Ex-Celt DJ relishes the Hub of attention

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ex-Celt DJ relishes the Hub of attention

by Karen Guregian
Saturday, March 8, 2003









There were youngsters wearing Paul Pierce shirts hanging over the rail by the
tunnel alongside the visitors bench, waiting patiently before the game just
for a handshake or an autograph from the oppposing coach.

There were older fans with 1986 world championship caps, and other fans with
group shots of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, also
waiting for Dennis Johnson to make a visit.

The former Celtic did stop to sign and chat a bit with the fans, then headed
off for an ESPN interview - actually make that two ESPN interviews as he was
forced to do a complete retake after the lighting lamp fell - and a host of
other interviews for various media outlets.

It was 30 minutes before gametime, and Johnson, wearing sweatpants and a
long-sleeved T-shirt, and looking very much like he hadn't slept since the
last Celtics championship, still hadn't changed into his suit and tie.

``I just wish there wasn't this much focus on me,'' Johnson said prior to
making his first head-coaching appearance against the Celtics with the LA
Clippers in an 83-72 loss last night. ``I really don't mind all this, but as a
coach, the guys in there (locker room) need to be the focus more.''

Sorry, Dennis. Win a championship in Boston, and in your case two NBA titles,
and make up the fifth in one of the best starting fives of all-time with
Larry, Robert, Kevin and Danny, and people are going to pay attention. Have
your No. 3 up in the rafters to the left of No. 33, and there's going to be a
fuss. Since being promoted to interim coach after the Clippers fired Alvin
Gentry, DJ's phone hasn't stopped ringing. Once again, most of the
well-wishers have Boston ties.

KC Jones called. So did former GM Jan Volk, Cedric Maxwell, M.L. Carr, Parish,
and yes, Larry, among others.

``I missed Larry's call,'' Johnson said. ``I just got his number. You want
it?''

Naturally, the remark brought gales of laughter, not to mention a few
requests, from the assembled media.

``Over the past two or three days when this started, I've probably fielded
about 100 calls,'' Johnson said. ``A lot were congratulatory, a little bit of
everything, but I'm trying not to lose my direction. My direction is to go out
and try and win a game, and do the things we need to do to win.''

Given the LA team he's coaching is the Clippers, not the Lakers, that's an
order on par with keeping Kobe Bryant under 20 points every night. The
Clippers have won just 19 games in all, and lost their eighth in a row last
night. It didn't even help that the Celtics were without Pierce, whose back
troubles continue. The prior game, the Washington Wizards didn't have Michael
Jordan but that didn't stop the Clippers from losing and now DJ is 0-3 since
taking over.

Johnson, of course, was quick to remind everyone the one time he took over for
Carr and coached the Celtics he was victorious, but even that Green team
wasn't quite as hapless as the Clippers team Johnson inherited.

Johnson stands as the 26th former Celtic to get a head coaching job in the
league. He knows in the final 21 games he'll have to make an impression to
make the interim tag go away.

``I have to get a little more confident in the things I do in coaching. I
understand what they do out there . . . but I'm thrown into the fire here,''
he said. ``Sometimes it gets a little warm, sometimes it doesn't. I have to
learn to navigate through the fire and make sure I'm doing the best I can out
there for the team.''

When asked if his pregame reception was as crazy as when he played, Johnson
shook his head. ``When I played here, we kept it pretty much on edge here,''
Johnson said. ``It was a lot crazier than this as a player.''

After Johnson finally emerged from the tunnel, he got to the place he called
his safe haven - the bench. He went over and shook Celtics coach Jim O'Brien's
hand, and later received a rousing standing ovation when he was finally
announced. Before tipoff, Antoine Walker even raced over to give DJ a hug and
handshake.

``It's always nice to come back to Boston,'' Johnson said. ``I think the fans
were very appreciative of what I did. I think I was always appreciative of the
fans. In that, we share a common bond. It goes beyond just one or two players
here. This has been a lifelong experience for me here.''

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com