Walker

[tom bisson <tbisson@doe.state.vt.us>]

The comments about Antoine's maturity is getting to be a little too much
for me. Let the kid play and see what happens - quit making judgments
about his character. Someone said that no one knows Antoine better than
Pitino, how do they figure that? Rick Pitino knew Antoine for two years
as a very athletic teenager performing in a highly pressurized UK
basketball program. The pressure increased last year in some ways and
decreased in some ways - Antoine is still a very young individual. How
last year's experience (along with his previous experiences) shaped his
character is anybody's guess. Even Antoine doesn't know. Situations will
arise and he will either discover in himself the strength of character
to successfully handle it or he won't.

I'd like to also add my two cents to the comment about "how can anyone
be selfish by getting rebounds and assists." In Dennis Rodman's case,
his assists are a result of selfishness. Here's what I mean: The guy
totally gives himself up offensively and can only get away with this
because he's with the Bulls. On any other team he would need to be able
to score and willing to shoot. Now, he's not an offensive player to
begin with, but he obviously isn't trying to impove himself either. On
any team other than the Bulls, having a player who is unwilling to be a
scorer would be fatal. I think that Dennis' attitude toward offense is
equally selfish as the player who has a similar attitude toward
rebounding or defense or passing. On the other hand, he fills a niche
with the Bulls so that the team is successful, just the same as a
three-point shooting specialist can do for some teams.

- - tom