Bulpett

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

    I don't know what to make of this Bulpett article from Sunday. It is
the first time I've ever heard Jim O'Brien pull a Spintino, and I guess
Vitaly may well be traded at first opportunity. He and Adrian Griffin
are probably the only guys on the roster who deserve to be Boston
Celtics and wear Boston Celtics uniforms the way Cowens, Havlicek etc.
did, but neither has enough athletic headless chicken talent or reckless
shot selection to play in thePitino era.

    BTW, as I've demonstrated before, Vitaly Potapenko is not "overpaid"
at all compared to NBA centers. If there is a reason to trade him, that
isn't one of them.

Joe


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Vitaly works up a need
by Steve Bulpett
Sunday, October 15, 2000

The practices have been many and lengthy. The time off has been brief.
But after most every session during Celtics training camp, Vitaly
Potapenko can be found on the court.

And he's not just shooting around for laughs.

He's working on specifics.

``You've got to tell him to get off the court,'' said associate coach
Jim O'Brien, the guy who often is there with Potapenko. ``He'll never
say to you, `All right, it's time to leave.' I mean, I really believe he
would stay on the court and shoot and work on his game until he fell
over or until a coach told him he had to leave. He has a remarkable work
ethic. It's something for anybody at any age to emulate if they want to
get good at something.

``Vitaly is, simply stated, a guy that is totally dedicated to his game
and winning. Nobody worked harder this summer with our staff here than
Vitaly. Shaun Brown (strength and conditioning coach) has said that if
scientists looked at him on a treadmill and timed him and looked at how
big that body is and how quickly it can run - and for the length of time
- they would not believe it.''

It's hard enough believing that a guy would go through Rick Pitino's
practices and want more. But there is an intense need with Potapenko to
improve. In each of his four NBA seasons, the 6-foot-10 center has shown
a marked improvement. He even got noticeably better from the beginning
of last season to the end, with rebounds that bounced off his uncertain
fingers in November being grasped in March and April. Potapenko averaged
6.3 rebounds a game, but played an average of just 22.7 minutes.

``You have to look at a guy like Vitaly and project that he's going to
get better,'' said O'Brien. ``You can see it now. If he misses like two
jump shots at practice, he feels like he's off.

``So he said he had to get 50 jump shots up before he left (Friday). He
tries to work on every possible shot that he could get in a game.''

The situation is simple for Potapenko. He knows there are miles between
where he stands now and his potential.

``I've only been four years in the league,'' he said.

``I'm still learning the game. I'm still growing physically. I'm taking
a year at a time, improving each year.

``In this league you can see guys getting stronger every year. If you
want to stay on top, you have to work.''

As for staying in the game and getting his numbers to the point where he
wouldn't be a target for fan criticism, Potapenko said, ``Definitely I
would like to be more on the court and get higher stats, but I'm not
worried about anything but helping the team win. I'm looking at Bill
Russell, and he doesn't care about stats. He cared about playing good
defense and helping his team to win. I can't say I'm going to be like
Bill Russell, but I want to come in with that same attitude. I want to
be the captain of the defense and be able to be a real presence inside.

``All I can do is win as many games as I can. To be honest with you, I
have nothing against the fans. They've been great. They cheer for us
when we play hard, and that's all you can ask for. When I'm on the
court, I just focus in on my job. It's personal. I want to be better
than the center that I'm playing against.

``Every player has their own pride, and I do have pride.

``I want to be better.''

No matter how much work it takes.

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