RE: Recap of Vitaly chat at NBA.Com

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

You know, how awesome would it be if we could by some miracle play
Pierce at 2, Antoine at 3, Vitaly at 4, and Blount/Battie at center?
Wouldn't
that be an incredible lineup?  Is it so impossible?  Vitaly is really
underused, I 
think; he could be doing so much for us.  He's just immovable on that
block...

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Alessandro Celtics-Fan [SMTP:alessan420@hotmail.com]
> Sent:	Wednesday, September 06, 2000 3:28 PM
> To:	Celtics@igtc.com
> Subject:	Recap of Vitaly chat at NBA.Com
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> And why not check out http://celtics.rivals.com while you're at it?
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Yesterday, it was Rick Pitino who had a chance to talk with fans online
> ... 
> Now, it's the Ukraine Train's turn.
> 
> Vitaly "The Potty" Potapenko took part in an online chat session this 
> afternoon at the Celtics' official web site. It's all in conjunction with 
> the official relaunch of the site (which isn't that bad, except that it's 
> more of a cosmetic change than anything to do with the content - which is 
> still just company fluff).
> 
> Here's a quick recap of Vitaly's comments :
> 
> Shaq is a tough man to defend because "he is so big" (d'uh), but if you
> talk 
> about "quickness and intensity and skill level" then he would pick Alonzo 
> Mourning and Patrick Ewing as the toughest centers to play against in the 
> NBA.
> 
> Compares offseason training to homework - "it's when you work on your
> skill 
> level and it reflects how you're going to be in the season". He goes on
> the 
> court and trains three to four hours everyday during the offseason (you 
> reading this, Antoine?).
> 
> When he gets mad on the court, Vitaly "yells in English instead of
> Ukranian 
> to make sure people know what I'm talking about".
> 
> Mentions "cocktail parties and minor league games" as places he likes to
> go 
> to socialize ... Hmmm.
> 
> Names his college roommate (Eric Watkins) as his biggest supporter in 
> basketball; "he would tell me what I did wrong and encourage me and we'd 
> practice together".
> 
> Started watching NBA games when he was 15 years old, but never considered 
> actually playing in the league until college - "the Cavs had a training
> camp 
> at my university and I would go watch them. I would even skip class if I
> had 
> to ... and as I got more advice from people, my dream of playing in the
> NBA 
> became more of a reality".
> 
> Mentions how how grueling his first practice under Rick Pitino was ("I was
> 
> so tired because it was up and down with full court defense. I remember 
> after I was traded from Cleveland, 3-4 weeks later, my friends said I
> looked 
> like I had really toned up. I had to be in good shape to keep up with the 
> practices").
> 
> Would like to live in Boston after he retires ("there is a lot of history 
> here; there is a lot to do here; there are a lot of colleges so there are 
> young people here").
> 
> On the subject of whether or not he is a center or power forward, Vitaly 
> says that "because of my lower body strength, I'm not really a high jumper
> 
> or a shot blocker; I would think power forward would be more suitable for 
> me".
> 
> Has nothing but nice things to say about Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce as
> 
> teammates - "I get along well with both. The first time I met Antoine we 
> were going on the bus to NJ to the draft room, so we were talking. They're
> 
> both good teammates; they're very fun to work with. Also they're young - 
> they're my age - so we have a lot in common."
> 
> Credits Larry Johnson (!) as his basketball role model growing up - "when
> LJ 
> came into the league he just blew me away; he's so strong and he can take 
> people so hard to the basket".
> 
> Thanks the fans for asking questions, and the chat is over.
> 
> Alessandro
> alessan420@hotmail.com
> celtics.rivals.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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