Q +ACY- A with Pitino

+AD4-Here is a transcript from a q +ACY- a session with Rick Pitino. You can listen
+AD4-to it on RealAudio at: http://www.nba.com/celtics/qa+AF8-pitino.html
+AD4-
+AD4-PS. If you are using MS Outlook you will get a pleasant surprise.
+AD4-
+AD4-NBA Coaches Conference Calls: October 13, 1997
+AD4-Q+ACY-A with Rick Pitino
+AD4-
+AD4-RICK PITINO: WE ARE STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM in terms of having a young
+AD4-team with a new system, and then the system being built up with seven new
+AD4-players. We do not have the luxury of having people who have played
+AD4-together. We do not have the luxury of having a returning coaching staff
+AD4-with the same system. So we start from the bottom and we start our journey,
+AD4-someday hopefully to the top. We realize it's going to be a long and hard
+AD4-journey, but it's a journey that's filled with a lot of fun because
+AD4-building is something that is a lot of fun for all of us.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Any special thoughts or emotions that you have with your return this
+AD4-week to Lexington, Ky., for a preseason game?
+AD4-Pitino: Well, any chance that I get -- and I lived in Kentucky for most of
+AD4-the summer -- any chance that I get to see friends and the fans that
+AD4-treated me like royalty for a long period of time is something special. I
+AD4-am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to our team making some
+AD4-improvement off of this weekend and showing the fans some of what they've
+AD4-been used to and that's a winning effort.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Do you think that owners are looking for more now than just a coach?
+AD4-Pitino: I had an owner that I talked to, and it wasn't the owner of the
+AD4-Boston Celtics, and we had a discussion and he said to me that coaching was
+AD4-only one of the variables that he was looking for. He was looking for a
+AD4-leader of men and he wanted to have leadership off the court, leadership on
+AD4-the court, he wanted someone who could organize the office and he was
+AD4-looking for more than a coach. I think that is probably what most owners
+AD4-are saying. They don't just want somebody who is going to design the
+AD4-offenses and defenses. They want a little bit more than that. Coaches are
+AD4-organizers. They organize the people off the court so they know how to act.
+AD4-They organize the people on the court so they get the best shot or put
+AD4-forth the best defense possible.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: With all of the money and the long-term contracts, does it seem like
+AD4-coaches are getting that kind of attention?
+AD4-Pitino: I think it is important for the coaches to warrant that type of
+AD4-money in certain situations, when they deserve it. I certainly feel it's
+AD4-great to see Phil Jackson, who has won all of those championships, get his
+AD4-just rewards. The same goes from Chuck Daly to Mike Fratello to Larry Brown
+AD4-to the greatest of them all -- Lenny Wilkens in Atlanta. I think it is
+AD4-wonderful to see people who deserve it get their just reward, but I think
+AD4-coaches will tell you winning is the most important thing. It's not the
+AD4-money. But for guys like that who have won so many games, it's nice to see.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Have you noticed any changes in the style of play since you were last in
+AD4-the league?
+AD4-Pitino: I think that the obvious thing is that possessions have gone from
+AD4-in the high 90 area to the high 70s. The scoring has come down. I can tell
+AD4-you from just being back in a short stint that I think the defenses are
+AD4-much, much better. But I think the league is sort of in the same scenario
+AD4-that they were in with football a few years back, where now the league is
+AD4-trying to institute ways for the offense to pick up and match the defense.
+AD4-In football they stopped you from hitting receivers after the first five
+AD4-yards, and they allowed the offense to open up a little bit more to make it
+AD4-more flexible. I think the league has instituted more rules to make the
+AD4-defense a little stronger and now I think that they are taking a good hard
+AD4-look to see how they can help the offense. One of the things I think that
+AD4-they have to stop doing is if a cutter cuts he should be allowed to get to
+AD4-his destination and should not be stood up and almost blocked, and that is
+AD4-what's happening. When that happens the shot clock expires and you can't
+AD4-get a fluid offense. I think the league is going to take a good hard look
+AD4-to see what changes they can make to increase more productivity on offense.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Do you think that the need for more offense is important in terms of
+AD4-retaining fans?
