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Georgie?
Popovich shows patient approach
By Jeff McDonald
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was early in his first NBA start, and already Spurs rookie George Hill had made a mistake.
He scraped past Tim Duncan on a high screen, then threw a perfect bounce pass to the power forward rolling to the basket. At least, it would have been a perfect bounce pass, had Duncan been 4-foot-11 instead of 6-foot-11.
As the ball caromed off Duncan’s shin and out of bounds, giving the ball to the visiting New York Knicks, Hill shot a nervous glance at his head coach.
Gregg Popovich responded with three encouraging hand claps and three encouraging words: “Let’s go, Georgie!”
With the Spurs crippled with key injuries, and with a kiddie corps of 20-somethings poised to play major minutes, Popovich sees little good in losing his cool over every inevitable miscue to come.
“We’re going through some growing pains right now,” Popovich said.
Throughout the ups and downs of the Spurs’ 3-5 start, Popovich has been less fire-and-brimstone preacher and more X’s-and-O’s professor.
Players say Popovich has spent more time teaching this season than in years past, and for good reason: The Spurs have a rookie (Hill) starting at point guard for the injured Tony Parker, another rookie (Anthony Tolliver) earning key minutes off the bench and still another newcomer (28-year-old Roger Mason) occupying a spot in the starting lineup with Manu Ginobili out.
After Friday’s 77-75 victory over Houston — made possible in part by Hill’s 17 points, five assists and six rebounds — Popovich at last pronounced himself pleased with his team’s progress.
The Spurs will aim for their first winning streak of the season tonight, when they play at Sacramento.
“We’ve had some rough spots, and we’ll probably have a few more,” Popovich said. “The record isn’t that important to me. Whether we were winning all these or losing all these, it’s important to see if people are learning and if they are believing in each other, so I think we’re on the right path.”
The star pupil in Popovich’s NBA 101 class has been Hill. He has had to be.
Nine months removed from the end of his college career at little-known IUPUI in Indiana, Hill was thrust into a starting role when Parker went down with a sprained ankle Nov. 7.
“I really didn’t know what to expect coming into the (regular) season,” Hill said. “It’s a lot different. It’s real now. All these games count.”
Along the way, he has had his share of growing pains — a bad pass here, a missed assignment there. In the past, with another young point guard, Popovich might have blown his stack.
When Parker was a 19-year-old rookie, his mistakes were often greeted with a blistering from Popovich so blue it would have made Richard Pryor blush.
Now, Hill gets a paternal slap on the rump and a “Let’s go, Georgie!”
A shooting guard throughout college, Hill faces the dual challenges of learning to be an NBA player and learning to be an NBA point guard.
“I think in some ways, it’s a little more difficult for him than it was for Tony,” Popovich said. “More patience is definitely in order.”
With this group, Popovich has found, patience is not only a virtue. It is a necessity.
Georgie?
Tony, Timmy and Georgie.
FixedIn the past, with another young point guard, ducks might have blown his load.
Awww Georgie Poo!!
You're just mad your coach hasn't given his new rookie PG an adoreable nickname yet.
No wonder Beno felt left out. Pop never called him Beanie!
Benji?
Just wait 'til Mannie gets back!!
Well, when it was time to let him go, he called him " Nono "
I think that Pop not yelling at Hill has to do with the leadership hierarchy on the team. The leader of the team during the beginning of the Pop era was AJ. Then Elie joined AJ. But by the time Parker came on the scene, both AJ and Elie were gone and Pop had to be the leader of the team. Robinson was the closest thing those Spurs had to an on-court leader but he was a more of a lead by example type. So Pop had to be an extreme hard ass and lead the team from the sidelines.
Nowadays, the Spurs are full of leaders. Duncan's a leader. Ginobili's a leader. Bowen and even players like Finley and Vaughn can be considered leaders. Parker is finally old enough that he can grow into a leadership role as well. Pop no longer has to be a leader from the sidelines. He can now just be a coach who decides when and where to crack the whip.
Pop+Devo hat+photoshop=win
Shooogy?
We all know the truth. And there is no reason why Pop should be yelling at anyone but his veterans. If Pop chills out this season like I predicted he would. Then maybe FAs might decide to come play here in our little town. Its old news when ex-players on other teams tell everyone how pop loses his cool sometimes in the middle of a game. Heck even Antonio Daniels told Roger about Pop. So maybe the weak dont come here and thats not a bad thing. But some of the weak are pretty good basketball players. This isnt the Air Force or the military. Its the NBA. And I for one love the military.
...or maybe it's just as Pop says - Hill is changing positions, which makes it more difficult; therefore, more patience is needed.
The important thing is, it seems to be working.
I'm continually impressed with how Hill learns from his mistakes and improves with each game.
That was pretty gay.
pops gotten soft. Damn beard.
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