBA. 
I think he is not only our best player, I think he is going to be one of 
the best players in the league as he grows and matures. He has gained from 
his Kentucky days about 20 pounds of muscle. He has also grown about an 
inch. He is just shy of 6-10, about 6-9 3/4. And you will see a much more 
mature Antoine Walker. He is probably one of the youngest captains in the 
NBA. Ron Mercer is pretty much what the fans have seen the last few years. 
He is just a little heavier in the pockets right now, but he is still the 
same person. He has a little bit more money than what Kentucky gave him 
with room, board, books and tuition. He is certainly a little wiser and 
wealthier but outside of that he is certainly the same person and very 
unaffected by the glamour and certainly what fame and fortune bring to p  
layers in the NBA. Ron Mercer is still the same humble person that he was 
just four of five months age. I know that they are both looking forward to 
coming back to Rupp Arena, just as Pervis Ellison and Greg Minor are 
looking forward to coming back to Kentucky and playing in front of their 
fans -- all two or three of them who will be able to get tickets.
Copyright (c) 1997 NBA Properties, Inc. and/or Starwave Corporation and 
ESPN Inc.
All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.