Re: Pitino pushing the right buttons

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

Guys, I was as optimistic as anyone on this list early this season. The
thing that changed it for me was when I could see, just watching the games
at home, the players quit on Pitino. Some say they did, some say they
didn't. I watched faithfully, and I'm convinced they did. I don't know if
the close loss in Philly broke their spirit (they played harder and better
than Philly, but lost due to poor officiating and execution down the
stretch), but when Philly came to Boston less than a week later, it was a
classic case of not even competing. They didn't put up a fight. It was all
downhill from there, and, to me, it was easy to see. Remember, Pitino pulled
his "play better or I'm quitting" fiasco right after that second Philly
game. That was inexcusable on his part, and I knew then that he needed to go
as well. But it didn't excuse the players' behavior.

Anyway, as I watched this unfold, I grew more and more disgusted. Pitino
took over this team and certainly made some boneheaded moves, but he worked
harder at turning this thing around than any of his players. He cared more
than any of them. He had more patience with Antoine and his
conditioning/preparation than anyone could have asked. So I finally realized
that not only did Pitino care more about whether the Celtics won or lost
than the players did, but so did I. 

Now, Pitino is gone and the players are playing hard again. Why? To prove
they were right and Pitino was wrong? What happens when they've proven their
point? Will Jim O'Brien be next year's George Irvine (the players' choice,
until things start to go bad)? 

Anyway, maybe they'll keep this up permanently and change my mind. I tend to
think that won't happen because I think you find out a lot about a person's
character by observing how they react under difficult conditions. It's easy
to ride the wave, but staying strong when the current is going the other
way, that's the true test. I think these guys folded when things got tough.
Right now, they're riding the wave...

So that's why I feel the way I feel. I said I wasn't going to post on the
subject again, but you sort of asked, so...

Mark

P.S. Maybe I'm just falling victim to a bad sports cycle: Lakers win NBA
title, Yankees win Subway Series, Reds underachieve after trading for
Junior, Buckeyes lose to Michigan again, Bengals are the Bengals, Ravens win
Super Bowl, Celtics floundering... sigh...