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Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008

Pitino's 'Rebound' book has some points to make

Book details coach's journey; Vitale inserts Cats' Walker in his '50 best'

Say this for Louisville Coach Rick Pitino: He's prolific. He produces books and quality basketball teams seemingly on an annual basis.

The latest book, which arrived earlier this month, is titled Rebound Rules, the Art of Success 2.0. (I had to google the term "2.0." Wikipedia pegged it as "a term describing changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity.")

This is at least the seventh book in the Pitino canon. Such co-authors as Providence, R.I., sportswriter Bill Reynolds, the ever-present Dick Weiss and wife Joanne Pitino have joined him in writing about such topics as basketball seasons (Reynolds, Weiss), applying sporting lessons to business (Reynolds) and recipes (Joanne Pitino).

As an aside, then UK sports information director Chris Cameron needed only two weeks to produce Basketball Pitino Style after the coach's first season at Kentucky. "I basically locked myself up in my house and pounded away," Cameron said in an e-mail message. Trying to capitalize on the coach's roaring debut, Cameron memorably likened Pitino's UK program to the John F. Kennedy administration.

To put Pitino's published works in perspective, the Encyclopedia Britannica lists four novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald and eight by Ernest Hemingway.

In this latest book, Pitino offers his thoughts on how to overcome life's setbacks.

It's written in first-person (co-author Pat Forde, the talented sportswriter for ESPN.com and formerly The Courier-Journal, seemingly contented himself with transcribing tape, editing the coach's thoughts and freshening the topical references).

This initially seemed a pity, but Pitino's straight-forward approach grabs the reader's attention. He movingly writes or talks about the tragedies he's faced: the death of an infant son, the senseless slaughter on 9/11, whose victims included Billy Minardi, the coach's brother-in-law and best friend.

The basketball reversals don't pack the same emotional punch (how could they?). But the public spectacle of going from savior to laughing stock as guiding light of the Boston Celtics is riveting. And the memories of falling behind by 31 points at LSU plays sweetly on the mind. What UK fan wouldn't want to revisit the Mardi Gras Miracle victory at LSU?

Pitino uses the second half of the book to suggest how the lessons he's learned can apply to business and life. He also advises the reader about how to organize a day to maximize success.

Ultimately, Pitino writes about the life-altering aspect of successfully rebounding from setbacks. Once described as an egomaniac while coaching for UK, he doesn't protest the label. Instead, he writes about how he learned (often, the hard way) to move beyond self-interest.

"The key to achieving greatness is not so much what you accomplish," he writes, "but what others accomplish with your assistance."

Those who knew Pitino in his salad days at Kentucky might find this transformation unlikely. The man once noted the similarities between UK and North Carolina included great coaching.

But when I finished reading Rebound Rules, I bought it.

Vitale re-thinks

Ebullient commentator Dick Vitale's new book arrived last week. In it, he and sportswriter Dick Weiss offer their list of the 50 best players and college basketball moments since Vitale went to work for ESPN in 1979.

Earlier this year, Vitale said he did not consider any Kentucky player among the top 50 in that time. But when the book arrived, there was Kenny Walker at No. 48.

(UK fans might notice eight Duke players on the list: No. 2 Christian Laettner, No. 13 Johnny Dawkins, No. 15 Grant Hill, No. 18 Danny Ferry, No. 21 Jason Williams, No. 25 Shane Battier, No. 31 Bobby Hurley, No. 44 J.J. Redick.

"We thought about it," Vitale said of no UK players on the original list. "That really signifies the fact that Kentucky's had such a great team concept rather than individual stars."

Former UK All-American Jamal Mashburn is the most glaring omission. Vitale said Mashburn, Mark Price of Georgia Tech and Emeka Okafor of UConn were the choices for No. 50. Okafor was the choice.

"He led Connecticut to the national championship," Vitale said. "He got the edge because of winning."

Meanwhile, UK figured in several of the top moments: No. 2, the Christian Laettner game; No. 15, Mardi Gras Miracle comeback from 31 down at LSU; No. 24, comeback victory over Duke in the 1998 NCAA Tournament; No. 34, overtime loss to Arizona in 1997 title game; No 39, loss to LSU in 1986 region finals; and No. 49, loss to Marquette in 2003 as Dwyane Wade records a triple-double.

Vitale and Weiss named Patrick Ewing as the No. 1 player since 1979. "My feeling was Patrick Ewing changed the complexion of the game defensively," Vitale said.

I'm a believer

The SEC asked me to vote on a pre-season all-conference team and predict an order of finish. Here's the ballot I e-mailed to the conference office last week.

Eastern Division: 1. Kentucky. 2. Tennessee. 3. Florida. 4. Vanderbilt. 5. South Carolina. 6. Georgia.

Comment: Tennessee has plenty of talent, but its losses (Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, Duke Crews, Ramar Smith) are significant. And I could be horribly wrong, but Tyler Smith strikes me as a jack of all trades, master of none. More complementary player than lead cow.

Western Division: 1. Ole Miss. 2. Auburn. 3. Alabama. 4. LSU. 5. Mississippi State. 6. Arkansas.