+AD4-Pitino: I think more possessions really help from a standpoint of seeing
+AD4-more exciting plays. I don't think necessarily that you have to score 120,
+AD4-115 to see exciting basketball. I just think that the play of offensive
+AD4-basketball should be that players can cut and the ball can be passed. I do
+AD4-not think that the fans have to see 115 or 120 points. I do think they want
+AD4-to see ball movement and player movement. That makes it more fun for them
+AD4-whether it is a 100-point game or a 90-point game.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Are there any changes off the court, non-strategy-wise, about the NBA
+AD4-that you have noticed since you came back?
+AD4-Pitino: Not yet. I was an assistant coach when it looked like the game was
+AD4-dying. The fans were not there. I left for two years, came back and NBA
+AD4-basketball was suddenly fantastic. The places were packed and I couldn't
+AD4-believe the change in just two short years. Now the game has gotten so big
+AD4-worldwide that we have got to make sure that we keep not only a great image
+AD4-but great basketball. I think that there are a lot of young players that
+AD4-are on the rise here that are going to become future stars and take the
+AD4-places of some of the stars that are leaving the game.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Who has been stood out for your team as far as practices and the first
+AD4-preseason game?
+AD4-Pitino: I truly believe this, not only because I recruited him in college,
+AD4-but I think Antoine Walker is one of the future stars I just eluded to. I
+AD4-think he sort of reminds me when I used to watch Magic Johnson. Watching a
+AD4-person 6-9 who can do so many things with the ball. I don't mean to put
+AD4-that type of praise on Antoine yet to even compare him to Magic, but I
+AD4-think he does things that remind me of Magic. He handles the ball, he finds
+AD4-open people, when the shot clock is winding down he'll create instant
+AD4-offense for you, he can also pound it inside and make great moves in the
+AD4-interior. I think he's without question a star right now. Now we have to
+AD4-enhance some of the other great players. I am also very impressed with
+AD4-Travis Knight. He's 7-1 and shoots the ball with great range. He
+AD4-understands how to play the game. He needs to get physically stronger but
+AD4-that's coming as well.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: As the college season is ready to get started are there any feelings you
+AD4-have about not being a part of it?
+AD4-Pitino: I am a pro guy all the way now. I think that in the beginning I
+AD4-will be rooting for Kentucky, very hard but we are so tied up every second
+AD4-of the day that you don't have time to miss it. I do miss the people. I
+AD4-don't necessarily miss the game, but Kentucky is in great hands with Tubby
+AD4-Smith and my total focus right now is on the Celtics. In the back of my
+AD4-mind I hope that Kentucky wins every game. But right now this team needs
+AD4-all the focus that we can give them.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Can you talk a little bit about you system and if you think you can
+AD4-implement the fast break more often?
+AD4-Pitino: Yes I do. I think that it is going to take some time. It is no
+AD4-different than with the Knicks or Kentucky or Providence College. It is
+AD4-going to take a good month, month and a half before we start really
+AD4-developing and understanding the system. I think right now that the only
+AD4-player on this ballclub that has any concept of what to do and what not to
+AD4-do is Antoine Walker in this system. I do think that the players will catch
+AD4-up and I think come the early part of December we will be a much improved
+AD4-basketball team. This team right now is not that way and it is going to
+AD4-take some time. I think we will start scoring more points, start passing
+AD4-more and I think that you will see improvement with each game out.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: What affect do you think it has on the players that a coach is being
+AD4-paid big money? Does it translate to more respect for authority?
