Re: Thank God for Bob Ryan!

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

Paul M. wrote: Every time I read something like this about Antoine, I just
can't help butthink "Punk!" What a punk this young man is.....huh? Thank God
for the very insightful Bob Ryan. He sure had Walker figured out.

Granted, Walker is tough. He plays hurt and doesn't just go through the
motions. He worked hard last night. In fact, watching Walker reminds me of
watching a college swim race. In one lane, you have the 6-foot-5 sculpted
freshman specimen splashing for all he's worth. Kicking, flailing and
working as hard as he possibly can. In the other you have the 5-10 senior,
polished, veteran swimmer. Each kick and stroke is the same as the last. As
you watch, the polished swimmer pulls away and wins, yet when the race is
over, only the loser is out of breath. Toine, bless his heart, kicks and
splashes for all he's worth. If he ever learns the right technique, we'll
have a monster.

I do think you're being a little tough on Bob Ryan. Let's face it, Antoine
was being a punk. He had made one all-star game after piling up big numbers
on a bad team and he called himself a "veteran all-star" and said he should
no longer have to work with the team during the summer. He was wiggling all
over the place (not a big concern for me, but others clearly hate it) and
talking like he deserved a $100 million contract.

Ryan's mistake was not chalking it up to youthful indiscretion. Toine was a
dumb kid. He's starting to come around, though. I'm willing to give the guy
the keys to the car if he commits to the team this summer. All I ask is that
he spend an offseason not just playing pick-up games in Chicago. That's not
enough. He needs to get in the weight room and work on his body. John
Thompson (good God am I about to quote John Thompson?) said last night that
Toine looks heavy for his body type, but I think the more accurate adjective
is soft. There's no definition. He has a weak upper body. It's the biggest
reason he has trouble finishing around the basket. He's easily bumped by
stronger players. If he can firm up and come back in the fall in shape, he
can play small forward (I'm still convinced that's the only way this team
makes a jump). 

Mark 

P.S. We still desperately need to upgrade our PG and PF/C positions. I'd
offer Kenny and/or Vitaly this summer for a real player at any of those
three positions. On Kenny: Last night was a great example of why he's just
not the answer. Forget the 1-for-11. Late in the game, we're down 6 with
about 3 minutes to go, and Kenny gets the ball to Battie in or around the
lane on consecutive possessions before Toine or Pierce had a touch. Late in
the game, you have to make smart decisions, and we had to get the ball to
one of our horses. Instead Battie missed badly twice (I'm not blaming him,
it's what he does), because our PG should have known better.