BosHerald on Moiso

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

The Herald's Mark Cofman reports that Moiso is playing some small
forward. Moiso sounds a little down on himself. It sounds like he is
fine athletically but behind the veterans in learning the headless
chicken outbreak. I wouldn't expect a lot out of him in tomorrow's
exhibition game.

-------

Moiso still not in the know
by Mark Cofman
Tuesday, October 10, 2000

Jerome Moiso has a quick wit and a good sense of humor. He's friendly
and easygoing. He keeps most conversations light.

But don't let Moiso's nature fool you. The Celtics' first-round draft
pick has a serious side, which has manifested itself in the early stages
of training camp. He is concerned about his performance after one week
of practice against NBA-caliber players.

Moiso might make light of the fact he has at times appeared lost on the
court, but his failure to grasp the system frustrates him.

``The thing I'm most worried about, and what I certainly don't want to
do, is slow everybody else down because the coaching staff is running
down the court to tell me what to do or where I should be on a certain
play,'' Moiso said between workouts yesterday at Sports Authority Center
in Waltham. ``Sometimes I feel like the student who doesn't have the
lesson down. The class must wait for this student to catch up before
moving on.

``I do not want to say that it's getting me down or making me very
unhappy, but it's definitely something I'm thinking about. I certainly
don't want to be the one to slow things down.''

Sensing Moiso's frustration, Celtics coach Rick Pitino has tried to ease
the rookie's mind. He has told Moiso the confusion he's experiencing in
practice is normal. So long as the effort is there at this stage, Pitino
will be satisfied with whatever progress he can make.

``I told him, look, you're supposed to be confused at this point. You're
supposed to be bewildered,'' said Pitino. ``It's normal. So what you
have to do is do the things that you can do athletically - offensive
rebound, run the floor - just do all the hustle things that can help
(you get over) that feeling of being lost.

``It also doesn't help (his confusion) that he's trying to play a little
(small forward),'' Pitino added. ``Chasing off the screens is probably
not something he's used to doing. But it's going to start coming
together for him soon.''

Which is not to say Pitino expects Moiso to make a major impact this
season. Pitino, Celtics general manager Chris Wallace and director of
player personnel Leo Papile agreed that Moiso was the man the C's should
tab with the draft's 11th overall pick. But they selected the 7-footer,
who entered the draft after two years at UCLA, with an eye toward the
future.

``For the style we want to play - running the floor, pressing, trapping
- Jerome is definitely an ideal player in terms of size and skills,''
said Pitino. ``But I think it's going to take time for him.

``He's a little weak physically, and he's still adjusting to everything
at this level. The adjustment he's making, though it won't be as
dramatic as it is for him right now, will continue to take place
throughout his rookie year.

``But he's got some incredible athletic skills. We're confident we'll
start to see some results down the road.''

For now, Moiso would just like to get more comfortable on the court. He
says the rest of his first camp experience - getting to know teammates,
conditioning, acclimating himself to a new city - has gone extremely
well.

``I'm definitely enjoying the professional atmosphere,'' he said. ``And
I have learned quite a bit in the short time I've been here with the
Celtics, even if it might not seem like it at times. But I want to do a
lot more - get to the point where I'm understanding things completely
and executing the plays the way I'm expected.

``I do expect a lot from myself, and I do want to show everybody here I
was a good (draft pick). I'm just going to keep working at it and
hopefully, like coach Pitino says, it will all start to come together
for me.''