Rick Pitino: The Gift That Keeps Giving

[Ed Monix]

[Roy H.]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

[Ed Monix]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

[Roy H.]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

Why should Pitino be blamed for that? McGrady was an immature kid who didn't want to have to work hard, apparently.  If he tanked his interview to avoid that hard work, it says something about his character.

It's funny, McGrady recently compared himself to Kobe, or at least said that other people made that comparison.  I can't imagine Kobe ever picking a destination based upon not wanting to work hard.

[Ed Monix]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

Why should Pitino be blamed for that? McGrady was an immature kid who didn't want to have to work hard, apparently.  If he tanked his interview to avoid that hard work, it says something about his character.

It's funny, McGrady recently compared himself to Kobe, or at least said that other people made that comparison.  I can't imagine Kobe ever picking a destination based upon not wanting to work hard.

I think if you read between the lines, what McGrady is saying is he heard that Pitino was a drill sergeant type of coach and after his work out, that was clear to him.

“being recruited by Kentucky, I knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was”

[Who]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

Why should Pitino be blamed for that? McGrady was an immature kid who didn't want to have to work hard, apparently.  If he tanked his interview to avoid that hard work, it says something about his character.

It's funny, McGrady recently compared himself to Kobe, or at least said that other people made that comparison.  I can't imagine Kobe ever picking a destination based upon not wanting to work hard.

I think if you read between the lines, what McGrady is saying is he heard that Pitino was a drill sergeant type of coach and after his work out, that was clear to him.

“being recruited by Kentucky, I knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was”

I was listening to someone the other day, I forget who, who played under Pitino perhaps in college or in the NBA or both but he was basically sayin that Pitino's ideas were built for college basketball and couldn't work in the NBA. That his full court pressing defense and all his running could work for a 35 game college schedule but not an 82 game NBA schedule.

That his teams got burnt out from all the running long before the season was over.

[greg683x]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

Why should Pitino be blamed for that? McGrady was an immature kid who didn't want to have to work hard, apparently.  If he tanked his interview to avoid that hard work, it says something about his character.

It's funny, McGrady recently compared himself to Kobe, or at least said that other people made that comparison.  I can't imagine Kobe ever picking a destination based upon not wanting to work hard.

I think if you read between the lines, what McGrady is saying is he heard that Pitino was a drill sergeant type of coach and after his work out, that was clear to him.

“being recruited by Kentucky, I knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was”

Meh.  We’re all jaded by our current viewpoint of Rick Pitino which is something along the lines of an arrogant buffoon.  If you considered the time period and context of how most people viewed Pitino at that time, coming out of Kentucky, then TMac is the one that comes off looking bad here

[Alleyoopster]

Pitino's fault lies in taking Mercer over TMac, not in putting prospects through a tough workout.

Did you watch the whole video?

Ryen Rusillo says that he has heard from people in the Celtics organization at the time, that they wanted to select McGrady, but during the interview, he refused to talk.

Remember McGrady was coming straight from high school, so it was a huge risk selecting an 18 year old.

McGrady says it, he did not want to play for Pitino. He tanked his interview, and being from high school, the interview process was vital for gauging his personality.

Why should Pitino be blamed for that? McGrady was an immature kid who didn't want to have to work hard, apparently.  If he tanked his interview to avoid that hard work, it says something about his character.

It's funny, McGrady recently compared himself to Kobe, or at least said that other people made that comparison.  I can't imagine Kobe ever picking a destination based upon not wanting to work hard.

I think if you read between the lines, what McGrady is saying is he heard that Pitino was a drill sergeant type of coach and after his work out, that was clear to him.

“being recruited by Kentucky, I knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was”

I was listening to someone the other day, I forget who, who played under Pitino perhaps in college or in the NBA or both but he was basically sayin that Pitino's ideas were built for college basketball and couldn't work in the NBA. That his full court pressing defense and all his running could work for a 35 game college schedule but not an 82 game NBA schedule.

That his teams got burnt out from all the running long before the season was over.

It was fairly obvious to Celtics fans at the time that Pitino's full court press wasn't working in the NBA as it led to countless easy baskets for opposing teams.

Sadly, it took Rick a couple years to figure this out. In the meantime his insistence on employing it drove us fans nuts.

[KeepBigAl]

Actually - Pitino didn't press all the time in the NBA, just turned it on in spots - nothing like the way he ran it in Kentucky....ultimately didn't work well enough other than that amazing first game (upset win over a hugely favored Jordan and the Bulls) - and at times when they adjusted personnel to get players like McCarty who could execute it better.

Pitino's issue was that he installed himself as President and made all personnel decisions along with the worst GM in celtics history - Chris Wallace. It could have been different if he stuck to coaching - but his reputation was so high at the time, he was able to get it all.

They were too quick to jettison useful existing players they really missed like -  Eric Williams, Radja, David Wesley, Rick Fox - in exchange for some awful additions like Chris Mills, Knight, Edny, Declerq, etc. 

He was better at drafting - Pierce, Billiups, Mercer (solid before his injury), Bruce Bowen was a free agent but an unsigned/undrafted guy who broke in with the Cs.

[green_bballers13]

Pitino is arrogant, his legacy is tainted, and he acted like a jerk in his time in Boston. NBA players start to tune out the incessant yelling. It's not shocking to me that TMac, or anyone else confident in their abilities, threw his interviews so that he wouldn't have to play for Pitino and his stubborn ways. There's a reason why he's a college coach- he can get away with more.

