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

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

At 02:41 AM 10/24/00 -0400, Kestutis Kveraga wrote: 
>
> ...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. 


Other people who have followed Kentucky basketball have commented on this
before. Pitino was successful with Kentucky even before he had recruited all
that NBA talent. He succeeded with a bunch of leftovers when the school was
under probation and lacked scholarships. I believe that it's generally agreed
that he succeeded far beyond his team's talent with PC and BU also, but I
didn't follow those either.

>
> 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. 


Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Pitino is coaching perfectly. What I'm
saying is that Pitino is aware of the faults that are pointed out on this
list.
When we complain about Walker jacking up a three-pointer two seconds into the
shot clock, Pitino is aware that it's a problem. When we talk about the
headless chicken outbreak and how Dana Barros is guarding a center and we're
giving up millions of open jumpers and dunks -- he knows that. I mean, the
guys
is a tape fanatic. We sometimes behave on this list like he doesn't know these
things. He just has access to so much more information than we do. 

About the execution, you could be completely right. There's obviously a
problem
because the goal of the defense is not to  give up 47% shooting. My main point
is that Pitino wouldn't learn a thing about coaching basketball by subscribing
to this list. We could teach him something about GMing though: "Hey Rick, why
don't you trade Cheaney for Vince Carter?"

>
> 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. 


Tom Murphy's post was essentially about the same type of groupthink. But, if
anything, we are criticizing Pitino for NOT coaching like the other pros --
for
using his wacky substitutions and headless chicken outbreak. And the other
basketball people still respect him as an Xs and Os guy. Anyway, you're right
about whether he's screwing up though. He's given us less than he's promised
and probably less than a guy like Riley would have (can't imagine Riley
coaching the Celtics though) and that's the guy who he's comparable to in
reputation (pre-Celtics), power, and salary.

Alex