timvp
10-02-2007, 12:38 AM
Buck Harvey: Joyful now, Popovich will get past it
San Antonio Express-News
He went to Tony Parker's wedding. Traveled to Istanbul and Serbia with friends. Took his usual respite in Maine. And sampled a few bottles of wine that, if applied to the Spurs' payroll, would put the franchise over the salary cap.
Gregg Popovich could live this way for the rest of his life. He has more money than he ever dreamed he would have, as well as more titles than other coaches could ever dream of having.
He has nothing left to prove, unless it's with an Oregon vineyard. So why does he return today to do something he says he doesn't enjoy?
Because he enjoys it.
Love, meet hate.
The love side came out Monday. Then Popovich talked at length with the media with charm not often seen in public. He wondered, for example, if the Spurs' problem with not repeating could be something "genetic."
Hate is scheduled for later. Popovich hasn't gone through a practice yet, much less a loss.
He admits the contradiction in his life. He says the season weighs on him, and that he has wondered when the grind will catch up with him. He knows there will come a time when he doesn't want to coach, but he also knows that's not now.
How does he know? Popovich says he "felt butterflies this week," and he says as long as he has this feeling of anticipation, he will keep coaching.
Whereas he's often joked he will leave when Tim Duncan does, he said Monday he could continue coaching past Duncan's retirement. And he has reasons to carry on. His salary is in the $7 million range, and he has a roster built for both winning and listening to a coach.
Still, Popovich is a man with a lot of interests, and coaching doesn't define who he is, at least in his mind. Most could envision Popovich throwing himself into a winery when he wasn't traveling, and he has a few places waiting for him. He has an apartment in San Francisco, a townhouse in Colorado and land in New England he plans to retire on.
Basketball wears on him, too. When he's not putting out fires, he's tweaking his lineup and worrying about changes. His sideline posture often describes what is going on inside. Sometimes Popovich pushes on his temples, as if trying to control blood pressure.
It's been going on for years in different degrees. In 1999, for example, on the brink of eliminating Portland and silencing those who wanted him fired just months before, Popovich found little to celebrate.
"I don't enjoy any of it," he said then. "I appreciate it. But I don't enjoy it."
He would win his first championship a few weeks later, bask in the accomplishment, then start over. He would repeat this year after year, and now his status is unquestioned. He was named to the 2007 class of the Texas Hall of Fame last week, and eventually he will be elected to the one in Springfield, Mass.
But the success doesn't change how he approaches his job. And therein lies the love-hate, just as it was for his mentor, Larry Brown. As Doug Moe once said of Brown, he's only happy when he's miserable, and that's Popovich during an NBA season.
Only when Popovich steps back from the process does he find true contentment. Then he critiques and rehashes and fondly remembers, and that's why this makes sense: Staffers say this past championship was more satisfying to him than any other.
Popovich says as much.
"Considering where we were in mid-season, yes," he said. "Looking back on that, and what we did after, that's the biggest thrill."
Popovich is smiling as he says this. He is smiling as he talks about his roster, and about what comes next. Early October can be that way.
But in a few months, when three-straight losses cause citywide panic, Popovich will have no choice but to do what he loves and hates. He will try to fix something, and he will be stressed, and he will push on his temples.
It works, and it's something San Antonio should savor.
Popovich won't do this forever.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100207.01D.buckharvey.en.350d70a.html
San Antonio Express-News
He went to Tony Parker's wedding. Traveled to Istanbul and Serbia with friends. Took his usual respite in Maine. And sampled a few bottles of wine that, if applied to the Spurs' payroll, would put the franchise over the salary cap.
Gregg Popovich could live this way for the rest of his life. He has more money than he ever dreamed he would have, as well as more titles than other coaches could ever dream of having.
He has nothing left to prove, unless it's with an Oregon vineyard. So why does he return today to do something he says he doesn't enjoy?
Because he enjoys it.
Love, meet hate.
The love side came out Monday. Then Popovich talked at length with the media with charm not often seen in public. He wondered, for example, if the Spurs' problem with not repeating could be something "genetic."
Hate is scheduled for later. Popovich hasn't gone through a practice yet, much less a loss.
He admits the contradiction in his life. He says the season weighs on him, and that he has wondered when the grind will catch up with him. He knows there will come a time when he doesn't want to coach, but he also knows that's not now.
How does he know? Popovich says he "felt butterflies this week," and he says as long as he has this feeling of anticipation, he will keep coaching.
Whereas he's often joked he will leave when Tim Duncan does, he said Monday he could continue coaching past Duncan's retirement. And he has reasons to carry on. His salary is in the $7 million range, and he has a roster built for both winning and listening to a coach.
Still, Popovich is a man with a lot of interests, and coaching doesn't define who he is, at least in his mind. Most could envision Popovich throwing himself into a winery when he wasn't traveling, and he has a few places waiting for him. He has an apartment in San Francisco, a townhouse in Colorado and land in New England he plans to retire on.
Basketball wears on him, too. When he's not putting out fires, he's tweaking his lineup and worrying about changes. His sideline posture often describes what is going on inside. Sometimes Popovich pushes on his temples, as if trying to control blood pressure.
It's been going on for years in different degrees. In 1999, for example, on the brink of eliminating Portland and silencing those who wanted him fired just months before, Popovich found little to celebrate.
"I don't enjoy any of it," he said then. "I appreciate it. But I don't enjoy it."
He would win his first championship a few weeks later, bask in the accomplishment, then start over. He would repeat this year after year, and now his status is unquestioned. He was named to the 2007 class of the Texas Hall of Fame last week, and eventually he will be elected to the one in Springfield, Mass.
But the success doesn't change how he approaches his job. And therein lies the love-hate, just as it was for his mentor, Larry Brown. As Doug Moe once said of Brown, he's only happy when he's miserable, and that's Popovich during an NBA season.
Only when Popovich steps back from the process does he find true contentment. Then he critiques and rehashes and fondly remembers, and that's why this makes sense: Staffers say this past championship was more satisfying to him than any other.
Popovich says as much.
"Considering where we were in mid-season, yes," he said. "Looking back on that, and what we did after, that's the biggest thrill."
Popovich is smiling as he says this. He is smiling as he talks about his roster, and about what comes next. Early October can be that way.
But in a few months, when three-straight losses cause citywide panic, Popovich will have no choice but to do what he loves and hates. He will try to fix something, and he will be stressed, and he will push on his temples.
It works, and it's something San Antonio should savor.
Popovich won't do this forever.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100207.01D.buckharvey.en.350d70a.html