Re: [Celtic_Pride] Peter May's Letter to Pitino

["Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>]

Pitino has been successful at every previous coaching stop.  I find it hard
to believe that since he has accepted this position, his level of coaching
has deteriorated rapidly.  That all of a sudden, he is not able to convey
the message of what he wants the players to do, to them.  That is why I do
not blame him entirely.  We have players who have played the game for most
of their lives but have not given proper attention to basic fundamentals
such as boxing out, rebounding and, what is especially frustrating for me,
shooting free throws.

I was taught the basics of running a fast break in freshmen basketball.  Do
you honestly believe that the players don't know how to run it?  That Kenny
Anderson, who was the king of the fast break in high school and at Georgia
Tech, does not know how to run it?

I'm telling you, it is the players who fold in the last few minutes but some
of the reasons are that we have to play Toine and Pierce extreme minutes.
We have no center.  We just waived our healthiest PG.  Stith, though he has
done a fine job for us, is new to the system, Pierce, who btw has gone on
record as saying he wants RP to stay, is fortunate to be able to play after
the stabbing, our bench sucks.

There is alot wrong with this team other than the coach.  I said a few weeks
ago that thanks to the foolish booing of this team at home, that I would not
be surprised to see them play better on the road.  The players have made
statements which have proven me right but it is a disgrace for home fans to
act that way in my opinion and I am glad that Steve B. agrees.

I'll take more heat from others on this list but it does not alter the fact
that it ain't all Rick's fault.

And for those who feel he should not remind them of this during the game,
well that is just not how coaches are.  Every one of them bark out
instructions and reminders during the game.  Some on this list are more
troubled by that than anything else.

As for alluding to the fact that he is blaming the players, he continues to
say that he bears the responsibility for the direction of this team.  He has
protected them all the time from blame, instead, placing the onus on
himself.  Last night's game hurt him and he reacted that way.  Something
wrong with that?

Cecil





----- Original Message -----
From: "Kestas" <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>
To: <Celtic_Pride@egroups.com>; <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2001 10:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Celtic_Pride] Peter May's Letter to Pitino


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>
> To: <Celtic_Pride@egroups.com>; <celtics@igtc.com>
> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 23:17
> Subject: Re: [Celtic_Pride] Peter May's Letter to Pitino
>
>
> > I know I am in the minority on this list, but I am a big boy and can
take
> > the heat which will surely come.  It is not my habit to make fun of
> someone
> > who knows as much about basketball as Pitino.  Red has praised him.
> Russell
> > has praised him.  It is not all his fault.  Somewhere along the line,
the
> > players must be held accountable for their own shortcomings
> > This team needs to be patient and work the ball more for good shots.  Do
> you
> > really think that Pitino is happy that they settle for the threes?  I
> don't
> > think so.  Because a player is selfish enough to think he is capable of
> > making them (Toine/Pierce) does that mean they have tuned him out?  I
> don't
> > think so.  It all comes back to maturity as I have mentioned in the
past.
> > I'm ready.  Fire away.
>
> OK, you asked for it :) You make some valid points, but you're missing the
> main thing, IMO. It doesn't matter that he knows a lot about basketball.
> Even assuming his bball philosophy works in the NBA, if he can't impart it
> on his players, it doesn't matter. Coaching is not just having basketball
> knowledge, as you should know better than just about anyone on this list.
>
> Blaming the players for the team's directionless play is like blaming a
car
> for going into the ditch after the driver has lost control of it. You're
> basically asking us to believe that we have the 15 most uncoachable,
> immature players in the NBA, and that's just improbable. Sure, the players
> are accountable for the stupid plays, bad defense, not running the fast
> break etc. to some extent. But it's the COACH's job to get them NOT to do
> these things most of the time. Pitino may not be happy about their doing
it,
> but that doesn't change the fact that he hasn't pushed the right buttons
to
> get them to perform the way he wants. It's HIS FAULT. The fact that the
> Celtics do not have talent at all the positions  is irrelevant - most
teams
> don't, and after all, we're not expecting them to win the championship or
> even advance to the second round of the playoffs - just basic competent
play
> GIVEN their talent level.
>
> Now let's look at the situation: the Celtics are the worst defensive team
in
> the NBA - again. They're also the worst at running fast break - in four
> years I could count the number of times they executed a fast break
properly
> on one hand. They don't even try to run it now, because they know it just
> ain't gonna happen. Why, after four years of being coached by the Greatest
> Coach in the universe, they still can't execute a simple fastbreak? Are
they
> really so dumb, lazy, and unathletic that they can't be taught that? Are
> they less mature than the Warriors, the Bulls, or the Clippers, who, like
> any other team in the NBA and most teams in college and HS, can execute a
> 4-on-1?
>
> Speaking of maturity, there's not a player in our regular rotation who has
> been in the NBA less than 3 years (Walker, Pierce, Anderson, Stith,
Battie,
> Pot, Brown, Williams). The mean NBA experience of this group is 5.5 years,
> not counting this year. Are the Warriors,  featuring 2 rookies and 2
> third-year players  in their starting lineup, more mature? Have they not
> been beset by injuries? Yet the teams' records are similar (despite the
> Warriors' playing in the much tougher Western conference), and GS had no
> problem beating up on us on our home court.
>
> I have a hunch that if the teams switched coaches, we'd be right in the
> playoff mix after thumping the lowly GS, and there'd be more whining
coming
> out the Warriors' locker room than during the chainsaw event in a
lumberjack
> competition. "We're a young, immature team... and young teams just don't
> execute down the stretch...the NBA eats its young...it's just the way it
> is...not to mention that...due to injuries, we've the lost the rebounding
of
> Danny Fortson... the scoring and defense of Chris Mills.. people we just
> HAVE to have playing for us to be able to compete with older, more mature
> teams like the Boston Celtics..".
>
>