Lotsa Moiso stuff today

[kevin lok <bostonceltics17@yahoo.com>]

I found this besides the herald's article that Joe H posted (thanks
Joe)

good deep coverage by Mike Fine (he even take the trouble to reply me
when I posted him some queries)

this is more insightful stuff, I believe.

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http://www.ledger.southofboston.com/display/inn_sports/sports02.txt

Breath of fresh air: Moiso battles to improve in summer play

By MIKE FINE
The Patriot Ledger

BOSTON - On a personal level, Jerome Moiso is a breath of fresh air.

Not your typical athlete, he's fun-loving, congenial, bright and
playful.

Some say that's what doomed him to such a miserable rookie year with
the Boston Celtics. They say that his apparent laid-back attitude kept
him from exhibiting the toughness he needed to get ahead, and as a
result, he was placed on the disabled list four times, playing in only
24 games with 35 DNP-CDs (did not play-coach's decision). He averaged
1.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 5.6 minutes.

Chosen at No. 11 in the 2000 draft, he was a disaster, and he knew it.
If he weren't under contract for another three years, he'd be in
danger of being cut.

"After last year, I had to come and be ready," said the 6-10,
232-pound forward after his initial outing last night as the Celtics
defeated the Knicks, 75-62, in the team's Summer Pro League debut at
UMass-Boston. "I have to show what I can do from the beginning and
keep doing it all year long."

That, he said, was a mistake he won't repeat. Last year wasn't a
matter of being soft, as some have charged. It was more a matter of
the mind.

"I don't think that was accurate," he said of the "soft" label. "I'm
not heavy or big as some of the guys in the league. I think it's not
about that. I think my attitude was wrong, and I didn't come (to
training camp) the right way, and right now I'm ready to do it. I was
expecting to be in there (playing regularly). I came in and didn't get
the playing time, and for the first two months I was kind of down, and
that kind of slowed me down."

Just to make sure that it doesn't happen again, Moiso took an
extraordinary step. He'd barely played any ball between the end of the
season and the start of the pre-summer camp mini-camp last week, but
he had been working out with weights. That's noticeable in stronger
biceps and triceps. 

The other step he took was to get together with a sports psychologist
to boost his confidence.

"I've definitely been working on that," he said. "I spoke to persons
on how to approach the game. It's about me. After the beginning of
(last) season I was disappointed, but I have to want to play. It's all
about Jerome."

Which is music to coach Jim O'Brien's ears. "I think," O'Brien said,
"he's a better player than he gives himself credit for."

That may have been evident last night. In the first half, the forward
finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. He ended the game with two
blocks and was a major reason for the Celtics going ahead by as many
as 25 points before the Knicks team cut the deficit to only a couple
of points late.

"We wanted everybody in top condition and to keep the basketball in
their hands as much as possible," said O'Brien. "I think you can see
Jerome spent a lot of time in the weight room. I know for a fact that
in LA he was working on the weights a lot and working out in
individual instruction with his agents' people. He has to keep it
simple with his execution - take the shots when they're there and when
they're not there do something else with the basketball."

"I feel more comfortable, and I'm ready to go," Moiso said. "I know I
need to get bigger, stronger ... work on my outside shot. Guys here
are bigger, stronger. I got pushed off easily, so that's one thing
I've been working on." 

Another part of his problem last year, of course, was that he got lost
in the shuffle. Right from the beginning, when he was forced to leave
training camp for two days to straighten out a visa problem, he fell
behind. When he was disabled, he became expendable. Coaches
concentrated on teammates. 

"The coaching staff didn't really have time to work on my case. We
were trying to make the playoffs, and I wasn't really in the rhythm of
the season. I understand that. (He wasn't happy, however, to have been
placed on the disabled list when he really wasn't hurt). I think I was
making progress all year long, but up to a point it didn't matter. 

"Right now it's for me to show in the summer league that I'm ready to
go. I have two more months. This is a starting point. I was told to
work on shooting and rebounding. I think I'll be ready for training
camp."

O'Brien was most impressed last night with top draft pick Joe Johnson,
who finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 32
minutes. Second pick Kedrick Brown was all over the place, scoring 16
points on 5-for-15 shooting with 10 rebounds and four steals. The
third draft pick (No. 21), Joseph Forte, was 1-for-5 with two points,
three rebounds and an assist.

"It's always good to get the first game out of the way and get more
comfortable with one another," O'Brien said. "I thought Joe Johnson
played really well. He might not have been as outstanding as Kedrick's
threes (3-for-5), but I thought our players played within themselves
and made intelligent plays offensively and defensively all night.

"They're good draft choices. I thought we forced some things, but
that's to be expected." Asked what they need to work on, the coach
said, "I want them all to work on defense, and I thought they had a
pretty good defensive game. I want all our players to be as unselfish
as Joe Johnson."

"I think I wasn't aggressive," Forte said. "Tomorrow I'll try to be
more aggressive, but the other two (Brown and Johnson) were
aggressive."

Brown was so supercharged that he tossed up a three from out of
bounds. "In college, we had a lot more room," said the forward, who
was watched by Okaloosa-Walton CC coach Bruce Stewart.

The Celtics tonight host a Wizards team that features top NBA pick
Kwame Brown and (who knows?) maybe Michael Jordan, who has been
working out in anticipation of a rumored return. "That would be
awesome," fellow North Carolina product Forte said. "I've never met
him, but that would be icing on the cake." ... Apparently, basketball
fans are anticipating a Jordan sighting. Tonight's session is sold
out. Tickets are available for all other sessions. The Celts-Wizards
game will be shown on ESPN. The Celtics' team will not play tomorrow
... Assistant coach John Carroll coached the team yesterday while
O'Brien watched from the sidelines. Newest assistant Dick Harter
watched from the stands ... The Knicks team featured former Celtic
Rick Brunson, who played 40 minutes, as well as Boston's Wayne Turner
and Duxbury's Bill Curley, a free agent who grabbed four rebounds and
gave up five personals in 20 minutes ... Former Celtic Adrian Griffin
is playing for the Pacers.

Copyright 2001 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted July 17, 2001