Re: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
I think a frequent question on this list is whether Pitino knows how to
coach NBA basketball. I remember Tom Murphy (where did he go anyway?) had
an interesting post on unqualified individuals (such as us) judging the
performance of technical specialists such as Pitino. I think all of us can
look at a game or a season and find objective statistics like, "We were
36-46" or "We gave up 47% from the field." Some of us make conclusions like
"Pitino can't coach basketball" or "Pitino's defensive system doesn't
work." But separating the performance of the coach from the players is very
difficult.
--- end of quote ---

...which is exactly why some of his college successes are probably more attributable to his abilities as a recruiter than as a coach. IMO, his winning at Kentucky had less (if anything) to do with his "system" and more with a team stocked with future NBA players pouncing on teams mostly stocked with future office workers. I don't follow college ball enough to know whether the achievements of his PC and BU teams were out of proportion to their (lesser) talent. 

--- You wrote:
My personal belief is that Pitino knows what he's doing as a basketball
coach. He seems to be universally respected as a coach in the basketball
community -- including pretty astute guys like Jerry West. If you've
watched the Rick Pitino show, you can tell he's extremely well prepared,
that he reviews all the games, compiles the statistics, and basically knows
everything we do from watching the games, and much more. I personally don't
think we have any advice to give Pitino on coaching technique.
--- end of quote ---

While I don't for a moment imagine that I could coach a team better, or know more about basketball, than Pitino, I also don't buy the argument that we fans don't know or see anything that he doesn't. Sometimes it's the case of 'not seeing the forest for the trees' or being too clever for your own good, as some of us believe is the case with the vaunted "headless chicken outbreak" defense. Besides, technical knowledge =/= coaching ability. For example, he may know the optimal way to execute a particular offense or defense, and it may even work at the NBA level, but micromanaging the play in real time from the sideline, as he so often does, doesn't lend itself to the team's executing the said schemes on the floor, IMO. I just couldn't imagine playing well while being yanked about like a puppet by his sideline instructions. The better NBA coaches seem to know this, but he still gets into his college-coach-working-himself-into-a-lather mode. 

Besides, it's well known that professionals in all fields can get into groupthink and "idee fixe" ruts, and make all kinds of disastrous decisions that no amateur would succumb to. If I always genuflected to this "authority argument" and trusted so-called professionals to make the correct decision for me, I'd be in pretty bad fiscal and physical shape now. The NBA and the Boston Celtics exist because of, and for, us fans, and we certainly shouldn't hesitate to let the coach/GM know when we think he's screwing up - because, chances are, he probably is. 
Kestas