Re: [...]''He's in fantastic physical condition,.. ."

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

I thought I read that the September 11 attack had a very strong effect on
Herren and that he possibly may have lost some friends in the tragedy.  I
thought that was why he came back.

Cecil (will have DirecTV this season)

----- Original Message -----
From: "bird" <birdwl@earthlink.net>
To: <Celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: [...]''He's in fantastic physical condition,.. ."


> > From: Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)
> >
> > [Herren's] physically unimpressive, hasn't shown point guard abilities
at
> > this
> > level, and is not a great shooter, even accounting for injuries. He's 26
> > and
> > has a lot of baggage, including quitting on a team when he realized he
> > wasn't
> > good enough to star in the Italian league. His only positive attribute
is
> > his
> > feistiness, but a nasty disposition, a Southie (or is it also Fall
River?
> > )
> > permascowl, local ties, and a pinkish complexion  shouldn't be enough to
> > earn a
> > spot on the Celtics. I'm anticipating his not being "100%" because he'll
> > be out
> > of shape, worried about his wife's pregnancy and childbirth, excited
> > about his
> > newborn, injured, reinjured etc. ad infinitum.
> >
> Geez, Kestas, this sounds a bit harsh.  I'm not nearly as down on Chris
> Herren.  I think you discount the injury to his (right?) shoulder, perhaps
> having a little more to do with his 30% shooting than you or Joe seem to
> think.  I saw all the games he was in last year and I noticed that Herren
> pushed the ball well, could shoot from outside, and had the attitude you
> mentioned.  All positives.  He needs to become a better distributor and
> ballhandler, as well as improving his shooting percentage.  That's the
> beginning of the negatives.  He may not be 100%, but then again, he's the
> fourth (or even fifth) PG on the team, after KA, Palacio, maybe Brown,
> Walker and maybe even Joe Johnson -- not a big deal.  We can wish upon a
> star for a big man, but it's clear that C's management wants Walker at PF
> for about 40 mins/game and so a PF like Gary Trent isn't in the cards, and
> Obie, et al. clearly haven't found anyone _they_ think is better than the
> Blount/V/Battie center troika.
>
> The thing is, do you really know Chris Herren quit on his team because he
> knew he wasn't good enough to start?  Maybe he had other personal issues.
> Maybe he was homesick.  Maybe he didn't want to be abroad.  Maybe he didn'
> t want to be the "designated American target" on the Baloney team.  Maybe
> he hates Italian food, shoes, those little mopeds, cinema, Catholicism or
> whatever else one finds in abundance in the boot.  Plus, if he quit on the
> team, wouldn't Mark Berry keep reminding us of that fact and how it taints
> his career?
>
> Hey, I'm not from New England, and I'm only half-white, so I have no
> homegrown or racial axe to grind for or against Herren.  I just appreciate
> how he plays, even if he doesn't have great (or maybe even NBA-average)
> skill.  And I'm not just saying that because he's my wife's favorite
> Celtic.  Really.  As someone mentioned earlier, if Herren or a guy like
> El-Amin is a major factor for us next year, then we have bigger problems.
>
> Regards,
>
> (The Celtic "Tird",
>   Celticus "tirdius")