Projo: Pitino Deserves Coach of the Year If He Can Win 42 Games With These Players

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Conflicts with what Bob Ryan said yesterday on WEEI about the C's
being an improved team...

        8.6.99 01:40:26
        CELTICS
        Swingman Calbert Cheaney signs with Celts for 3
        years

By MIKE SZOSTAK
Providence Journal Sports Writer

If Rick Pitino can win 42 basketball games this season
with the cast he has assembled, then he deserves the
NBA's coach of the year award.

Two days after trading for three Denver Nuggets, Pitino
added Calbert Cheaney, a 6-foot-7 swingman, to the
Celtics' roster yesterday. The No. 6 pick in the 1993
draft, Cheaney spent six unspectacular years in
Washington before becoming a free agent.

Cheaney signed a three-year contract and will make $2
million this year.

Pitino sounded positively euphoric during a
teleconference. He described Cheaney as ``one of my
favorite players . . . a multidimensional talent . . .
he gives us leadership and maturity.''

But Washington made the playoffs only once during
Cheaney's tenure in the nation's capital.

Also, the team that Pitino expects Cheaney to lead to
the playoffs this season includes four alumni (Tony
Battie, Danny Fortson, Eric Williams, Eric Washington)
of the 1998 Nuggets, one of the worst teams in NBA
history; a career minor-leaguer (Adrian Griffin); an
undrafted rookie (Wayne Turner); a center (Vitaly
Potapenko) who was a backup on what turned out to be a
lottery team in Cleveland; a point guard (Kenny
Anderson) who has underachieved in Boston; a one-time
All-Star (Antoine Walker) who hears the beat of only
his drummer; a 32-year-old three-point shooter (Dana
Barros); an enthusiastic but injury-prone forward
(Walter McCarty); a pair of oft-injured (Pervis Ellison
and Greg Minor) and Paul Pierce.

Only through Rick Pitino glasses can that crew resemble
a playoff team.

But Cheaney, 28, has bought the Pitino line. He
rejected a sign-and-trade deal that would have landed
him in Miami. He also rejected three-year offers from
other clubs.

``I have a lot of respect for (Pitino). That's why I
came here. This team has great potential. All I'm
trying to do is contribute,'' he said.

``Miami didn't work out. It was one of those things.
You got to move on. I respect the Miami organization
and coach (Pat) Riley,'' Cheaney said. He refused to
get into details but said ``it was a gut instinct that
I had. It's tough to explain.''

Cheaney wasn't interested in staying in Washington,
partly because he wasn't sure where the franchise is
heading.

``It was time for a change,'' he said. ``My six years
were nice in Washington, but the last two or three
years were disappointing for me in how I played. It was
frustrating. I liked the organization, but it was time
to get a fresh start.''

``We worked on Calbert for some time. We're delighted
he has chosen us over other teams,'' Pitino said.

Cheaney arrives with a 12.7 career scoring average. His
best season was 1995, when he averaged 16.6 points.

Pitino has Cheaney slotted in the 2-guard position to
replace Ron Mercer, who was traded to the Nuggets
Tuesday. Cheaney can also play small forward.

Cheaney was the 1993 college player of the year at
Indiana. He will need some of that magic to help Pitino
fulfill his promise to have the Celtics in the
playoffs.

``I'll stand by what I said earlier,'' Pitino said,
referring to his six-year plan. ``We're going to make
the playoffs in the third or fourth year and be at the
championship level in the fifth or sixth year.''

That plan would have been easier to execute, Pitino
conceded, had the Celtics drafted Tim Duncan or Keith
Van Horn two years ago.

``We're going to stick with it,'' Pitino said. ``I feel
more confident today than I did a month ago. We're all
obviously delighted with what we accomplished in the
last 48 hours.''



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