Steve Bulpett On The New Antoine Walker

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

Bulpett says the C's have discussed Walker in trade talks...

      Boston Herald 

      Walker gets down to basketball business: Antoine promises to deliver the 
      goods for C's
      by Steve Bulpett 
      Friday, June 11, 1999
      CHICAGO -- The cars pull up regularly outside the Lakeshore Athletic Club, 
      businessmen slipping into the shadow of the Illinois Center for a workout. 
      At 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, a tall businessman emerges from his car. He has 
      an extra pair of sneakers in his hands and no thoughts of stock options or 
      sales projections in his head. 
      This is Antoine Walker's business.
      ``I'm here every day,'' Walker says. ``Three hours a day at least.''
      His personal trainer is here, and so is a medical facility to continue the 
      rehabilitation of his still imperfect left ankle. There is also a lovely, 
      glass-enclosed basketball court.
      ``I'm always doing something -- even on days I don't want to,'' the 
      Celtics captain says. ``We don't have a 9-to-5 like everybody else, so the 
      opportunity is there. I guarantee you there's not a lot of guys working 
      out right now. I'm not trying to put myself up by saying that, but a lot 
      of guys are on vacation. I don't have business ventures like other guys. I 
      just help with my family and work out.''
      TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE
      Yesterday, Walker was scheduled to have a visit with Shaun Brown, the 
      Celtics' traveling strength and conditioning coach. But 24 hours earlier, 
      assistant coaches Jim O'Brien and Andy Enfield -- in town for the NBA's 
      predraft camp -- are putting him through his paces. Enfield is running 
      this show, guiding Walker through a series of shooting drills slowed only 
      by frequent trips to the foul line (got to practice them when you're 
      tired).
      After showing noticeable improvement in his free throw shooting as last 
      season wore on, Walker is being pushed into a new venture -- a real, live 
      jump shot. Out by the top of the key, he uses his legs to power up a 
      smooth attempt, moving a far cry from the inconsistent and low-release 
      spot-up shot he has employed with meager results.
      ``That's a true jump shot,'' Enfield encourages as the ball barely ripples 
      through the strings.
      Noticeably thinner -- he's lost more than 20 pounds from the body he 
      brought to camp in January -- Walker is taking the workout seriously. 
      While a 3-on-3 game at the other end proceeds unabated, he curses himself 
      at missed shots and moves quickly to the next spot after makes.
      ``He's always trying to push things,'' says his trainer, Fernando Morales. 
      ``But we have to make sure we take care of the ankle first.''
      After more than an hour and a half of drilling without real break (does a 
      20-second stop for the water fountain count?), Walker takes a seat.
      ``I'm just trying to get back to playing good basketball,'' he says. ``I'm 
      working on my game, and I hope other guys are doing the same thing. Then, 
      come October, we can put it all into the team.
      ``I want to get back to All-Star caliber and being able to produce night 
      in and night out. That's just working on little things. I'm putting a lot 
      of pressure on myself to play well.''
      AT THE CROSSROADS
      There is team pressure, as well, with Rick Pitino sticking by his 
      projection for playoff contention in the third year of his program. But 
      because Walker has become the lightning rod for Shamrock criticism, he 
      knows he must be individually ready for the challenge. Simply put, Antoine 
      Walker NEEDS to have a good year.
      ``It's just that there comes a point in your career that you have to 
      decide how good you want to be and what kind of player you want to be,'' 
      Walker says. ``I mean, this is my fourth season coming up and I haven't 
      made the playoffs yet.''
      A crossroads for his Boston stay?
      ``For me it is. We've got to see some improvement as a team,'' he says. 
      ``If we don't get that, obviously you've got to look at the situation and 
      ask yourself a lot of questions.
      ``But I think we've got a good chance if everybody comes in with the right 
      mindset. And hopefully whatever happens with Ron (Mercer) is what's best 
      for the team. If we lose Ron, that's going to be a great loss for us. But 
      Ron has to do what's best for him and the Celtics have to do what's best 
      for them as an organization.''
      GOTTA BE CONSISTENT
      What Pitino believes is best for the Celts could well include a trade of 
      Mercer or even Walker himself (it's been discussed with teams). But while 
      some faces may change, the club has got to get its game to remain the 
      same. The Celtics who defeated Miami three times also suffered some 
      horrific no-compete losses. The frustration expressed by the fans still 
      runs through the captain.
      ``We have to look the same every night,'' Walker says. ``When you look at 
      our season, you never knew what you were going to get. That's why people 
      got mad -- us, too. One night you could get a team that was unselfish and 
      the next night you'd get a team that would get 10 assists as a team.
      ``We played some good games and we gave ourselves false confidence. What 
      we should look at are the games we played against Miami when we played 
      unselfishly and we won. We defended real well in those games. Regardless 
      of scoring, we have to become a tough defensive team in the halfcourt. I 
      think our pressure saves us a lot and camouflages our defense a lot, but 
      we're going to have to get tougher. We're going to have to play great team 
      defense. Every team in the playoffs can defend and lock up. That's what's 
      going to win games.''
      Walker sits and watches other people play in playoff games. The guy who 
      craves stardom knows full well the only way to get there is to play on a 
      winner, and he knows no one brags about being the top scorer on a bad team 
      when they come home to Chicago for summer pickup games. It's all about 
      rings and large plays in large games.
      ``I think we had our best chance for the playoffs this past season,'' 
      Walker says. ``But I do think with the shortened season we didn't really 
      get together enough as a team. We understand that we've now got a full 
      82-game season with a full training camp. So it's pretty much no excuses 
      for us.''
      `I'LL BE BACK'
      Walker is making no excuses for his shortcomings. Away from the court, he 
      must become a better leader (playing on the Celts' summer league team is a 
      positive). On it, he admits to the technical problems, too.
      ``Last year I took more jump shots than I wanted to because I wasn't 
      shooting foul shots well,'' he says. ``When you lose confidence in that, 
      it hurts your game. My main thing now is to become an 80 percent foul 
      shooter where you make it difficult for teams to foul you because they 
      know you're going to make your free throws. In this league, they scout you 
      very well. You've got to be able to deliver in the fourth quarter.''
      Later, as he leaves the downtown health club, an attendant delivers him 
      his car keys.
      ``I'll be back,'' Walker tells him.