Comment: I like Auburn as a title contender, but not more than Ole Miss.

SEC champion: Kentucky.

Comment: Pass the blue Kool-Aid.

All-SEC team: F Patrick Patterson, Kentucky; F Tyler Smith, Tennessee; C A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt; G Nick Calathes, Florida; G Devan Downey, South Carolina.

Comment: Jarvis Varnado? (Sorry.) Tasmin Mitchell? (My bad.) Chris Johnson? (Whoops.) Ronald Steele? (What was I thinking?). Jodie Meeks? (@#$%#$)

Player of the Year: Patrick Patterson, Kentucky.

UK 1, Tar Heels 0

North Carolina, which briefly overtook Kentucky as college basketball's winningest program in the early 1990s, is closing in again.

Going into this season, UK remains No. 1 with 1,966 victories. UNC is second at 1,950. Kansas is third at 1,943.

Kentucky has a clear advantage in one important category: practice facility.

UK's athletic hierarchy is mighty proud of the $30 million Craft Center. Meanwhile, North Carolina Coach Roy Williams recently lamented the juggling he has to do in scheduling practice time. The Tar Heels share gym time in the Smith Center as UNC does a $25 million remodeling of its Carmichael Auditorm.

Until the remodeling is finished, men's basketball shares the Smith Center with women's basketball and volleyball.

Actually, North Carolina has a practice facility. But it's a single college court with only three feet of space across either sideline, Williams said. The crosscourts are not as long as high school courts.

"What we have to do is what 90 percent of the teams have to do," Williams said. "We've been so fortunate that we haven't had to do it in the past. So we're just living with it and shut up."

'Skyscraper' Alleyne

In case you missed it, former UK player Shagari Alleyne has signed with the Harlem Globetrotters. He's one of three rookies joining the touring basketball circus.

Here's how the Globetrotters described Alleyne in a news release announcing the signing:

"Shagari 'Skyscraper' Alleyne, a 7-4 center hailing from the Bronx, a former Kentucky Wildcat who spent time in the Philadelphia 76ers' training camp last season."

Question: 7-4? That confirms the suspicion that Alleyne was taller than the 7-3 listed by UK.

The same release noted that the Globetrotters, who apparently can't resist any nickname, signed their first Puerto Rican-born player in 6-8 Orlando "El Gato" Melendez. El Gato joins fellow rookie Trevor "Tiny" Lawrence, a native of Jamaica, as two of 18 players for the Globetrotters born outside the U.S.

The Globetrotters have had more than 650 players over the years.

I'm Jerry "The Man" Tipton, and I approved this message.

Crawford update

Ex-Cat Joe Crawford rated a mention in the Los Angeles Times last week. It concerned the roster of the Lakers.

Here's the note:

"One last spot is remaining if the team elects to go with 15 players. Rookie second-round pick Joe Crawford currently holds an edge over Coby Karl, C.J. Giles and Brandon Heath.

"If Crawford makes the team, it gives the Lakers another guard while Sasha Vujacic recovers from an avulsion fracture in the left ankle, an injury in which a small layer of bone flakes off and becomes embedded in the tissue.

"Vujacic was injured the first day of training camp and might not return in time for the Oct. 28 season opener against Portland.

Textbook coaching

Further evidence that the Coaching 101 textbook includes a how-to chapter on circumventing the rules emerged last week.

Sportswriter Frank Burlison of the Long Beach Press Telegram noted that Long Beach State had a two-hour practice on Thursday even though the NCAA labeled Friday as the date teams could officially start pre-season workouts.

To get around that rule, Long Beach Coach Dan Monson used the same thinking as UK Coach Billy Gillispie. He manipulated another rule, which permits two hours per week of team practice from Sept. 15 to Oct. 17.

Monson used last week's two hours for a workout Thursday.

"Most coaches, including Monson, divvy up the two hours over three or four days per week, in groups of four players, to allow for more individual instruction," Burlison wrote.

"But Monson is one of the coaches who decided to put this week's two hours into one full session, in this case on Thursday for a bit of a head's start into 'official' practices."

Happy Birthday

To John Wooden. The former UCLA coach turned 98 on Tuesday.

From Long Beach Press Telegram sportswriter Frank Burlison:

"How appropriate is it that the most influential force on the way the game was played when he coached and is still being played, 33 years following his retirement immediately after guiding UCLA to his 10th national championship, celebrates his birthday on the same week college basketball practice begins?"

From sportswriter Adam Rose of the Los Angeles Times:

"The greatest basketball coach in NCAA history turns 98. Even though he's been retired from coaching for 33 seasons, his impact on the sport remains fresh and his teaching legacy continues to grow.

"In just the last few months, Wooden was part of a great forum with Vin Scully and T.J. Simers, had a mural dedicated in his honor at Wooden High School, was inducted into the L.A. Coliseum Court of Honor, and helped mentor Kevin Love and Rick Neuheisel.

"Wooden also attended Neuheisel's first game as UCLA's football coach, and it's probably a safe bet that he will be there when the Bruins tip off the basketball season in a few weeks."