Re: THIS IS WHAT OUR YOUNG TEAM NEEDS!!!

[Andy Shaw <shaw@transmeta.com>]

|   From: "Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>
|   Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 02:49:27 -0700
|   
|   I'm sure I'll take heat from the usual circles, but don't you think that the
|   presence of veterans like Jackson, Miller, Davis, Smits, Best, Mullins,
|   Perkins and McKey warrant a share of the credit too?  I mean I love Larry
|   and all, but it's not like he's coaching a bunch of stiffs who need the
|   constant reminders of a young, immature squad like the Celts.  I haven't
|   checked, but I'm sure those players alone have far more pro years than the
|   entire Celtic team plus.

If you listen to the players, they are fairly vocal about how much
they've learned from Bird and what a good coach he is.  This is
especially the case with the veterans.

As for the younger players -- Bird has pulled a miracle with Jalen
Rose.  And who'd have thought Austin Croshere had it in him?  Travis
Best is also playing quite well and contributing.

These young players are playing with an incredible amount of
_composure_, and I think that's due to Bird's influence.  He has them
thinking, but not thinking too much ... in sports, I think you need to
shut down some of your higher-level thought processes in order to
function well, and Bird has somehow gotten his players to do that.

I respect Bird much more now than when he was a player, because he's
managed to transfer his success as a player into his success as a
coach in a Jedi/Zen master way (even more than Phil Jackson).  He's
made his players into mini-Birds, which they most definitely weren't
before he became the coach.

-Andy