Pitino's style

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I've been thinking about how Pitino has fluctuated from wanting
an athletic, running, pressing team to wanting a tough, halfcourt,
man-to-man team, and now back again to an athletic team. I think
there are a few major influencess that explain this: his college
teams, his previous pro experience with the Knicks, and the success
of Pat Riley.

In college he's always relied on his trademark style and achieved
great success. In his early years he takes existing players and
coaches them to success beyond what their prior records would
indicate was possible. He follows that by recruiting more talented,
athletic players that fit his system.

His experience with the Knicks was somewhat different. He made
an adjustment between his first and second year, reducing the
amount of pressing, which coincided with a big increase in
victories. Also, the trade for Charles Oakley, a tough, defensively
talented rebounder contributed to his success. Furthermore, he
achieved with a group of players that were not notably athletic,
including Mark Jackson. So it was a different formula than his
college success.

I think as a result, when he got to the Celtics and coached them
to a similar first year record and then a relatively unsuccessful
first half to the lockout season, he decided to go for the Knicks
approach. He'd try to get his team tougher, press less, and
play man-to-man defense. He acquired guys like Potapenko and
Fortson and tried to use the press as an occasional weapon.

Of course, the result has been ugly. The situation with the Knicks,
who had a dominant center in Ewing, didn't translate well to the
Celtics. And Pitino has only a single season of experience playing
this halfcourt game, when he had that dominant defensive center.
His whole career has been built using his own system, not his ability
to coach a halfcourt, man-to-man game. I think he may have been
influenced by Pat Riley, who Pitino envies because he succeeded 
using two styles of play. Pitino probably wanted to similarly prove
himself to be a great coach that could succeed with multiple styles.

Finally it seems that Pitino has come to the realization that if
he is going to excel, it is by using the system that he has used
all his life. Maybe it's from watching Phil Jackson coach the 
Lakers. He came in and saw the personnel and said, "Hey, I coach
the triangle offense. I like a big backcourt so I'm going to get
Harper even though the GM just signed Derek Fisher to a big 
contract as our point guard. I like a role playing, rebounding
power forward so I'm going to start A.C. Green." He stuck with
what he believed in and won with it.

I don't know whether the "headless chicken" can win in the NBA.
But I do know that Pitino's a much better "headless chicken" coach
than he is a "traditional" NBA coach. And if he's going to stay,
for one year or for the rest of his contract, I'd rather see him
coach the style that he's always used - full court pressure for
48 minutes - with the types of players that he likes, rather than
try to become something he isn't. Personally, I'm optimistic that
we're going to see a team that is both entertaining, different,
and competitive this year. 

Alex