Coach’s Image Takes a Beating

Any day now, an arbitrator will render a decision in the Latrell Sprewell case. Either way, the biggest loser will be P.J. Carlesimo.

Sprewell, whose contract was terminated and who was suspended for a year after he attacked Carlesimo during the Golden State Warriors’ practice on Dec. 1, will eventually get another job. He’s just too good a basketball player not to catch on with another team.

Carlesimo, on the other hand, probably will be fired after the Warriors’ miserable season. And getting another gig will be almost impossible for the former Seton Hall coach. Two high-level NBA executives said recently that Carlesimo was finished in the pros as a head coach. And a college job doesn’t appear to be an option, either. Sprewell’s claim that Carlesimo is verbally abusive just wouldn’t sit well with college presidents when it came time to approve the hiring of a new basketball coach. After all, Carlesimo would be dealing with young, impressionable men.

Carlesimo refused to speak to reporters before the Warriors defeated the New York Knicks, 87-82, at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The big question is: Will the Warriors, who are way under the salary cap, be able to attract any big-name free agents with Carlesimo as their head coach?

The answer. Probably not.

Carlesimo disagrees. When asked that question recently, he told Bay Area reporters, “Anybody who comes to a franchise and signs a seven-year deal and does or doesn’t do it because of the coach is fooling himself because that coach isn’t going to be there. That’s what history shows. When it comes down to it, most of these guys make the decisions based on money. Money is usually the final word.”

That sounds good. But it just isn’t the case. Penny Hardaway and Damon Stoudamire both balked at trades to the New Jersey Nets because they didn’t want to play for Coach John Calipari, who has a Carlesimolike reputation as a “screamer.”

Knicks center Chris Dudley, who played for Carlesimo in Portland and has nothing but praise for his former coach, was asked if he thought Carlesimo’s image has been damaged.

“I don’t know,” Dudley said. “That’s kind of hard for me to say. I hope not, but you don’t know what the perception’s going to be.”

Often, perception is more important than reality. Unless someone gets to know Carlesimo on a personal level, the only thing they can go on is what they’ve heard. And when it comes to Carlesimo, much of it isn’t good.

“So much of the game of life is perception,” said Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean. “What counts is you earning the respect of your players.”

But Carlesimo, 48, has had more than his share of trouble the past four years. Carlesimo’s loud, abrasive style might have worked in college -- remember, he held players’ scholarships and playing time in his back pocket -- but it wasn’t well-received from the beginning in the NBA. Rod Strickland, Isaiah Rider and Clifford Robinson had their share of problems while playing for Carlesimo in Portland. Even though those three have had their own off-court problems, that’s still too many incidents for Carlesimo not to share some of the blame for what happened with Sprewell. It’s silly to think a person would just attack someone for no reason.

All along Carlesimo has denied that he, in any way, provoked the attack.

Buck Williams, who played for Carlesimo for two years in Portland, was not totally surprised when he heard about the altercation between Sprewell and Carlesimo. Williams, a voice of reason, labeled Carlesimo “quite confrontational.”

Clearly, that’s one of the reasons why he was fired despite making the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the Trail Blazers.

And it’s not that a coach can’t criticize today’s athletes. It’s just that there’s a correct way to do it. Pat Riley and Bill Parcells are both known as tough, in-your-face coaches. But players who have dealt with both say their dialogue never gets personal. Current and former Carlesimo players say that’s not always the case with him.

Many, even most, coaches agree that it should never be personal. “I’m a screamer, but I never make it personal,” said Celtics Coach Rick Pitino when asked about his coaching style. “All these guys have buttons that can be pushed.”

It’s crazy to provoke today’s athletes, who are younger, richer and more independent. And it isn’t just a money issue. People feel they should be treated with respect no matter what. Making a lot of money doesn’t mean someone can treat you or talk to you like a dog.

Apparently, that’s how Sprewell felt. His actions, however, can’t be excused. In that ugly incident at the Warriors’ downtown Oakland, Calif., practice facility, Sprewell first choked Carlesimo, then he came back about 20 minutes later and, according to some witnesses, threw a punch at the coach.

And while a lot has come out about Carlesimo since the attack, it hasn’t swayed some of his supporters. “My thoughts have not wavered one bit,” St. Jean said. “I have a lot of respect for him.”

But will others when it comes time for him to go out and get a new job? And Carlesimo can’t even think about going back to college coaching. That would be an even tougher sell. Imagine the other coaches trying to recruit a top high school athlete. You can bet that when they hear that the player is considering a school where Carlesimo is coaching, they will bring this incident up.

What top recruits does Bobby Knight get these days?

“You always learn from every experience you have,” Carlesimo told Bay Area reporters. “I don’t think I’ve changed.”

And neither will the perception about him.