Re: Pitino being tuned out...finally

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Dan,

I know what you're saying, but you can reshape a team with a couple bold
moves. Personally, I think the biggest culprits in "tuning out" Pitino are
Walker and Anderson. I think Pierce is guilty at times, but it seems to be
when things are going bad and he tries to do too much himself. I think with
a couple good trades that export Walker and Anderson and import talented,
unselfish, coachable players, we can make a real leap.

I just don't think it will be any different if we change coaches. If these
players tune out Pitino, who has one of the best track records in
basketball, what will they do to the next guy? Or the next? In my mind, this
isn't a problem with Pitino, it's a problem with the players. It would be
one thing if he'd been here five or six years (a la Larry Brown in Indiana),
but it hasn't even been three years (and last year was an abomination).
We're talking about two seasons for Kenny and one for Pierce. If these guys
can't buy into the system for at least that long, then that's their problem.
And Toine, well, compound his utter unwillingness to prepare or work in the
offseason with his stubborn determination to do it his way on the court and
it's not hard to see why the fans hate the guy. Does he play hard? Yes, but
that's not enough. Prepare hard. Play smart.

Anyway, I think if we fire Pitino and cast our lot with what we have, we're
doomed to several more years of mediocrity. 

Mark