Bulpett on Walker/Hardaway

[opi@unesco.org]

``I like Antoine. He's not a bad guy,'' Hardaway said. ``He's just an
(expletive deleted). I know it and he knows it. Once he gets over being
an (expletive deleted), he'll be fine. Maybe hearing me say this will
open his eyeballs.''

Earlier in the night, Hardaway was making a similar point.

``He's not mature yet,'' he said. ``He's a great, great athlete. He has
all the skills you can put in a player. But his attitude is (messed) up.

``Someone asked me why he's the least liked player in the NBA. It's
because he has a (messed) up attitude. You've got to change your
attitude to win games, and he hasn't done that.''

There is an important difference to note here. Walker is not necessarily
hated in the league. Talk to NBA types and they'll tell you  that Karl
Malone and John Stockton probably draw the most ire. The two are
generally accepted to be the dirtiest players in the league.

Walker, players say, is more of an irritant. He is fingernails on a
chalkboard more than a fist to the gut.

To those who see him on a daily basis during the season, Walker is a
decent sort who truly seems to understand the game and his job when
discussing them. There are times, however, when the Celtics and everyone
watching can see the lines of communication from his head to his shot
selection are severed. There are times when he goes away from the very
ideals he stresses, when he argues with referees to the detriment of
himself and his team. Times when Hardaway is right.

``I just don't approach things that way,'' Rick Pitino said. ``What I
try to do with Antoine is tell him that if he does the following
positive things that he'll be a great basketball player. That's what I
try to tell him. I don't try to tell him, `You're acting like an
(expletive deleted).'

``The last person to ever own up to their own mistakes is thyself.
Sometimes they don't even see themselves in the light of how they're
acting. I tell him, `If you take care of your body and work on the
things you have to and you pass the ball and rebound, you're going to be
great.' I try to tell him what he can do to be great, rather than call
him a jerk.''

Reputations are hard to shake in the NBA. It is a very tight community,
and those who play or speak as if they believe they are above it all are
marked to a degree. Walker's rep will follow him until the Celtics
become real winners. And they will do that when Walker reaches a point
where Hardaway doesn't feel the need to dispense tough love.