Final RP show

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

In the final RP show, Pitino looks at next season and evaluates his players.

1) In the past few weeks, he has seen Celtics basketball as he had hoped,
in terms of great effort and hustle.

2) A problem with the team is that all the talented players have a scoring
mentality; he says that they are like the Lakers but with less talent. 
The players need to work on fundamentals, defense, and getting teammates
shots first, all of which require practice time. He notes that if everyone
works on getting their teammates shots, then they'll each end up with the 
same number of shots but at a higher percentage.

3) Pitino quotes Hubie Brown as saying that you want 3.5 scorers per unit;
too many and things break down. He says that Popeye Jones made a good 
observation that there are too many scorers in the first unit and too few
in the second. (Yes, this is obvious). The nonscorers should have another
specialty: rebounding, defense, etc. He mentioned point guard and center 
as possible 0.5 scorers. 

He says the solution is not necessarily to change the lineups but to 
change the mentality of the players, although he doesn't rule out trades.

4) He asked Lobel who the MVP would be and Lobel basically said that there
was no MVP because every player had problems. Pitino agreed and asked who
overachieved in comparison to their talent level. Pitino's answer was 
Barros and Minor, with Barros getting the edge because he came into the
season in great shape.

5) Player evaluations. First, his five favorite guys to coach:

Dana Barros: Loves to work, gives 100% every time. He said that they
told Barros he was a point guard and gave him a set of things to work
on, and he has done that.

Walter McCarty: Epitomizes what Pitino wants in a second-unit player.
Brings a tremendous energy level for the time he plays. Rebounds, blocks
some shots. Will never be a great player due to his body type; he can't
put on enough leg muscle to be successful in the post.

Minor: Wanted to be traded earlier in the year because he felt that Boston
was a hostile environment for him, especially after the SI article which
devastated him. Pitino said that he had offered him to every team and was
refused. He's now playing much better and is happy, and Pitino could easily
move him if he wanted to.

Potapenko: Again he talks about what a no-brainer the trade was because of
the lack of centers through free agency and the draft. He notes the Celtics
have played better because they've thrown the ball to V in the low post.
He says that he knows that Potapenko will keep improving because he knows
exactly what V will be doing over the summer.

Battie: He mentions that Battie made his teammates better in the Chicago
game by erasing other people's defensive mistakes with his shot blocking.
He also mentions that Battie will also improve because he has committed
to summer plans.

6) The others:

Kenny Anderson: Shoots a high percentage because he gets into the lane,
and he has also improved his outside shot. Needs to work on defense and
conditioning. Pitino says that Kenny's concept of being in great shape
is completely opposite to Pitino's idea. He says he gets along great with
Kenny and knows that he will improve.

Ron Mercer: Always comes in great cardio shape but Pitino wants him to
work on his game more. Pitino mentioned that even though he had a few
spectacular plays in the Washington game, he graded out lowest in many
fundamental categories.

Paul Pierce: Had a great rookie year. Needs to improve his offensive game
because his baseline move is too predictable. Great three point shooter.
Has to learn to go to the middle and develop a midrange game. Needs to
improve his ballhandling. Needs to become more athletic, losing 4-5 pounds,
adding quickness without losing his strength.

Antoine Walker: If he wants to be the go-to guy, he needs to shoot 
72-75% from the line and 46-48% from the field. He can shoot higher from
the field by taking stronger moves to the basket, getting more dunks
and putbacks, and improving his shot selection by taking less 3's and
jumpers. Pitino feels that Walker could get 15 triple doubles in a season
if he used his talents right.

Alex