Re: URL: Walker Poster Boy For Everything That's Gone Wrong...

["Richard & Cynthia Davies" <rdavies1@maine.rr.com>]

Here you go, Paul.

Rich D.

___________________________________________________________________
Published Sunday, October 24, 1999, in the Lexington Herald-Leader

NBA

Walker coming of age under fire in Boston

By Jerry Tipton
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Despite his eye-catching talent, basketball has never been easy for Antoine
Walker. As a high school star, he was perceived as a shameless showboat.
Kentucky fans may recall he was benched the game before leading the Cats to
a championship run in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

So, yes, he swished an impressive variety of shots (perimeter set shot,
reverse layup, driving left-handed floater in traffic, etc.) in last night's
Boston Celtics-Utah Jazz exhibition game in Rupp Arena.

But Walker will go into this NBA season chained to red-hot detractors in
Boston who question his shot selection, his captaincy and his approach to
the game.

"He's an immature spoiled brat, the poster boy for just about everything
that's gone wrong in the way basketball's turned out in the last 15 years,"
Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said last week. "If Antoine Walker would
simply grow up and learn what really matters, that would solve a lot of the
problems. Great players can just take over games."

Although he lauds Walker's diligent rebounding and concedes his skill, Ryan
abhors Walker's basketball priorities. "The subtleties of the game, he just
doesn't get it," the columnist said. Walker, he added, devotes too much
energy to "stylin' " and "one-upmanship."

Walker, who said he could accept knocks on his game but not his character,
dismissed Ryan's analysis entirely.

"Bob Ryan doesn't know me from a can of paint," he said. "So for me to take
anything he said to heart ... "

Ryan began covering NBA basketball for The Boston Globe in 1968-69, the last
season Bill Russell played for the Celtics. His perceived NBA expertise led
other sportswriters to dub him "The Commissioner" years ago.

But Walker dismisses opinion from all sportswriters regardless of station in
the profession.

"I don't take anything no writer says to heart," Walker told reporters.
"Because you all don't have to go through what we have to go through as a
pro athlete."

Undeniably, last season was an ordeal for Walker. He was repeatedly booed at
home games. Ryan blistered him in print.

Walker cited the six-year, $71 million contract he signed last year as a
source of the problem. That and the Celtics' failure to get within hailing
distance of a playoff spot in Walker's three seasons.

"Obviously, when you make the most money, it's always going to fall back on
you," he said. "The pressure falls back on you. When it gets tough, they
have to point the finger at somebody. So, obviously, they go to the top and
work their way down.

"That really doesn't bother me. I play in a town where the fans are spoiled.
They've got 16 world championships. So you don't blame them (for being
critical). They're used to seeing a winner."

Boston Coach Rick Pitino acknowledged that fans have been correct to
question Walker's indiscriminate shot selection. Not that other players take
only good shots, he added. And, by inference, Pitino agreed with the
immaturity charge when he admitted he named Walker captain two years ago to
give him a sense of responsibility.

"I was trying to get him to mature," he said. "To think team before self.
Think pass before shot."

But given the Celtics' storied history, the move backfired. Former Celtic
captains read like one of those greatest-of-the-century lists. Bob Cousy.
Bill Russell. John Havlicek. Larry Bird.

"That has some resonance," Ryan said. "To make Antoine Walker captain,
people just look at each other, like, what kind of nonsense is this?"

The Celtics will pick this season's captains by a player vote.

"The classic AAU spoiled brat pup," Ryan said of Walker. "And the worst
thing that happened to him was making him an all-star a couple years ago,
which validated for him how great he is. He's got enormous raw talent. He
can do some spectacular things. (But) he has no respect around the league.
People hate the guy. They think he's a punk."

Pitino suggested Walker is misunderstood.

"The basic thing Bob forgets is when Larry Bird came into the league, he was
probably, I guess, 23 years old," he said. "When Antoine came into the
league, he was 21. I think too much is expected. If he had four years of
college like (Tim Duncan), then, yes, you'd expect better things. But coming
out after your sophomore year (as Walker did), it takes time and patience."

----------
>From: damekmo@teleport.com
>To: celtics@igtc.com
>Subject: Re: URL: Walker Poster Boy For Everything That's Gone Wrong...
>Date: Sun, Oct 24, 1999, 1:57 PM
>

>>http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/news/102499/baskdocs/24celtics.htm
>
> I'm having trouble with my browser. Could someone please, if possible, post
> this entire article? I wouldn't want to miss anything about the Celtics
> morally depraved team leader. He's hated throughout the league. He's
> disrespected throughout the league. He's a punk. He's ruining everything
> that's good and just in life. He's my kind of guy.
>
> Paul M.
>
>
>