Pitino has pulled this stunt a number of times and I am sure people are bored of the crap that he pulls as mind games. I am not surprised that Walker had that reaction, I would have a similiar one too if I were working for him. - Mishra
kevin from singapore <bostonceltics17@yahoo.com> wrote:
Like I said before, wins comes when your players plays FOR the coach.
what I find amazing in this article is Walker (and his teamates)
didn't say "I want Coach to stay, I am going to win it for him"
Walker sound like "if he leaves, so be it"
Walker ponders Pitino
by Steve Bulpett
Friday, January 5, 2001
As he got up from a discussion about Rick Pitino yesterday afternoon,
Antoine Walker smiled confidently and said, ``Coach isn't going
anywhere.''
But before that prediction, Walker talked about the possibility that
Pitino could leave the Celtics after he speaks with club owner Paul
Gaston in the next few weeks. And the co-captain actually said it was
perfectly understandable that Pitino, his coach for three-plus years
here and for two years at Kentucky, could want to abdicate the Boston
throne.
``Anybody that has pride and cares about the game should understand
that that's why he wants to do that,'' Walker said after sitting out
the team's practice with cold symptoms. ``He wants to be successful as
a coach. And if he's not getting the job done, then he's going to move
on elsewhere. Maybe this is not the situation for him and that's the
way he's looking at it.
``I think a lot of people should take that approach toward their
situation, because if you're not getting it done, then you've got to
get it done somewhere else. You've tried all your tricks and it's not
working.
``He's a competitor. He's going to fight, you know what I'm saying?
I've known him for a long time, but, you know, if he's not successful,
he can't toughen it out.''
It is an interesting stance, considering Walker himself has been a
Celtic for more than five losing seasons and has never talked about
asking for a trade.
``It's different for a player than a coach,'' he said. ``Coach takes a
lot of verbal abuse. I've taken it. It's tough, man. He has a family,
and your family doesn't want to read and hear certain things that are
being said about you. It's kind of tough. He has to have a peace of
mind for himself, as well. It's just something you've got to go
through.''
Walker was matter-of-fact in his approach to the issue, issuing no
impassioned plea for Pitino - the man who has given him a free rein -
to stay on. There was more of an acceptance in Walker's words.
``He's a competitor,'' he said of Pitino. ``I think everybody has to
understand that. He wants to win more than anybody, and he's been a
successful coach most of his career. And if he's not being successful,
then he feels like he's not getting the job done. And there's nothing
wrong with that; that's just somebody having a lot of pride in their
own individual ability.
``Coach is a competitor. That's all that is. Everybody doesn't
understand that. It's not because of anything else, it's just he wants
to win. He wants the best for himself and for his team.''
Walker still believes things can turn around with Pitino here, but
even in this regard he again gave the coach an open door.
``When the time comes, we'll deal with the situation, but right now I
think winning negates all of the negativity that goes on,'' he said.
``If we can salvage some wins, no, I don't think he'll go anywhere.
But you've got to put yourself in his position. I mean, he's been here
four years.''
Asked what would happen to the Celtics if Pitino leaves, Walker said,
``I don't know, to be honest with you. Obviously the owner has to find
out who's going to come in and coach. This is a big job to have, to
take over as the Boston Celtics coach - especially in the situation
that it's in now. There's a lot of tradition, and people around here
are used to winning, and you've got to win. Whoever comes here is
going to be put in the same position he's in. There's going to be a
lot of pressure. But you never know. It's wide open. Somebody who
comes in may want a whole new team. He may want to clean house.''