Re: Don't stop with Pitino

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

"Berry, Mark S" wrote:

> Joe, you just had to see it. It wasn't just open jumpers. It was no effort
> in denying penetration. It was half-hearted man-to-man defense, it was
> careless turnovers (you have no idea just how careless), it was selfish
> offense. It was everything, and it was miserable. Pitino is guilty, but so
> are the players. I don't know how they can call themselves professionals.
> They talk about wanting to win, but they don't want to work hard to make it
> happen. Defense is hard work. Rebounding is hard work. Moving without the
> ball is hard work. This team acts like it's allergic to it.
>
> I wish I had taped the game Joe, because I'd send you a tape and let you see
> for yourself. This wasn't a "system" loss. This was a surrender. It was
> awful.

I wanted this game so bad. It would have been a watershed type thing to be on
the national headlines as the team that broke the Philly streak and reminded
them of our rivalry. But having said that, the players were surely disappointed
too and you can't judge performance in a blowout situation. I've never doubted
that Pitino has given 100% dedication to building a winner in Boston, that he
really does have more knowledge in his left pinkie about basketball than I do,
or that he is trying to send the right messages and motivations to the players.
But the system also seems demoralizingly flawed no matter what the level of
commitment by players, and maybe Pitino's throwing more fuel on the fire IMHO by
insisting opponents will eventually succumb to the system's strengths if he uses
superior athletes relative to the NBA norm (guys like Moiso or Waltah) or keeps
blaming conditioning as an excuse for the wide-open shots we allow. I think it
is an open secret among players that the Celtics are an ideal opponent to pad
your shooting stats and have some fun. Maybe we headed further down the wrong
road by drafting Moiso and dumping the leading rebounder in the NBA, yet frankly
this is all an extension of Pitino's faith in his own philosophy. The further he
goes with it (luckily for us there are only so many clueless but outstanding
athletes out there other than Waltah and Moiso), the harder it will be for the
next Boston Celtics coach to undo his mistakes. Does anyone think the next coach
will have any use for Waltah? Hey, you won't find a more ideal athlete for a
switching and trapping system. It is like the coach has dug us all into this
hole, and now he's convincing us (and himself) that the only way out is to keep
shoveling until he reaches China.

*****