A great rally by the players

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A great rally by the players

They give Walker plenty of support

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 5/14/2003

he players and coaching staff met yesterday at the Celtics practice facility
before heading in their separate directions for the summer.



If Eric Williams got a private moment with new director of basketball
operations Danny Ainge, he surely would have campaigned on behalf of his
friend, business partner, and teammate Antoine Walker. Since Ainge was hired,
there has been persistent speculation that Walker will be the first player to
go in a trade.

But the Celtics have rallied around their leader. At every opportunity,
players have praised Walker, for what he brings not only to the court but also
the locker room.

''He's a great leader, man,'' said Williams. ''No matter what anybody says
about him as far as his attitude and what he says to the referees and the way
he plays basketball, in this locker room he's a great leader. Every guy here
will give their all for that guy, and he just shows character.

''He's not a selfish player, not a selfish person. To the people that know
him, he's a good, generous person. He just wants the best for himself and this
team. And that's all you can ask for in a teammate and a friend.''


The Long view

Despite playing limited minutes in relief of Walker, Grant Long would like to
return to the Celtics next season. He believes this current group is on the
verge of bigger accomplishments. ''If I had the opportunity, I'd like to come
back here,'' said Long. ''I think this team is on the crest of something
major. When you're around guys who are consummate pros, who want to win,
that's contagious, that turns into winning.'' . . . J.R. Bremer averaged just
13.8 minutes per game and 3.0 points in the second round of the playoffs, but
the point guard was more than satisfied with his rookie year after being named
to the All-Rookie second team and getting a chance to start 41 regular-season
games. Over the summer, he will visit Paul Pierce in Los Angeles and Walker in
Chicago, then work out with a personal trainer at home. ''I think it was a
pretty good rookie year,'' said Bremer. ''It ended in a bad way because we
didn't win the whole thing, which I wanted to do, but overall it was good. The
expectations were not that high on me coming in. So all the things that
happened were bonuses -- being able to start, making second-team All-Rookie.
I'm going to take a little time off, a couple of weeks, because I've been
going almost two years straight with college and everything.''

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com

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