Winning Isn’t the Only Thing : It Is Not Even the No. 1 Consideration for John Lucas, Who Is 22-3 Since Becoming Coach of the San Antonio Spurs

It is the afternoon of Dec. 18. Red McCombs, in the neighborhood only because he has a meeting for a charity function, stops by the offices of the San Antonio Spurs, the team he owns. He runs into Jerry Tarkanian, the coach. Tarkanian asks if they can talk.

Tarkanian, 20 games into his first pro coaching stint after a very successful college run at Nevada Las Vegas, again urges McCombs to acquire a starting point guard, someone to run the offense besides Avery Johnson, waived by the Denver Nuggets in 1990-91 and the Spurs last season, or Vinny Del Negro, returning to the NBA after a year in Italy. This was at the heart of what discouraged the coach most during his 9-11 start, at the heart of why, the owner says, “Tark was convinced the 12 guys we had could not compete with .500 clubs.”

About 20 minutes into the meeting, McCombs excuses himself to talk with Bob Bass. McCombs said he woke that day with no thought of firing Tarkanian, but now he was telling his vice president for basketball operations to explore some options. What were Bass’ thoughts on Rex Hughes, a Spur assistant, or Stan Albeck, the team’s coach in the early 1980s who still lives in town? And get John Lucas on the phone in Houston.

Lucas and McCombs had been friends for years and had often talked in detail about the league and its personnel. But

never, both insist, did the notion of Lucas running McCombs’ team ever come up. Now, suddenly, came the the call from Dallas: “Are you interested in coaching this team? Are you interested in starting today?”

McCombs returned to Tarkanian while Bass called. McCombs excused himself again a few minutes later to check with Bass. Lucas had answered yes to both questions. McCombs went back to the other room and fired Tarkanian, 20 games into a three-year contract, in favor of someone whose only previous coaching experience was with the Miami Tropics of the United States Basketball League, and Lucas owned the team.

“I knew all my peers in the business would think I was the village idiot,” McCombs said. “I knew that.”

That notion lasted about a week. Today, McCombs is the village genius, San Antonio is in first place in the Midwest Division and unproven, unconventional, 39-year-old John Lucas is 22-3 and the front-runner to be voted coach of the year. All while taking it one day at a time.

It is the night of Dec. 18, after Hughes had coached San Antonio to a 21-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks to improve to 10-11, good for third place in the Midwest, and shortly after Lucas has been hired. He is in the home locker room at HemisFair Arena to meet his players.

“He gets up to talk to them and says, ‘You’re the most out of shape team in the NBA.’ That was for openers,” McCombs said. “I bet on John’s leadership ability. I saw it in the first two sentences of his first talk to the team.”

Lucas immediately emphasized the transition game and coached his first game four nights later against Denver. The NBA has rarely seen anything like it on the sidelines. The coach turned one timeout over to Del Negro and walked out near midcourt. Later, he told Johnson to diagram a play during a huddle.

“I almost choked on my water,” Johnson said.

That quickly became the essence of Lucas. He used the same principles to coach a pro basketball team that he used with the recovering addicts in the rehabilitation program he runs in Houston--putting the people in charge of their own lives. Lucas, a former No. 1 pick who played 14 years with six teams and is beating an alcohol and cocaine problem himself, has lived both roles.

Putting players in charge of timeouts has become a regular occurrence, although Lucas will preside in tight situations. They also run portions of some practices, occasionally give the postgame talks and assess fines. Most unusual of all, a committee of veterans has input on personnel moves, such as when they voted to activate injured Willie Anderson before he was ready to return rather than sign someone to a 10-day contract.

David Robinson is atop this new hierarchy, the all-star center serving as team leader. Dale Ellis and Sean Elliott are the vice presidents; Johnson, his play improving in line with the new responsibility, the secretary-treasurer.

Before anyone had time to question Lucas’ technique, the Spurs took off. Victory No. 1 came that Dec. 22 night, a team-record 10-game winning streak to follow. So did January victories over Phoenix, Utah, Portland, Chicago and Seattle.

“We needed to make up ground,” Del Negro said. “We started poorly with no confidence, or very little confidence, and very little enthusiasm. We thought he was turning us into an extra-confident team.”

