[外電] Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey prefers to toil out of th

看板Timberwolves (明尼蘇達灰狼)作者jerod (KG4MVP)時間19年前 (2007/01/19 14:31)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

留言0則, 0人參與討論串1/2 (看更多)

http://www.startribune.com/511/story/945575.html Dwane Casey was uncomfortable from the start with an interview that would focus solely on him. The Timberwolves had opened 2007 with four consecutive victories, on its way to a 7-1 mark through the first half of January, and the head coach felt a little awkward being placed front and center during the hot streak, lest someone think he was taking credit for all the happy outcomes. Then it was explained to Casey, midway through his second season at the Wolves' helm, that the Q&A assignment was conceived two weeks earlier. Back when his job, at least to outsiders, was hanging by a slender thread. Back when the Wolves fell behind by 20 points at Charlotte and you'd swear you could almost hear the folding chairs being set up for a dismissal press conference. Oddly, that reassured the coach, who shoulders blame more readily than he takes credit. Casey talked about that trait and others related to his job as Wolves coach over a lunch with Star Tribune NBA writer Steve Aschburner: Q: One difference in you this season is, you're a married coach rather than engaged. How has your wife Brenda, a sports marketing executive, handled the ups and downs? A: "It's really no different from before. The basketball's still the same. The focus still is the same. Same time watching tapes. Brenda's been good -- she's been through it. She understands. She's a basketball widow. She played basketball, so she knows the game, she knows the time commitment that goes into it. Which makes it a lot easier." Q: Does she attend the games? A: "When she's in town. She travels a lot. To Chicago -- Brian Urlacher is one of her clients, she does his marketing. Also Ben Wallace." Q: Does she get defensive for you when she hears critics? A: "She handles it much better than I do. She's more calm and under control, that type of thing. She keeps me grounded and focused and not getting too low on the lows or too high on the highs." Q: And the lack of job security? A: "Oh yeah, she's used to it." A: You give the impression that you're unflappable. People never see you sweat. Q: "Oh no! It's just that the media part of it doesn't bother me. Where I feel the lows is when I haven't done a good job of preparing the team or couldn't get things done offensively or defensively. When things are not clicking, I take that on myself. More than media coverage or [job] speculation or anything. Really, going through what I went through at Kentucky -- that [recruiting] investigation was [publicized 17 years ago] worldwide -- really hardened me as far as coverage or negativity. Whatever happens that way, I can't control it." Q: But when you put so much time and effort into a position, only to hear people wanting you kicked to the curb, how does that feel? A: "That doesn't bother me as much as having to go back to the players and say, 'This didn't work.' I'm the first one to know when something isn't working. The coaching staff knows if the pick-and-roll defense isn't working, if the team is not clicking. I don't have to hear it. I'll probably agree with that [critic] nine out of 10 times: 'You're right, we're not playing well.' We've got a good enough coaching staff, and we've been through this enough that it doesn't bother us at all if somebody says, 'It's the coaching.' I know what the problem is before anyone can tell me." Q: It's fashionable in sports to say, if you win, the players won. If you lost, either the other team won or the coach lost. A: "That's the age-old adage. I watched what Coach [Joe B.] Hall went through at Kentucky, what Eddie Sutton went through, Tubby Smith. The high-pressure programs are the same as in the NBA: If you win, you're supposed to. If you don't, it's your fault. When you sign up to be a coach in the NBA, I'm a true believer, that's what we sign up for. That type of criticism, that non-appreciative [view]. Q: To this point in the season, is there a game you really kick yourself for? [Author's note: The interview was done before Wednesday's 105-88 loss to Atlanta.] -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.170.222.251