>In article <4u6le3l82akct5reuq84varhv5e27gsmkl@4ax.com>,
> SkippyPB nospam.neo.rr.com> wrote:
>

>> I'm not sure Doug was Courtney's problem. Look at his history.
>> Selected by Orlando Magic in the first round (13th overall pick) of
>> the 2000 NBA Draft. Rights traded to Dallas Mavericks for future
>> first-round pick and cash on 6/28/00. Traded by Dallas Mavericks with
>> Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Etan Thomas, Hubert Davis and cash to
>> Washington Wizards for Juwan Howard, Obinna Ekezie and Calvin Booth on
>> 2/22/01. Traded by the Wizards to the New Orleans Hornets for a
>> first-round draft pick in NBA Draft 2002 (Juan Dixon).
>>
>> Came off the bench in NOH and gave them about 9 PPG and not much else.
>> Gone from the NBA after the 2003 season due to a ruptured right
>> Achilles tendon, which he injured in a preseason game in Orlando.

>
>
>(Note: I realize this is morphing into a discussion of Collins, but in
>mid-September, there's damn little else to talk about.)
>
>Well, he came on really strong toward the end of his first year in
>Washington. Then Jordan staged his comeback and Alexander was sent
>wayyyy back in the rotation. He was an awful defender but at that stage
>so was Rip Hamilton. It was to protect Jordan's image that he sank below
>Tyronn Lue and Tyrone Nesby in the rotation, as every shooting guard was
>taking turns trying to abuse him (remember, I'm saying this as a guy
>that pulls out a prayer shawl in front of the bronze statue of the guy).
>
>Few coaches can "lose" players that aren't already lost, but with
>Alexander, I really thought Collins lost him.
>
>Doug was a great X's and O's coach but absolutely terrible at dealing
>with human beings. There's a famous story from I think Dumars' last
>season (or pretty close to the end) when he was bringing the ball up the
>court and Doug screamed "JOE, GET IT PAST THE HALFCOURT LINE!" The guys
>on the other team burst out laughing while Dumars gave him a crooked
>"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" look.
>
>Doug's micromanagement and public critiques of Kwame Brown are another
>case in point. I don't know any coach that enjoys excoriating 18 year
>old kids in the media, but that happened. Phil Jackson is getting mighty
>close these days with Andrew Bynum but it still hasn't gotten to the
>level of public criticism that Collins' leveled at Kwame. Would Kwame
>have been better in a more nurturing environment? Hard to say. But in
>management, the rules of the game are to take flawed people and put them
>in a position to succeed. That was never Doug's strong suit and quite a
>few players were bitter after he inevitably lost the team and was fired
>at every place he's gone.
>
>I'm curious how the Piston fans here remember him. He had some great
>success initially -- same as in Chicago -- before he got that
>deer-in-the-headlights look.