Jan
22, 2001
Basketball
Fan Editorials - - - - -
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Nets
are Surpassing Expectations & Griffin
Gives Shine, Seton Hall a Shiner
By
BRIAN KAYSER JERSEY
SHORE
The
most frustrating job in America can not be a Florida vote-counter or a
kindergarten
bus driver. It would have to be, hands-down, the head coaching
job
of the New Jersey Nets. Coaching the worst team in the league is a job
of
little appreciation and many headaches. Byron Scott apparently didn't
know
this when he came to New Jersey last year. He was excited about the job
and
thought he could win with the scrubs he had, because he had won before
in
LA. Scott had good reason to be excited because he has the best point
guard
in the league in Stephon Marbury and he had the best prospect in
Kenyon
Martin. Jayson Williams and Keith Van Horn were also supposed to help
out
a lot. It all went wrong as Jayson Williams retired and Keith Van Horn
missed
a lot of the early season with injuries. Not to mention that Kerry Kittles
hasn't
been able to play all year. Add a struggling rookie and Evan
Ecshmeyer
to the mix and the answer is a reserved seat in the cellar of the
Eastern
Conference. The Nets will always be destined to lose, either by
blowouts
(they're used to those) or by last second shots (they're not used
to
hanging with a team for more than a quarter so this doesn't happen often)
like
the one the Celtics threw up. When the Celtics start having better luck
than
the Nets, it can only mean one thing: The Nets are not really an NBA
team,
but a CBA team in disguise. Send the whole team except for Steph down
to
the CBA for seasoning and then reapply for acceptance into the NBA.
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Seton
Hall has the ability. They have the coaching. What they lack is team
chemistry.
It's no great revelation, though. Even J.R. Rider and Bobby
Jackson
could tell that something is wrong with the Pirates when the star
player
is going Mike Tyson on his own teammates. It would not be so bad if
freshman
Eddie Griffin, arguably the best college player, could maybe have
hit
a Georgetown Hoya or two, but instead he took it out on Ty Shine.
Granted,
Ty Shine might not be the most likeable guy on the team, but there
is
no excuse for belting him in the face. Don't give Shine a shiner just
because
he doesn't see eye-to-eye with you. Eddie Griffin can have a nice
career
in the NBA, make lots of money, and live a nice life. Ty Shine is
still
living off of that one game he had in the NCAA Tourney last year to
justify
his roster spot. Eddie, the next time Shiner comes up to you, just
ignore
him and shoot a few more shots the next game to feel better. Now if
senior
Darius Lane approaches Eddie Griffin to talk about shot selection,
defense,
or anything else, he'd better listen because Lane is without a
doubt
the leader and captain of this Seton Hall team. He knows what the team
needs
and is a good leader. He should control the shots on the team, not Ty
Shiner.
