Mateen is here

[Celtic4Hire@xxxxxxx]

Wow. Mateen is here. Another nice pickup for Ainge. Good point guard pedigree 
and looking for the right home. Not a experience veteran to tutor Banks but 
another guy who could grow with the team.....

DJessen33

<For Celtics, camp doors open today
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 9/29/2003

Camping season officially starts today in the NBA, at least for players with 
less than four years experience. The Celtics will welcome rookies Marcus 
Banks, Kendrick Perkins, and Brandon Hunter, as well as veterans Kedrick Brown, 
Mark Blount, and Mike James. For the sake of competition, the six Celtics under 
contract will be joined by several other players. Chuck Eidson, Ray Young, 
Eddie Elisma, Rick Anderson, Wake Forest's Rusty LaRue, and Michigan State's 
Mateen Cleaves are expected to report to Celtics training camp today in Waltham. 
After taking physicals and attending team meetings today, practices will begin 
tomorrow.

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"Training camp, with the younger players, the coaches get a feel for them and 
what they can trust them with," said Danny Ainge, director of basketball 
operations. "They see their strengths and weaknesses. They see them play under the 
lights, against NBA competition in exhibition games. The players learn the 
coaches and the difficulty of the competition both in training camp and in 
exhibition games.

"I hope that we are in great shape, we're healthy, coming out of training 
camp. For us specifically, I hope that we are improved in our conditioning 
because with conditioning you get better shots, you play better defense. And mental 
conditioning, I believe players believe they deserve success the harder they 
work. I think it all starts from that commitment. The rest takes care of 
itself."

Players with at least four years of NBA experience cannot report to camp 
until Thursday. Full squad workouts start Friday. Two-a-days are permitted until 
Boston plays its first exhibition game Oct. 8 against Detroit at Uncasville, 
Conn. The new training camp policies were agreed upon by the players and owners 
last February in exchange for extending the first round of the playoffs to a 
best-of-seven series.

Ainge called the new scheduling "a hindrance." He wants an intense, 
competitive training camp with players fighting for playing time, something that cannot 
happen until everyone arrives. But the good news for Boston, Ainge says, is 
that he feels the players took their offseason strength and conditioning 
programs seriously. The Celtics practice facility was filled with a rotating roster 
of players throughout September, getting in shape. "The attitude seems very 
good and all the guys have been conditioning," said Ainge. "We have sent coaches 
and I myself have gone out and visited with the players. Conditioning has 
been an emphasis since the end of the season, so I do believe the team is very 
well conditioned."