Re: Pitino/Cousy

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

I would say that he got those players' careers back on the right track
and imparted trade value unto them, where as before, there was none.
Battie went from being El Busto to El Blocko; Minor, before he ruined
his hip and his career, could have been dealt; Dana will eventually be
sent elsewhere; Dee Brown, who was thought untradeable, performed
well enough under Il Duce as compared to the ML years, that he 
was able to be moved out. I expect a similar tranformation in either
Williams or Cheaney. I'm not sure if both are salvageable, but I feel
Pitino
will rehabiltate one of them - enough so that they can be dealt for
something
better...
Ray


> Subject: Re: Pitino/Cousy
> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 13:48:09 +0200
> From: j.hironaka@unesco.org

> Dorine wrote:
> 
> > I don't think I'd give him all that much credit for those people
> > - Dorine
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Way Of The Ray
> > To: celtics@igtc.com
> >  Pitino has rejuvenated the careers of Barros, Minor, Dee Brown and
> > Toni
> > Battie. Up next is Cheaney, and the two Erics: Williams and
> > Washington.
> > Also, if undrafted free agent Wayne Turner blossoms, that's another
> > notch in his belt....
> > Ray
> 
> FWIW, I'm not sure even Pitino himself would make this spin (that he's
> helped the careers of these players). All Pitino's really done is gotten
> them to gradually adhere better to a particular "system". I guess you
> could further make the claim that Pitino "helped" Barros become a true
> point guard, but most likely not that he has helped Barros improve his
> career stats in any category (maybe fewer turnovers? I don't know). I
> won't take the time to look it all up, but I have a feeling that the
> other veterans (Minor, Dee Brown) mentioned have all had superior stats
> and shooting percentages (playing on better teams, in fact) in the years
> prior to Pitino's arrival. I was less sure of this claim in the case of
> Tony Battie, so I looked it up his "El Busto" era stats:
> 
> Rookie year:  8.4ppg 5.4rpg 0.83spg 1.06bpg in 23.2 mpg
> Pitino year:    6.7ppg 6.0rpg 0.58spg 1.42bpg in 22.4 mpg
> 
> But with "stahtah" minutes, Battie averaged 9.9 points, 10.1 rebounds
> and 2.5 blocks over eight games near the end of last season. Before we
> get too excited, you can usually find at least one solid 5 to 10 game
> stretch from virtually ANY professional NBA player, just as you can find
> hot stretches from even the lousiest journeyman major league baseball
> player.
> 
> Battie's overall numbers suggest that he needs to be a more consistent
> player this year, and it wouldn't hurt if he had teammates who can light
> a fire under everyone.
> 
> Joe
> 
> Regarding Cousy, I think we'll miss his decency and wry humor plus
> whenever he announces a game, you somehow feel more confident you are
> rooting for the good guys. Having said this, I absolutely agree with Dan
> Forant that Cousy has been "mailing it in" on a somewhat regular basis.
> To start with, Cousy has hands down the most somniferous voice I've ever
> heard on television. It actually makes me pass out...I've nearly fallen
> asleep before halftime on a few occasions, and I'm the kind that really
> pays attention to everything that goes on in a game. It's not the
> quality of content in what Cous says, but the delivery. I wonder if
> anyone else relates to what I mean?
> 
> If you've ever re-watched Bird's 60 point game it's almost like a comedy
> sketch how dull his game narration is, even the dramatic last two
> minutes which seem to catch Cousy off guard (even HE sounds like he's
> about to fall asleep listening to his own voice). FWIW, I watched a lot
> of Celts videos with opposing team announcers last season, and actually
> prefer this (or at least, I don't mind). I guess the guys who impressed
> me were Doc Rivers, Hubie Brown, Reggie Theus. Cheryl Miller also has a
> lot of natural charisma in my opinion. Who else do you guys like?
> 
> ----------