Xs and Os

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

Josh, don't forget that Hubie and Rick also go way back - if I remember
correctly Rick got his introduction into the NBA as an asst coach on
Hubie's Knicks - so you really can't expect Hubie to criticize Rick's
coaching in front of millions of NBA fans. 

I would agree that Rick is probably untouchable when it comes to the Xs and
Os. That kind of preparation seems to be one of his strengths as a coach.
But I think that DJessen has a valid point concerning the constant
trapping. (Actually, I feel that DJessen has several valid points but I'll
focus on this one). 

As I'm sure you're aware, what is possible on the chalk board is not always
possible on the basketball court. Just because a system works in theory
doesn't mean it must work in practice. Theorists - even the best ones -
sometimes overlook small but crucial variables that diminish the
effectiveness of the end product. It's not that the Xs and Os are
necessarily wrong, it's just that they don't necessarily account for all
the relevant factors. 

Think about all the things that separate the pro from the college game (and
good pro teams from bad ones): unselfishness, veteran poise, size and
multi-skilled players. Each of these factors would seem to diminish the
effectiveness of *constant* trapping (the referees'  tolerance for palming
doesn't help either). Like Cousy likes to say: "the ball moves faster than
the feet" (i.e., pass the ball for a better shot). Cousy usually utters
this saying as an argument for unselfish offense but it can also be
interpreted as meaning that a pass can always beat a trap or press. How
ironic that this bit of Celtic fastbreak lore has come back to haunt us!

[In addition, one must remember that the players are NOT chess pieces and
all too often Rick seems to forget that - pulling them out and putting them
in as if they should respond exactly like a manufactured part. Perhaps this
is just another aspect of Rick's mastery of the Xs and Os insofar as he
seems to forget that he's dealing with flesh and blood humans.]

I don't think that anyone is asking you to "second guess" Pitino or his
obvious wealth of Bball knowledge. However, ask yourself this: if in the
ultimate test - reality - there is a clash between theory and result, do we
always stand by the theory? Or do we sometimes find out that the theory is
limited in certain ways, perhaps to certain conditions. Likewise, when a
developing product doesn't work is failure ALWAYS due to shoddy parts? Or
perhaps are there some instances when the blueprint fails to take certain
factors into account?

I don't think anyone doubts Pitino's intelligence. What I have come to
doubt is what seems to be an 
EGO-driven attempt to transplant wholesale certain techniques from one
sphere of basketball experience to another with no apparent attempt to
scrutinize his own assumptions. Ferdinand de Lesseps (architect and builder
of the Suez canal) was by accounts a highly intelligent man, but the size
of his ego and a corresponding lack of self-scrutiny led him to fail in his
attempt to build the Panama canal. Many of Lesseps's "Xs and Os" were
perfect. . . for Egypt (for example, a sea-level canal) but led to utter
catastrophe in Panama. The failure was so spectacular that for a while
"Panama" became a common French synonym for "swindle". Let's hope it turns
around before it reaches that stage in Boston with our architect and
(re)builder.

Best Millennium wishes - Tom Murphy

>>From: Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: They stunk it up!

Not to say that he doesn't deserve the heat, but I
never thought I would see the day when I would hear
that Pitino was a competent GM but a bad coach.  As
convincing as Dan Jessen's post is, I still feel like
I can't second-guess Pitino in terms of x and o
coaching.  He must see something we don't out there. 
Hubie didn't seem to think he was coaching badly, and
he should know, as the ultimate X and O guy.  From
what I gathered, he thought they were just playing bad
- -- bad spacing, bad defense, bad rebounding.  It's
really confusing to me.  Pitino's Knicks teams were
ultra-professional on both sides of the court.<<