Re: Headless chicken finale

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

I think that the choice is really Pitino's as to whether he wants to leave
or not. There are probably three main issues: his reputation, his bank
account, and his enjoyment of winning. He's still got a hefty amount on his
contract left and I doubt that Gaston wants to force him out. On the other
hand it's not like he's going to be looking hard for a job if he quits;
colleges will still be lining up. He has stated that he wants to coach in
the NBA if he doesn't succeed with the Celtics, though.

The reputation issue is a tough one. If he still doesn't improve, the
sportswriters will be all over him, even more than they are now. But if he
sees any improvement, even if it's less than making the playoffs, he may be
tempted to stick around and see it through, because as Joe says, why leave
town a loser when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel?

But what Pitino's said is that he hates losing, and why be unhappy if you
don't have to be? He talks about how in college they'd only lose five times
a year. You could see him wearing down visibly during that losing streak.
My guess is that if they're not in the playoff race by the stretch run,
he'll be demoralized enough to step down. But if they compete at the end
and fall short, he's not going to quit.

Alex

At 11:48 AM 10/27/00 +0200, Hironaka wrote:
>BTW, I really wonder what the over/under line for wins and losses will be in
>order to induce a career decision from Pitino and Gaston? I believe the win
>total to convince Pitino he should leave is far lower than many of us think.
>Lower than a .500 record for one thing. I'm fairly sure of this. Pitinocchio
>has too many promising things to look forward to next year (up to three first
>rounders, a possible breakthrough Moiso second year, and the right to trade
>Antoine without the BYC headaches if need be). Why would he want to hand all
>that opportunity on to his successor and leave town a loser? Plus there just
>doesn't seem to be any countervailing pressures or ultimatums for him to
put-up
>or shut-up coming from the influential powers that be (Gaston, Red, Russell).
>Maybe from Gaston, but that's not at all clear. All the dissidents are either
>outside (maybe Bird, Heinsohn, Cousy) or have marginal influence (ML Carr).
>
>Pitino would only leave with a sub-.500 record because he is "a man of his
>word". The problem is he's more like a "man of his words" (plural). He said
>three years for the playoffs, then four years because the lockout year
doesn't
>count...etc. He is just too glib with words.