Bill Fitch a Master at Rebuilding in the NBA

In another life, Bill Fitch might have been a master architect with a pessimistic outlook. In reality, the fiery yet personable head coach of the Houston Rockets is a master builder of NBA teams.

“I love the putting together of a team . . . putting different basketball and social personalities together,” says the 52-year-old Fitch whose latest masterpiece is in the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics. “When you build a team, build it on Murphy’s Law.”

Murphy’s Law may state that everything that can go wrong, will, but for Fitch, very little has.

In 1983, he took over the Houston Rockets, a team that was coming off a 14-win season, and in three years has built the “team of the future” around “Twin Towers” Ralph Sampson and Akeem Olajuwon.

“Scratch means you start with nothing,” Fitch told United Press International. “It was evident that this was going to be a building job. It was one of those teams that could be built from scratch. (General Manager) Ray (Patterson) sold me on the idea of fun. I’m happy I’m here and I’m glad I did it.”

Fitch, twice the NBA’s Coach of the Year, is no stranger to building from the bottom up.

His first NBA job was in 1970 with the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers. In nine seasons, he took them to the playoffs three times, including a Central Division title in 1976 and his first Coach of the Year award. That team finished 49-33, still the best mark in Cavaliers’ history.

In 1979, Fitch took over the Boston Celtics, who were coming off a 29-53 season, their poorest mark in three decades. Under Fitch, the Celtics made a 32-game turnaround, finishing the 1980 season with a 61-21 record, an Atlantic Division title and Fitch’s second Coach of the Year award.

A year later, the Celtics beat Houston, 4-2, to win the World Championship. He stayed with Boston two more seasons, then moved to Houston.

The first year under Fitch, Houston won 29 games. Last year, the Rockets won 48 and made the playoffs. This season, they set a club record for 51 victories and 36 home victories, won a Midwest Division title and a Western Conference championship.

“I think all three (coaching) jobs have certain common characteristics,” said Fitch. “They all were either starting or remolding or in the rebuilding phase.”

This year’s Rockets have overcome a number of obstacles on the way to their second conference title in club history.

“This ball club has treated all the negative things as a positive challenge,” Fitch said.

He pointed to the play of reserve forward Jim Petersen, who filled in when Sampson and Olajuwon were out with injuries. He also mentioned Robert Reid and Allen Leavell, who stepped in when veteran guard John Lucas was released because of drug problems.

“There’s all kinds of lessons that can be learned,” said Fitch of the Lucas incident. “It was a time for people to reflect on what they had. Like most, this team has matured and grown a lot.”

Fitch, a native of Davenport, Iowa, grew up in Cedar Rapids where he played at Coe College. He began his collegiate coaching as assistant basketball and baseball coach at Creighton before returning to Coe College as head basketball coach in 1958.

He became head coach at North Dakota in 1962, moved to Bowling Green in 1967, and a year later went to Minnesota, where he stayed for two seasons. He did not tire of the college game as much as the attitude on campus at that time.

“If you go back to the ‘60s, it was the days of the beards and the building takeovers,” Fitch said. “It was an era of a lack of discipline on the campuses. I figured if they ever took over (the athletic director’s) office or mine, it would have been World War III.”

After 12 years and just two losing seasons at the collegiate level, he agreed to build the Cleveland program.

“I love the competition of putting a team together that’s going to have to compete together,” he said. “The competition to make the team is a very valuable criteria in how good that team will be. I like to watch guys get better, and when they are at the top of their game, that’s great. I like watching the young guys in the league learn their lessons.”

Fitch has coached some of the game’s best players in recent years. At Cleveland, he helped develop Austin Carr, Campy Russell and Jim Chones. At Boston, he was the first professional coach for Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge.

Fitch said there are few differences between the college and professional games.

“The character and sacrifices and chemistry involved in winning teams is still the same,” he said.

The upcoming Boston series will bring back many memories for Fitch.

“I had a lot of fun for four years in Boston,” he said. “I have a fond feeling for the guys I coached there. My relationship with (general manager) Red Auerbach will always be there.”

Fitch said he has respect for both Auerbach and the current Rockets management.

“Red never once ever tried to coach the basketball team or told me to keep a player,” he said. “If I wanted his advice, it was there. But I didn’t want to stay there and live in the ‘Red wouldn’t have done it that way’ era.”

Fitch was referring to the pending sale of the Celtics at the time and uncertainty whether Auerbach would stay with the club.

In Houston, Fitch said he has a solid relationship with the front office.

“Ray and I spend a lot of time one on one at our jobs talking about the franchise,” he said. “I understand a lot of his problems having been a GM. He’s been a jock himself, so he understands my problems.

“If it’s a big decision, three of us (owner Charlie Thomas, Patterson and Fitch) make it together. I don’t worry about coming to work and finding out Ralph or Robert Reid has been traded.”

The Rockets have not had to worry about Fitch leaving to build somewhere else, at least not yet.

“If I were ever going to retire at any of the places I’ve been, this would be as good a place as any,” he said. “This city has too much going for it. We have economic problems, but it’s like being behind at the half. You just have to know you’re going to win the game.”