Re: The Orlando Sun-Sentinel

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

> >From: opi@unesco.org
> >I have no reason to doubt it is Wallace who mucks around for most trade 
> >possibilities and maybe even proposes the vast majority of them. But I 
> >thought the people who voted on trades were Pitino, Wallace and the 
> >assistant coaches (Jim O'Brian and the like).
> >
> >If that's the case (or even if it weren't), Pitino's "his staff" comment 
> >(as opposed to the "rest of my staff" or simply "my staff") sounds like a 
> >conscious effort to distort reality. Everyone including Wallace's purported 
> >"staff" answer to Pitino.
> 
> Aren't you splitting hairs, Joe?  The scouting corps, headed by Loe Papile, 
> certainly have input into trades and probably report to the General Manager. 
>   It just sounds like people who don't like Rick (and I understand why many 
> wouldn't) want to pick apart every last little thing he says.

Jim's absolutely right here. The other thing is that the media, and
Pitino's critics on this list, use the fact that Pitino credits his
staff with personnel moves to bash him when he gets it right. Remember
when he said how he asked Lester Conner, I believe, if there was
something wrong with Pierce when he slipped to 10? People were
blasting him for that ("if it were up to Pitino, he probably would
have passed on him too"). And I really don't think that Pitino is
trying to "blame" Wallace here because as far as I can tell he's
pleased with the personnel moves in general. He's actually greatly
praised Wallace for what he's done with personnel (on his show, I
believe) and is probably trying to give him credit for it, and it
looks like the media is distorting reality, saying that Rick is 
trying to blame Wallace.

Alex