Re: Pitino haters alert

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Check out this from the
Herald's Gerry Callahan for a different take, and one I tend to agree with:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sport/golf_tennis_more/gc02092001.htm

Look, I like some of the things O'Brien has done: shortening the rotation,
keeping strong defenders around Toine and Pierce, playing Blount... but
that's not the reason the team is winning, and it's not because O'Brien
isn't yelling or because O'Brien's picture isn't on the front of the media
guide ... the biggest reason for the turnaround is the team, specifically
our two captains, have decided to play hard. They wouldn't do it for Pitino.
In fact, they quit on him. Some say that's Pitino's fault. I disagree. 

It seems, as Callahan correctly points out, that the only way to coach
Antoine Walker is to not coach him at all. Roll out the ball and let him
play... shoot whenever and wherever he wants, and kiss his rear end whenever
you get the chance. There's no question he's the team leader on the floor,
and the rest of the players, including Pierce, are following his lead. Let's
just hope O'Brien keeps blowing the smoke, because if Toine quits again, the
rest will follow again.

The bottom line, of course, is that it doesn't matter. Pitino is gone and
the players who drove him out of town are still here. The NBA is all about
the players, and it's true that Pitino didn't see that soon enough. He made
the mistake of trying to coach them. Go figure.