Man, I miss Smitch sometimes. I don't think I ever doubted that BC was just being stupid in interfering and firing him. I love the part in the article about how he could get anywhere with one dribble from about 17 feet....sigh....what a waste of talent.
Nilanka wrote:
Mitch had some great points, however, he gave a better interview several months ago (so this is old news). The only "additional" bit of information he seems to be sharing (that has relevance), is how he states his approach (to management) for Bargnani should've been better.
As to this interview (as well as the previous ones), I think Smitch takes a little too much credit for Bosh & Calderon's current abilities.
If I could reorder the coaching history for Andrea, having Jay first, then Smitch, the outcome would probably have been much different. And better.
.
Agreed with the last point. Jay was great for building his confidence and getting him minutes to play through mistakes. Mitchell coming in after and holding him accountable would have been a better transition with him maturing on and off the court (age/language/culture change).
A friend of mine just reminded me of this article. Reading it made me laugh several times, but also reflect on how far Bargnani has fallen. It's pretty sad actually. I've quoted a few excerpts:
Nowitzki, sitting in the bowels of the Thomas & Mack Center, first scoffed at the rush to compare the two: "Every tall, white shooter who comes over is going to be compared to me." But then he made the parallel himself. And he finds himself lacking. Dirk says that at 21, the newcomer is better than he was: "Sky's the limit for him.""He's like a junior Dirk," LeBron says after Bargnani's 18-point, seven-rebound effort in a one-point loss to the Cavaliers in their first game after the break. "He's going to be a very, very, very impressive player in this league."Teammate Anthony Parker cuts through all the psycho-babble. He says, "He's absolutely fearless. Why? I think he was just born with it." Bargnani himself brushes off talk of his extraordinary self-confidence.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...pnmag/bargnaniFor years, NBA teams have used the Caliper Profile to evaluate potential draft picks. The Caliper is a personality profile used by numerous corporations and organizations to measure one's capacity to excel in specific situations. Over the past 24 years, Caliper has assessed more than 20,000 athletes, including NBA players from Detroit, San Antonio, Denver and Phoenix. Colangelo has long been sold on the system. When he heard how Bargnani measured up, he nearly dropped the phone.
"They said his upside and potential were off the charts," Colangelo says from the tunnel of the Air Canada Centre as Bargnani drains a three against the Cavaliers. "They said, 'Out of all the athletes we've profiled, we've never seen anything like this.' "
The test showed that Bargnani is virtually oblivious to what others think of him. And his tremendous ability to block out such potentially negative pressures enables him to focus completely on the task at hand. So the expectations and anxieties that come with being the No.1 pick, or the only Italian-born player in the league, or even taking a game-winning shot, don't even register with him.
your pal,
ebrian
You can't help but laugh....
....or cry
"I don't lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation." - Fox Mulder
MAybe Bargnani is pretending to be inept to leave Toronto? and then become the beast he was projected to be.
What if? is all we can say. The dude has all the talent he just never put it together with effort and desire, its as simple as that. If he had the same competitiveness and drive as amir johnson we would have been championship contenders in his 2nd or 3rd season.
#TradeBargnani #JVIsABoss #RudyGayTime #DeRozanGoingHAM
That article made me tear up.
Twitter - @thekid_IT
GRADE BARGNANIS SEASON!!!
just in case you weren't already sad about his wasted talent...
His routine os pretty impressive (this is lockout season) shows him working in the post.....
I think you're onto something.
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn yo! He was making that imaginary defender bite on all his fakes. No doubt he's gonna be legit next season!
TRX liked this post
i wouldnt be sad if i never have to see that stepback on the 3 point line shot again
haha
That was for 2011-12 season though.
2012-13 season he was nowhere near that in shape.
I am pretty sure he spent last summer in Italy eating his grandma's pasta all day, every day.
That is not a pasta joke. I recall him saying that.
The catch 22 of him doing nothing all summer and healing his calf was he became MORE out of shape and lazier.
"Championships are what we live for, now lets go win them."Tim Leiweke
It's funny that even as a strong Bargnani supporter in the past, I always felt that he just wasn't that bright. What I mean is that he reminded me of kids I played with in various sports who were bigger/stronger/faster/more skilled than me (they were even often the 'best' player on the team), who learned the plays and were beasts in practice, but then always failed in games when the opposition didn't do exactly what the 'opponents' had done in practice. It's like the kid who had it drilled into his head to go to a certain spot to defend, but he'd go there even if the player he was supposed to be defending didn't go there. All the talent in the world, had coaches salivating in practice, but then looked utterly lost when trying to apply the theory in live game situations. Even from the time he was a rookie I remember watching him and thinking that his instinct was to be a better help defender, but just as he was about to take a step into the lane he seemed to remember being told not to leave his man, so he'd just stand there and watch guys go in for uncontested dunks (while he guarded his man to prevent a pass being made to him).
And Smitch didn't help his game either; ever since his rookie year he always seemed to be worried about being pulled out of games when missing his first few shots. He was always a different, more confident player in any games where he started out hot on offense (why I always yelled at my tv for the coaches to start him inside to get easy looks down low early on). Unfortunately it seemed that as his career progressed, his confidence, effort on both ends and focus on defense/rebounding all seemed tied to how well he started the games off offensively. If he started out 0-3, he may as well have been benched.
Such a waste of talent/potential, because he certainly had all of the mechanics to be successful, he just seemed to lack the desire/drive to be the best...
Lol should of had a defender but seriously he looks good in this vid. He didnt do any of those post moves or one drible pull ups around the basket at all this season. The Bargnani in this video is the Bargnani Toronto fans were waiting on and its just really sad.
Bargs was showing off the complete package that earned the nickname "Il Mago"
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