+AD4-Pitino: Going back to what I said earlier with the one owner looking for
+AD4-leadership, I think everybody is looking right now to having a coach that
+AD4-is sort of like the old fashioned coach, a little bit of a throwback that
+AD4-he's in charge of the basketball team both on and off the court. The
+AD4-coaches have to be responsible for that. So when you pay a coach more money
+AD4-what you are saying is that I am putting all our faith in you, that we want
+AD4-you to lead both on and off the court. I think that is what is happening
+AD4-here with the security. Players have to understand that there is now a
+AD4-person out there that is going to lead them and be responsible for their
+AD4-actions as well. Does that mean that we can control everything off the
+AD4-court? No, but we will have to be responsible and make decisions. If
+AD4-something happens off the court, the coach is now responsible for the
+AD4-discipline as well.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Can you talk a little bit about Ron Mercer's development?
+AD4-Pitino: Ron had a very good preseason. Unfortunately the preseason in the
+AD4-NBA is eight days and you go to preseason games right away, so it is very
+AD4-early to tell. I think Ron is going to be a great one at this level. I
+AD4-think that he is someone who is instant offense. I think he has to get his
+AD4-defense to catch up to his offense. He has got to learn to play a little
+AD4-more north and south rather than east and west.. But I think his
+AD4-development is coming along. We have two players, Chauncey Billups and Ron
+AD4-Mercer, who are only juniors in college, and we have our best basketball
+AD4-player who is only a senior in college in Antoine Walker. We are young and
+AD4-hopefully we will be effective before the season is out.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Why is it so enjoyable to you to build a program from the ground up?
+AD4-Pitino: I think you see so much improvement. Right now as I left practice I
+AD4-am looking at a team fundamentally that just doesn't have it. I am looking
+AD4-at a team which doesn't know how to play certain facets of the game. To
+AD4-take the individuals and make them more fundamentally sound and work with
+AD4-them and improve their shooting, and their low post game, and then take the
+AD4-next step together as a team and see them improve as a team, I think is a
+AD4-great deal of fun. I think I had an awful lot of pride that I built up
+AD4-after winning a championship at Kentucky but I think I had more fun the
+AD4-second, third and fourth years watching those years of development.
+AD4-Sometimes the journey is actually a lot more fun than the destination. I
+AD4-think that is where we are right now. I don't think you will ever see the
+AD4-Boston Celtics with as few players, with this little talent, as you will
+AD4-right now. Watching these players develop into more talented players and
+AD4-watching the group come together is a great deal of fun. Is it frustrating
+AD4-for the players and coaches at times? Sure it is, but those frustrations
+AD4-turn into smiles if you stick together.
+AD4-
+AD4-Q: Can you speak about the improvements of the players that remain at
+AD4-Kentucky and how they have changed since they arrived?
+AD4-Pitino: Antoine Walker is developing into the future superstar in the NBA.
+AD4-I think he is not only our best player, I think he is going to be one of
+AD4-the best players in the league as he grows and matures. He has gained from
+AD4-his Kentucky days about 20 pounds of muscle. He has also grown about an
+AD4-inch. He is just shy of 6-10, about 6-9 3/4. And you will see a much more
+AD4-mature Antoine Walker. He is probably one of the youngest captains in the
+AD4-NBA. Ron Mercer is pretty much what the fans have seen the last few years.
+AD4-He is just a little heavier in the pockets right now, but he is still the
+AD4-same person. He has a little bit more money than what Kentucky gave him
+AD4-with room, board, books and tuition. He is certainly a little wiser and
+AD4-wealthier but outside of that he is certainly the same person and very
+AD4-unaffected by the glamour and certainly what fame and fortune bring to p
+AD4-layers in the NBA. Ron Mercer is still the same humble person that he was
+AD4-just four of five months age. I know that they are both looking forward to
+AD4-coming back to Rupp Arena, just as Pervis Ellison and Greg Minor are
+AD4-looking forward to coming back to Kentucky and playing in front of their
+AD4-fans -- all two or three of them who will be able to get tickets.
+AD4-Copyright (c) 1997 NBA Properties, Inc. and/or Starwave Corporation and
+AD4-ESPN Inc.
+AD4-All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.
+AD4-
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