tuning out and lack of "heart"

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

>>From: damekmo@teleport.com

At some point, unless this team gets out of this funk and is able to gain a
little confidence by stringing a bunch of wins together, these players are
going to lose faith in Pitino. They're going to tune the guy out; lose
faith in his coaching abilities >snip<

Paul M.<<

Unfortunately, Paul M. is not alone in sharing these fears. I guess we're
picking up the same negative vibes. Below is an exchange I had with BSG
earlier:

> In a message dated 1/11/00 9:49:18 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
> tfmiii@worldnet.att.net writes:
> 
> <<  I expressed concern a
>  while ago that the players can only take so much mental beating-up and
>  blame-shifting (about blowing leads, losing games, being bad defenders,
>  "not listening" etc.) from the coach before they just start giving up.
>>
> 
> This could definitely happen. The next three weeks will be verrrrrrrrrrry

> interesting.
> 
> The Fortson thing boogles my brain more than anything. They gave up a
20PPG 
> scorer for him and hes playing 10 mins a game!

FWIW I agree with most of what BSG expressed in his article although I
would have worded the "heart" issue differently. 

I agree with Joe that this teams has shown and continues to show an amazing
amount of heart. Anyone who has been watching even just the last few games
has seen Kenny, Pierce, Vitaly and Twon leaving everything they have out on
the court - despite their various injuries. I think what BSG detected in
the 4th quarter of the Grizz game was not a lack of heart but the
beginnings of a crisis of faith or confidence - partly in themselves
perhaps but ultimately in the coaching staff. 

I think Joe best described the kind of "fool's errand" scenario this team
has found itself in recently:

>>A lot of our present players were
necessary additions to an NBA team but don't necessarily belong on a
Pitino-coached NBA team. As hard and as sincerely as they still play (and
as little as they gripe), they are making fools of themselves and can see
with their own eyes that they are routinely mismatched, out of position,
and giving up easy or open baskets. >snip<

It's incredible how earnest and try-hard these guys
have been this year, despite BSG's dissertation that it is a lack of heart
not
talent compared to Pitino's first year. >snip<

Joe<<

How many times are you going to bust your hump following the boss's orders
just to find yourself embarrassed during the game - and berated after -
before you begin to lose faith?

I would conclude that it is not a lack of heart that distinguishes this
club from the 97-98 edition but rather a misapplication of the talents
available. Even BSG seems to implicitly recognize this in his call for
Pitino to start coaching.

-Tom Murphy