McCarty

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Josh brings up Walter McCarty who has so far shown little production to
justify his $8M contract extension that kicks in this season. 

Pitino mentioned at the end of the season that McCarty is his idea of
the ideal bench player. He comes in, gives you energy, blocks some shots,
and grabs some offensive rebounds. He seems to have given up on the idea
of bulking him up too much, saying that Walter's body type prevents him
from ever becoming a great player. But he should come in and help change
the pace on the game and do some of the little things. And he was showing
some strange offensive skills last season like a lefty jump hook; is he
left-handed?

My hope is that he takes better shots now that the second unit has
(potentially) added some scoring threats in Cheaney and Williams. He seems
coachable too, so this may be the year for him to improve. His first year
was spent on the Knicks bench, followed by a trade right before his second
season with the Celtics and then the lockout. This will be his first year
spending a full offseason and training camp working with the Celtics.
He seems to have gotten a ton of playing time during the summer league
games so the coaches are probably focusing a lot on him.

Alex