1996-12-15, By Roy Bragg Express-News Staff Writer
马刺队的波波维奇从不缺乏决心
那是1972年的春天，24岁的格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)渴望成为一名奥运会运动员。问题是，波波维奇并没有名气。他没有得天独厚的技能，甚至没有自己的住处——他住在朋友家的客厅地板上。
事实上，他只是一个来自印第安纳州梅里尔维尔的，身高6英尺3英寸的苍白后卫。他作为一名没有被招募的球员加入了空军学院的篮球队，最终在大学四年级成为队长。
但发生在1972年的事情可能会让圣安东尼奥马刺队的球迷们了解这个从幕后走到前台，并坐上NBA球队主教练宝座的男人。
为了备战奥运会选拔赛，波波维奇每天早上4点起床，穿上脚踝负重，在朋友位于南加州家附近陡峭的山坡上慢跑。午餐时，他在附近的空军基地体育馆打两个小时的全场篮球。晚上，他再次跑山坡。
那年6月，波波维奇和其他几十名大学生球员为争夺球队席位而拼搏。两周后，只剩下12名球员。
波波维奇不在其中，但他被选中为6名替补之一。
波波维奇的前空军队友，也是他“客厅地板”主人，堪萨斯城律师迈克·西森(Mike Thiessen)说，结果并没有像波波维奇希望的那样，但这已经超出了人们对他的期望。
“这是一个在大学里是替补球员的人，最终成为全国18位最佳业余球员之一，”西森说。“你还能对他说什么呢？”
这在波波维奇看来并不特别。
“一旦你参与到一项运动中，并且取得了一定程度的成功，你的竞争力就会把你带到尽可能远的地方，”他说。“我是一个相当有进取心的人，所以我不认为我做什么重要。只要你继续以积极的方式发挥你的竞争力，它就会真正为你所用。”
波波维奇有点像个谜一样的人物。他热衷于竞争和挑战，但又认为体育在生活中的重要性被过分强调了。他是比赛的学生，但更喜欢阅读哲学。他经营着一支篮球队，但他的学士学位却是苏联研究专业的。
自从周二以来，对于马刺队篮球运营执行副总裁兼总经理波波维奇来说，这将是一场公开的讨论。媒体和球迷们对他进行了猛烈的批评，因为他在全明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)因伤缺阵两个月后重返赛场的那天解雇了教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)，并接替了他的位置。
但来自全国各地的朋友和同事都对波波维奇赞不绝口。
前金州勇士队和纽约尼克斯队教练唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)——据传是下赛季马刺队教练的候选人——将波波维奇比作波士顿凯尔特人队传奇教练雷德·奥尔巴赫(Red Auerbach)。
“如果你要在地球上度过最后一天，你不可能找到比波波维奇更好的人，”尼尔森说，他曾在金州勇士队聘请波波维奇担任助理教练。“他是我在战壕里想要的人。”
“他对别人要求很高，但对自己要求更高，”罗伯特·马布特(Robert Marbut Jr.)说，他是圣安东尼奥市议员，也是波波维奇在南加州波莫纳-皮特泽大学执教时的朋友。
“他很有竞争力，但也很理智，”长期执教波莫纳-皮特泽的对手克莱蒙特-穆德-斯克里普斯大学的教练大卫·威尔斯(David Wells)说。
威尔斯曾多次与波波维奇交手。
前马刺队主席罗伯特·F·麦克德莫特(Robert F. McDermott)，也是1994年将波波维奇从金州勇士队挖来的功臣，说他“很好地融合了纪律严明、技术娴熟、战术精湛和领导者”的品质。
“他总是为了正确的理由做正确的事，”麦克德莫特说。“现在，波波维奇正在扮演我们许多人必须扮演的角色。有时他不得不硬着头皮去做。这是一个艰难的工作。我希望我们能给他一个机会。”
当其他人谈论波波维奇时，他们都集中在他们与他的个人关系上。
波波维奇曾经打电话给一位朋友确认一个社交活动，并打算简短地谈谈。但当朋友告诉波波维奇他遇到了一些私人问题时，波波维奇在电话里花了90分钟时间——取消了当天其他电话和约会——来开导这位朋友。
“这是一件不可思议的事情，”这位不愿透露姓名的朋友说。“他显然只是打了个一分钟的电话。他本来可以说，‘我得走了。我以后再给你打电话。’”
“但他倾听了，他还为我分析了这个问题的方法。他问了三四个非常有见地的问题。他把问题分解了，但他没有试图告诉我该怎么做。他可能是我认识的最乐于助人的人。”
圣安东尼奥的记者们抱怨说波波维奇爱耍手段，难以相处，但他的朋友们说他只是被误解了。
“大多数体育界的人都是外交的，会试图给记者他们想要的答案，”前马刺队后卫，现任电视评论员格伦·“多克”·里弗斯(Glenn “Doc” Rivers)说。“但波波维奇只是直言不讳。他坦率。你能与他产生共鸣。我喜欢这一点，但不幸的是，它在某些人眼中对他很不利。”
“基本上，他就是照实说，”尼尔森说。“如果你难以接受这一点，那么你可能难以和他相处。但我喜欢这一点。”
“也许是因为他的军方背景，”现任空军学院主教练，也是波波维奇在学院打球时的助教雷吉·明顿(Reggie Mintion)说。“在那样的文化里，你只需要说出事实。你不必遮遮掩掩或添油加醋。人们误解了这一点。”
几位朋友将波波维奇描述为“非常投入”，而里弗斯认为这是一个赞美。
“我们身处一个充满压力的行业，”他说。“如果你没有压力，那么你就会失败。”
波波维奇还没有失败。在1970年从空军学院毕业，并在1972年参加奥运会选拔赛后，他在空军担任了6年的助理教练。
在那里，他遇到了球队训练师的女儿艾琳(Erin)，并与她结婚，如今他们已经结婚20年。他们有两个孩子，儿子米奇(Micky)和女儿吉尔(Jill)。
他曾试训丹佛掘金队，但没有入选。他选择了一份教练职业，在1980年来到规模很小的波莫纳-皮特泽大学。他在那里待了八年，并且永远被学生和校友们尊崇，因为他带领球队在1986年赢得了联盟冠军。
“他让这所大学名声大噪，”对手教练威尔斯说。
1988年，波波维奇以马刺队助理教练的身份跳槽到NBA，当时球队主教练是拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)。四年后，他去为尼尔森工作，并在1994年回到圣安东尼奥。在波波维奇的带领下，马刺队围绕着罗宾逊组建了一支实力强大的阵容，并成为争夺冠军的有力竞争者，尽管他们还没有打进过NBA总决赛。
前马刺球员，现任芝加哥公牛队的“奇葩”球员丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)曾猛烈抨击波波维奇，称他为“军方先生”，因为他采取了不苟言笑的态度。
观察家们说，这会让波波维奇抓狂，但他本周在采访中对此一笑置之。
“你必须对这种事情保持幽默感，”他说。“你怎样才能把它当真？”
波波维奇在一定程度上打破了教练的模具，因为他直言不讳、头脑清醒，而且不依赖体育俚语。
听他谈谈篮球、生活、教练和他在这三者中的角色：