[Ed Monix]

Meh.  We’re all jaded by our current viewpoint of Rick Pitino which is something along the lines of an arrogant buffoon.  If you considered the time period and context of how most people viewed Pitino at that time, coming out of Kentucky, then TMac is the one that comes off looking bad here

You may be forgetting the realities from the Paul Gaston/Rick Pitino years.

Pitino came in and stripped Red Auerbach of his title as Celtics president, that’s how he started. Can you imagine how that egomaniac treated his players at Kentucky?

Here’s a quote from Chauncey Billups:

Every time I’d take two dribbles, he’d be screaming, and I’d have to look up to see where we were going

Here’s a quote from Antoine Walker talking about his time under Pitino:

Coach wanted guys who could play his style, but that style didn’t translate to the pro game. You can’t press for 48 minutes in the NBA. The season’s too long.

Here’s Dino Radja talking about his experience with Pitino:

I went to Pitino and asked him if I fit into his plans. With a new coach, I obviously wanted to know what he thought of my game. I loved playing for Boston and just wanted to find out if there was any possibility I might be traded, because I had heard some rumours. Pitino looked me right in the eyes and said, "Dino, don't worry. You're going to be a big part of our offense. When we run a set play, the ball is going to go through you.” I left the meeting feeling great. Five days later, I found out I was being traded to Philadelphia. The worst organization there was back then.

Without the complete context, McGrady sounds lazy from the OP video. But with hindsight, he might have actually saved his career given how his body broke down so easily & how hard Pitino pushed his players.

[freshinthehouse]

Someone here on the board told a story about being at a game during the last stages of the Pitino era.  The family had great seats, just a few seats behind the Celtics bench.  Pitino was screaming a play at Kenny Anderson (as he would do all game, every game) and Anderson stopped mid-court, looked at Pitino, and screamed "Shut the f--- up!!!" and then ran his own play.  Pitino slumped down into his seat on the bench.  He resigned days later. 

As a Celtics fan that season when Jim O'Brien took over was such a breath of fresh air.  It's wild to remember back to a time when the C's went ages between playoff appearances. 

[greg683x]

Meh.  We’re all jaded by our current viewpoint of Rick Pitino which is something along the lines of an arrogant buffoon.  If you considered the time period and context of how most people viewed Pitino at that time, coming out of Kentucky, then TMac is the one that comes off looking bad here

You may be forgetting the realities from the Paul Gaston/Rick Pitino years.

Pitino came in and stripped Red Auerbach of his title as Celtics president, that’s how he started. Can you imagine how that egomaniac treated his players at Kentucky?

Here’s a quote from Chauncey Billups:

Every time I’d take two dribbles, he’d be screaming, and I’d have to look up to see where we were going

Here’s a quote from Antoine Walker talking about his time under Pitino:

Coach wanted guys who could play his style, but that style didn’t translate to the pro game. You can’t press for 48 minutes in the NBA. The season’s too long.

Here’s Dino Radja talking about his experience with Pitino:

I went to Pitino and asked him if I fit into his plans. With a new coach, I obviously wanted to know what he thought of my game. I loved playing for Boston and just wanted to find out if there was any possibility I might be traded, because I had heard some rumours. Pitino looked me right in the eyes and said, "Dino, don't worry. You're going to be a big part of our offense. When we run a set play, the ball is going to go through you.” I left the meeting feeling great. Five days later, I found out I was being traded to Philadelphia. The worst organization there was back then.

Without the complete context, McGrady sounds lazy from the OP video. But with hindsight, he might have actually saved his career given how his body broke down so easily & how hard Pitino pushed his players.

You completely ignored the first part of my post.  Tracy Mcgrady was drafted the same year as Pitinos first year coaching the Celtics.  So everything that happened afterwards, as far as the context of this video goes, is irrelevant.  Trust me, no one is trying to shine a positive light on Ricks time coaching here.  It was a disaster.

The proper context though, is that Mcgrady said in the video he decided to didn’t want to play for Pitino when he was coaching Kentucky and then carried that decision over to the draft.  Pitino was one of the most successful college basketball coaches in the nation, he won a national title, was a runner up the following year and had a slew of players from his program going pro.  There’s a reason the Celtics bent over backwards to get him here.

So at that time, Mcgrady was essentially saying he didn’t want to play for one of the most successful programs in the country at both winning at the college level and getting players to the NBA, because he demanded too much work out of his players.

Again, no one’s saying Mcgrady didn’t dodge a bullet by not wanting to come to Boston, but this isn’t a good look for him either, and it’s also probably a microcosm for his whole pro career and not having any post season success.

[boscel33]

What am I missing?  I don't see a video link?  Did the OP remove it or did it get removed?

[Surferdad]

Someone here on the board told a story about being at a game during the last stages of the Pitino era.  The family had great seats, just a few seats behind the Celtics bench.  Pitino was screaming a play at Kenny Anderson (as he would do all game, every game) and Anderson stopped mid-court, looked at Pitino, and screamed "Shut the f--- up!!!" and then ran his own play.  Pitino slumped down into his seat on the bench.  He resigned days later. 

As a Celtics fan that season when Jim O'Brien took over was such a breath of fresh air.  It's wild to remember back to a time when the C's went ages between playoff appearances.

I'm so glad you posted this story, thanks. I always liked Kenny Anderson.