Re: Virtue Rewarded; or, Ozersky Inside!

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

At 06:38 07/08/01 -0700, Josh Ozersky wrote:
>You guys aren't going to believe this, and in fact I
>had a hard time believing it myself, but it's true:
>
>Chris Wallace called me on the phone yesterday.
>
>Apparently, he reads my bskball.com column, or at
>least his assistant does (Chris doesn't get on the
>internet much, I gather; he thought that I worked for
>ESPN.)  Anyway, they read all my predraft stuff, and
>looked for my comments after the draft.  Can you
>imagine the rush hearing that gave me?

Josh, that's very cool. Finally, some access! I hope you take CW up on his 
offer to phone him during the season. You might as well try to develop a 
releationship now in the summer, while things obviously aren't that hectic 
up there.

Wallace might not hand out great scoops, but at least he sounds like he's 
not spinning you and that he's a true hoops junkie.

Some questions I hope you might slip in next time with your own, not that 
CW would be wise to reveal everything...

1) Is Blount really a better prospect down the road than Diop, as Leo 
Papile hinted? Why?

2) What was your view of the top three picks in the draft? Were there no 
franchise-calibre big men in that group? Did you try to schedule workouts 
with any of them, or ever explore a trade up?

3) What's the deal on that Philly 1st rounder? Were you surprised they 
offered more than a couple of cheese steaks? Did you also talk to any other 
teams about Moiso? Around when, more or less, did you first conclude that 
Moiso didn't fit Boston's rebuilding plans?

4) What's your reply to people (most of us) who think Walker can guard 
small forward better than power forwards, or that we need a guy more or 
less permanently hovering around the offensive boards and low post?

5) What's your take on our defensive FG% under Pitino? Was it more the 
fault of the system or the players? Who needs more work at this stage on 
defense, Walker or Pierce? Do you see them making an effort to improve? Do 
you see progress or not much yet?

6) Does Boston have plans and a green light to be a big time player on the 
FA market, when Kenny and EW clear the cap? Is that part of the four-year 
plan you sold Gaston on?


Cheers,

Joe