Herald: Leo Papile profile

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Here is a useful background article on Leo Papile from the Boston Herald, 
hands down a better paper than the Globe for relevant basketball coverage. 
I used to think the NYT sports writers were hugely overrated, living on 
past laurels and out of touch with the beat they covered. Now I think that 
applies even more to the Boston Globe, where only Borges and Edes seem to 
take their job to inform readers very seriously. You have a few designated 
blowhards on the Herald too, but the Globe sports page is evolving into a 
giant and self-indulgent opinion column and very little else.

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Papile has handle of the hardwood: Prep guru makes a hit with Celts
by Steve Bulpett
Friday, June 22, 2001
http://wwww.bostonherald.com/sport/basketball/celts06222001.htm
Leo Papile walked outside of a morning session at the NBA's predraft camp 
two weeks ago. Before he could get from the door to the main sidewalk, he 
was stopped three times.
Waiting in the Chicago sunshine were people who needed to speak with him, 
needed to set up a time to talk further about some prospect. The talking 
continues daily. Sometimes it's about a kid ready to go professional. 
Sometimes it's about a high school kid looking to be placed in the right 
college situation. Sometimes the kid is from the states; sometimes from 
overseas. In just about all the cases, we're talking about players who have 
missed the NCAA-on-ESPN boat or who have yet to reach the age of Dick 
Vitale consent.
``Any time you can learn something about a player or help someone out, you 
try to do it,'' said Papile, the Celtics director of player personnel. 
``It's a friend made, a satisfied customer. And the street goes both ways.
``There's a built-in network of grass roots people around the world that 
will share valid information with you because they know they're going to 
get the same in return from you. You build up trust in this world, and when 
the right person tells you something, you take it to the bank.''
Papile is a major broker in this basketball world, with ties to the NBA, 
college and AAU, where he still coaches the Boston Amateur Basketball Club. 
The package is a strong one for the Celtics in the changing professional 
landscape.
Unique, to say the least
As one of Rick Pitino's first hires in May 1997, Papile was viewed as 
another of the quirky characters that seemed to surround Pitino. With his 
tank tops and general disdain for the NBA's idea of dressing for success, 
he looked the part (if Papile hadn't been born, surely a novelist would 
have created him). Pitino wanted him to unearth the people to occupy the 
end of the Celtics' active roster, but the job has changed considerably 
since then.
Four years ago, Leo Papile came to the NBA. Now the NBA is coming to him.
The draft is now heavy with high schoolers and those who have spent a year 
or perhaps two in a college program. Traditionally, these players would 
just be getting picked up on NBA radar, but now teams have to make 
multimillion-dollar decisions on them. With his AAU ties and such, Papile 
is in perhaps the best position of any of his league peers to make the 
right call.
And it's more than just a question of whether a kid can play. Everyone has 
warts of some type. The key question is finding the ones you can deal with, 
the ones that will clear up in a month after a visit to the NBA dermatologist.
``And which ones won't go away even after major surgery,'' said Celtic 
general manager Chris Wallace. ``There's no question about it; those are 
things you have to know. And Leo has a very good line on that. He's almost 
like Interpol. He's got the dossiers and the sources, and he knows the guys 
who know the guys. That's very important because the physical, the apparent 
and obvious things, are only part of the equation. What generally kills you 
in this business is the non-physical and what you don't know.
``I'm not blowing our horns, but people in this business aren't stupid. If 
a guy goes in the first 15 picks or so, there's usually a high talent 
level, and if you wouldn't have taken him, somebody else would have taken 
him a couple of picks later. It's not like you draft a guy five and 
everyone says, `My god, I think he should have went at 45.' So there 
obviously is talent. When you look back if they don't make it, it's 
generally an intangible problem. That's where the things Leo knows and the 
people he has access to really come into play.''
It may seem strange that he has kept working with the AAU team he founded 
in 1977, but strange can be good with Papile. While his wife and others do 
much of the BABC administrative work, he still works the sidelines, getting 
up-close looks at top young talent.
``I have an opportunity to trace their competitiveness, their character 
issues, things of that nature,'' said Papile, who does get administrative 
with the Celts, playing a key role in figuring and managing the team's 
salary cap situation. ``I know the stories behind these kids. I know which 
problems can be overcome and which ones are career killers.
``The old saying is that leopards don't change their spots. And because of 
the basketball culture and being plugged into that, if I don't know the 
answer to a question about a kid, I guarantee I know the right person to 
ask. I'll find a guy in two minutes who can provide accurate information.''
Familiar face to all
The point has been driven home to Wallace and the Celtic coaches as the 
club has auditioned potential draft picks. Most don't have to be introduced 
to Papile.
``He knows these guys,'' said Wallace. ``They walk in the door and they're 
like, `Hey, remember when we were playing you at the Bob Gibbons 
tournament?' They'll talk about things like that or being in Orlando for 
the AAUs. When we were in California, he was talking to (potential top 
three pick) Eddie Griffin about when they played against him down at the 
Sonny Hill league in Philadelphia. That's a tremendous asset to have on 
your side.
``And the difference with Leo is, unlike a lot of people who have that 
expertise and background, he has a feel for the professional game. He knows 
the different level and the requirements from his days in the CBA (as a 
coach and GM). So he brings two valuable entities to the table - the high 
school grass roots end of it, as well as the minor league background.''
That Papile survived Pitino's departure is a testament to his abilities. 
The club was also aware of the NBA move toward youth.
``It was certainly one of the factors, but it wasn't the only factor in 
keeping him,'' said chief operating officer Rich Pond. ``Leo's a character, 
but he's someone who's immersed in the world of basketball. He's just got a 
tremendous basketball mind.''


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