Coach O'Brien

["Raymond Angelo Belliotti" <belliott@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim O'Brien, from the available evidence, is a good person and has many
attributes of a good coach. But his fatal flaw as a coach was his apparent
belief that he and Coach Harter had concocted a "system" that would win.
Coaches should mold their plans to fit their personnel (e.g., Pat Riley in LA
and Pat Riley in NY and Miami), they should not force players lacking the
inherent skills to fit their antecedent system. The other possibility is to
secure only players who fit the system. Danny Ainge did not do that. Mihm the
Master is not the same as Tony Battie who much better fit O'Brien's system. I
doubt that Raef LaFrantz would have fit the system well. And Ricky Davis does
not. O'Brien loves McCarty, Blount, Eric Williams because they do fit the
system. Under O'Brien's defensive system, rebounding and the fast break are
difficult. Moreover, the system itself can be diagnosed and dismantled (e.g.,
Utah did a great job of freeing players from the weak side for layups).
Perkins and Hunter do not clearly fit the system. Their playing time was scant
and their possibilities for development thin. If the history of basketball is
clear on anything it is that several different plans of attack can succeed,
depending on the type of personnel a team has. No magic system or master plan
exists that will trump all others at all times. So adjust your schemes to your
personnel. I agree with both Ainge and O'Brien -- there are no bad guys in the
dispute (unless, maybe, the cheap owners) -- just a difference on the value of
the Harter-O'Brien defensive system which facilitated the no-system offense
(chuck up threes before you turn the ball over). I enjoyed watching the
Detroit-Cs game on Wednesday even though the Cs lost. I think good things are
ahead, especially next year when LaFrantz returns and the young players gain
experience. Keep the faith!

Raymond Angelo Belliotti
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Chair
Department of Philosophy
SUNY Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
(716) 679-9854
(716) 673-3495