A Stronger Battie Wants A Contract And To Contribute

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

      Boston Herald      

      Tony now real tiger: Battie beefs up C's chances 
      by Steve Bulpett 
      Saturday, October 9, 1999
      Tony Battie can run well for a 6-foot-11 guy. He can get off the floor, 
      rebound and block shots. And he's got quite a nice shooting touch in the 
      10-to-12-foot range. 
      The major problem that Celtics coach Rick Pitino found with him last year 
      was frequency, as in, why won't he do that every night?
      The Celtic coach was pointed in remarking that he wanted to keep Battie 
      and work with him, and that he needed the 23-year-old to take a diligent 
      step forward in this, his third year.
      And after a summer at the Celtic training facility in Waltham, Battie is 
      stronger and, he believes, ready to make good on the promise he showed 
      near the end of last season.
      ``Antoine (Walker) went down. Players have to step up,'' Battie shrugged 
      when asked about his flashes of strong play. ``I mean, you have to play 
      within your role. When (Walker is) in the game, he's getting the majority 
      of the shots. But he went down with that ankle sprain at the end and I was 
      able to play a few more minutes and get some more production.
      ``I think when I'm out there I'm giving it all I got and basically just 
      doing my role, which is pressing and running and rebounding and blocking 
      shots. Part of my role is to score occasionally, but we've got our scorers 
      and I'm just trying to fulfill my role the best I can.''
      Battie didn't really shoot more in the eight games Walker missed with a 
      sprained ankle, but he stepped forward with five double-figure rebounding 
      efforts (he had just five more in the other 42 games) and 18 blocked 
shots.
      Now he's hoping the Celtics will step forward on a contract extension. 
      While there is still a decent possibility an extension won't get done 
      before the Oct. 31 deadline and Battie will be free to leave next summer, 
      he doesn't want to think about that. He just wants to solve the matter as 
      soon as possible.
      ``Of course it's crossed my mind, but it's just one of those things,'' 
      Battie said. ``I've got to go forward with the season and play as hard as 
      I can here. Then when the time comes to re-sign, I'll re-sign. If the time 
      comes to move on, I'll move on. It's going to come or it's not. The thing 
      is just to play as hard as I can and build my stock here or elsewhere.
      ``I think things will happen. I love the organization. I feel the 
      organization wants me here and I want to be here. I've been here all 
      summer working hard trying to build into what they want me to be.
      ``They asked me to stay here. They asked me to play in the summer league. 
      And I did all of that. I showed my faith and my loyalty to the team by 
      staying here this summer and working hard, and I think that they'll show 
      their loyalty when it comes up to bat for a contract.''
      Battie certainly recognizes that Pitino's game plan suits his own body and 
      abilities well.
      ``It's a great situation,'' he said. ``My style of play - long, lanky a 
      little bit - it's great for the pressing system, up and down the floor 
      pressing and sprinting. I think I fit in pretty good. Just from last year, 
      we had the second team coming off the bench as the better pressing team. 
      That fit my style perfectly.''
      Battie added to his style by adding to his body this summer. He is 
      carrying a more muscular upper body.
      ``I put on a little bit of weight, a little bit of bulk,'' he said. ``But 
      I'm losing some of it now going through these two-a-days. I think I'll be 
      able to maintain (the extra strength) throughout the season.''