Reason to see more: Popovich as Spurs' vision

[Kori Ellis]

Buck Harvey: Reason to see more: Popovich as Spurs' vision
Web Posted: 06/30/2005 12:00 AM CDT

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c....1d3fd082.html

San Antonio Express-News

After winning their third NBA championship together, Tim Duncan went to the postgame podium and announced Gregg Popovich is the head of the snake.

Truth is, Popovich had to grow into that role. There was a time Popovich was the entire snake.

He was the enemy in town, the villain who fired Bob Hill, the dunce who didn't know how to win with Duncan and David Robinson. And when the Spurs struggled in 1999, starting slowly after the lockout, Popovich might have been one game from getting fired and forgotten.

What has followed is as remarkable as a budding small-market dynasty. Popovich hasn't merely won. He's become the model of how to run a franchise. Now he, not Larry Brown, is known for doing it "the right way," and next month he's up for one of the ESPYs, right there with Bill Belichick, as the best coach in sports.

But in NBA terms, what Popovich will do next is as unusual. He will stay.

How many of his serpentine peers would do the same?

There was a time when none of it made sense. Popovich was just an assistant coach in Golden State, with no real prospects, when the Spurs went through an ownership shuffle. Becoming the chairman then was former USAA CEO Robert McDermott.

McDermott didn't know much about the NBA, but he knew Popovich. Both had been at the Air Force Academy — McDermott as the dean, Popovich as a student — and their families knew each other.

That's why this fell under it's-who-you-know. Assistant coaches usually don't leap ahead in line to become general managers, but McDermott didn't care.

So the question then as asked in this column: Was this man the right choice to be The Vision of the franchise?

There was reason to doubt. Popovich hired an average coach (Hill), made a poor trade (Charles Smith), drafted a bust (Cory Alexander) and shipped Dennis Rodman to Chicago, where he helped the Bulls win.

But it was one move that turned San Antonio against Popovich. When he fired Hill and made himself the coach, he terminated his image, too.

Had Popovich waited a month, few would have been angry. But he made the change as Robinson returned from injury, turning Hill into a martyr, and people who knew nothing about the game knew Popovich was a snake.

As it turns out, Popovich failed only at public relations. Hill never got another NBA head-coaching job.

Then Popovich got lucky (the Duncan lottery). But it still took a watershed moment in 1999, when the Spurs turned around their season and much more.

After all, if Popovich is fired then, does Duncan stay a Spur? Of all the relationships that bind Duncan to San Antonio, the one with his coach means the most.

Duncan, in the post- le celebration, signaled that. After calling Popovich the head of the snake, Duncan said: "He's the one who makes us go. He prepares us so well for games. He's great at getting on you and praising you when it's time, and calling you a piece of whatever at times. He balances it so well. I just — I don't know what to say about him. He really is, and not taking anything away from Larry Brown, he really is the best in the league."

Popovich's concept of how the franchise should be run was always in place. In this hierarchy, even the general manager reacts to what the coach thinks. As it does with Belichick in New England, the system works.

This military coach bends rules, too. He welcomed family on the team charter, for example, and after the Spurs beat the Pistons, Popovich made mention of the theme. He told his players in the locker room that night that they had shared this experience together, and they had shared it with their "families."

The family angle is, in part, what kept Duncan and his wife in San Antonio.

Popovich's commitment to defense didn't change, either, nor did his communications skills with his players. "First of all," Manu Ginobili said, "you get worried, because there's a vein (on his forehead) that just gets so big, you think it's going to explode."

Ginobili laughed and continued. "No, he's a smart coach. He knows how to get the best from his team. You know, he gets very upset, and he's not afraid to tell anything to anybody. He doesn't care if it's Tim Duncan or the player that is on the IR. So everybody appreciates that ... I think it's really good for the spirit of the team."

So Popovich always had that in-your-face honesty. But if he borders on being the best now, it's because he grew into the job. He became more relaxed and surer of himself. He could let go and allow Ginobili to be himself, for example, and he says as much.

"It's mostly me growing up a little bit and maturing and realizing that if I hold him back, it will be negative returns," Popovich said.

So Popovich has it all — except for an itch to prove something else. With this success, most coaches would be looking around. Money would be an issue, as would ego.

But, again, Popovich goes against the nature of his profession. He has his model in place, with the players he wants, with a chance to add to a winning percentage that ranks with the best in league history.

Popovich is the head, all right.

Of one of the best franchises in sports.

[lil'mo]

awesome article

[lil'mo]

some of us here arent as thankful as we should be that we have a coach of Pop's caliber. ahem ahf ahem.

He does everything the right way, from how he talks to and motivates his players, to getting his hands dirty and RUNNING the BUSINESS. He's learned alot along the way and is rapidly becoming the best coach he will ever be

[milkyway21]

"First of all," Manu Ginobili said, "you get worried, because there's a vein (on his forehead) that just gets so big, you think it's going to explode."

so THIS WAS the reason WHY Manu looked like he was going to cry when Pops barked at him on the bench after making a bad pass turnover in a season game.
Now I know

[gilmor]

What impresses me most about Pop is the way he went over to Larry and hugged him after Game 7. That really shows what a great man he is..

[Marcus Bryant]

Funny how you can't find a Bob Hill fan in San Antonio these days...

[FromWayDowntown]

I think many forget just how close Pop was to the chopping block after the Spurs were massacred by the Jazz on a Sunday afternoon in February of 1999 -- so close that, as I left the Alamodome that day, people were urging Doc Rivers to bring the Spurs together when he became the head coach.

Something happened between that afternoon and two nights later in Houston and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sometimes, patience really, really pays off.

[wildbill2u]

[\sarcasm] Fire POP! [/sarcasm off]

To all those who say Pop is just lucky to have a Duncan and Ginobili, take a look at where the coaches who had Nash/Amare and Shaq/Wade and other superstar duos watched the Finals--at home on TV.