Said forward Antoine Carr: “John brought excitement. Tark is a good coach, no doubt about it, and he always will be, but he was a little laid back I guess you could say. John is total energy.”

Lucas? He wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about.

“I’m getting out of their way,” he said when asked what he is doing differently than other coaches. “I’m letting them have their team.”

There is more to the success, however. It was Lucas, after all, who went against the previous administration and declared Johnson more than fit to be his point guard, resulting in fine play, a very happy Robinson and Del Negro playing more at his natural shooting guard spot. Also not to be overlooked is Bass acquiring Ellis for much-needed outside shooting and, in early December, J.R. Reid for front-court depth with Terry Cummings sidelined because of a serious knee injury.

It all came together when weaved with the new attitude. McCombs can’t tell you he knew it would be like this, or that it always will be, simply that he was sure Lucas would have some kind of positive impact.

He knew, partly, because of their long friendship and McCombs’ personal success of sobriety since 1977. Going one day at a time is a lifestyle for both, not just a phrase.

“I’ve never seen a person come off an addiction and whip it and not become a better person than before,” McCombs said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t know if I could try. If you’re asking if I hired Luke because of that? No, I did not. But I think it could have an effect.

“He came in my office one day just after being hired with a yellow legal pad and said, ‘Chief, what can I do for you?’ In all my years of business, dealing with CEOs or whatever, John is the only person I’ve hired in a management position who said, ‘What can I do for you?’

“If it’s beginning to sound like I love the guy, I do. But I loved him even before I hired him.”

It is the afternoon of Jan. 10. The Spurs are at the airport and on their charter plane ready to fly to Detroit for a game the next night. But Ellis is a no-show.

Fifteen minutes after the scheduled 2:30 departure, Lucas leaves his seat at the front of the jet and walks back toward the middle, to Robinson’s seat. The coach tells Robinson to decide what to do. Lucas heads back up the aisle and, he said, goes to sleep.

Robinson soon approaches and says the Spurs will hold tight. Lucas gets some more shut-eye. When the delay reaches 30 minutes, Robinson decides it is time to get airborne.

“They do some things they probably thought they would never do as a player,” Lucas said. “With this team, I have such smart players, I’ve got to keep challenging them. I don’t coach this team, I manage them. I have loose reins on them until it is time to have a different plan. And the better they get, the more I let them go.”

Said Robinson: “When I came into the league, that is the kind of thing I expected. I always saw Magic and Bird and knew they were doing that. That was the way it is supposed to be. But when I came to this team, it wasn’t really like that. The veterans were just kind of out there playing. They were good players, but they weren’t doing anything (with leadership). It was mainly the coach. . . . but now it feels more natural. This is the way it’s supposed to be.

“John is a great manager of people. In this league, players pretty much run the teams. If you don’t let them run the teams, nine times out of 10, there will be ego battles. Whether you want to admit it or not, if a coach is too domineering, a lot of players will want to throw up their hands.”

The Spurs are throwing up their hands, all right. In celebration.

“Is it the good life?” Elliott said. “But of course.”

It is the night of Feb. 9. Before the game at HemisFair Arena, Lucas is presented with an award as the NBA coach of the month for January. He gets a standing ovation from the fans.

“I’m sure this caught a lot of people off guard,” he says earlier in the day of the Spurs’ success. “I don’t think people really thought I had an interest in coaching. I don’t think I would have coached outside of Texas because I’m not going to give up my drug and alcohol treatment centers. I believe in miracles. I am one. I’ve been close to death, so don’t tell me we can’t. Let’s find out how we can.

“I never felt a sense of urgency. I felt a sense of purpose that I had to refocus our team about building confidence for themselves, believing in themselves and doing what they say they are going to do. As I told them, ‘I may not be the best of the coaches today. You have to trust in me, I trust in you. We’re going to win some games.’ But I’m not interested in winning games. We need to build some character here, we need to build some confidence in one another and we need some trust. All the intangible things that don’t go along with Xs and Os.”

It is Feb. 14. It is the favorite day for 39-year-old John Harding Lucas, basketball coach and recovering addict.

It is a new day.