“在我们的社会中，体育有时被夸大了，”他说。“当你从理智的角度去思考时，这是可笑的。这只是一场比赛。它不是生活，而是娱乐。对于我们这些教练来说，它变成了我们想要完善的东西，无论是在进攻上还是防守上。挑战由此开始。”
“挑战的第二部分是与人合作，培养你必须拥有的那些关系，才能拥有一支成功的篮球队。这会让你很忙，但教学部分才是真正有趣的地方。如果只是去比赛，我认为会很无聊。教学部分是你真正看到想法成长、看到人们进步、看到人们的自信心提升，或者看到人们的自我形象变得更好，因为他们知道自己做了什么。”
“这就是你获得满足感的地方。我的意思是，发明疫苗的人（会得到满足感），”他说。“如果你不能意识到这是观看人们享受自身成长的乐趣，那么在这个行业中就不会有任何满足感。”
波波维奇说，对于领着薪水的职业球员来说，也是如此。
“我认为职业球员的名声不好（因为大多数人认为）他们是职业球员，他们很富有，他们不关心，教练也控制不了他们，他们不关心，他们也不听，”他说。“这一切都是不真实的。也许有那么几个人是那样的，但总的来说，联盟里充满了许多乐于倾听、渴望学习的人。我们的球队里有很多这样的球员。”
顺便说一句，波波维奇意识到他把自己置身于何种境地。
“我的注意力必须集中在这支球队上，”他说。“我现在有一个优先事项，那就是这支球队。我不能集中精力关注球队周围可能发生的事情，同时还要完成工作。”
点击查看原文：Spurs' Popovich never lacking in determination
Spurs’ Popovich never lacking in determination
It was spring 1972 and Gregg Popovich, 24, wanted to be an Olympian. Trouble was, Popovich didn’t have the reputation. He wasn’t blessed with natural skills. He didn’t even have a place of his own to live - he was sleeping on a friend’s living-room floor.
He was, in reality, a pale, 6-foot-3 guard from Merrillville, Ind., who walked onto the basketball team at the Air Force Academy as an unrecruited player and wound up being captain of the squad by his senior year.
But what happened in 1972 might tell San Antonio Spurs fans a lot about the guy who elbowed his way out of the background and into the Alamo City’s hottest seat as head coach of the NBA team.
To get in shape for Olympic tryouts, Popovich arose every day at 4 a.m., strapped on ankle weights and jogged up and down the steep hills outside his friend’s Southern California home. At lunch, he played two hours of full-court ball at a nearby Air Force base gym. At night, he did the hills again.
That June, Popovich and dozens of other college players battled for spots on the team. Two weeks later, there only were 12 players left.
Popovich wasn’t one of them, but he was selected as one of six alternates.
No, it didn’t turn out the way Popovich wanted, but it was more than anyone expected he’d accomplish, says Kansas City attorney Mike Thiessen, a former teammate of Popovich at Air Force and owner of the living-room floor.
Here's a guy who was a walk-on in college, and he ends up as one of the 18 best amateur players in the country,'' Thiessen said. What more can you say about the guy than that?‘’
It didn’t seem extraordinary to Popovich.
Once you get involved in a sport and you achieve some level of success, your competitive drive tries to take you as far as it can,'' he said. I’m a fairly driven individual, so I don’t think it matters what I would be doing. As long as you continue to channel your competitiveness in a positive way, it really works for you.‘’
Popovich is something of a cipher. He thrives on competition and challenge but thinks sports are overemphasized in life. He’s a student of the game but would rather read philosophy. He runs a basketball team, but his bachelor’s degree is in Soviet studies.
It’s been open season since Tuesday on Popovich, Spurs executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager. The news media and fans have put the wood to him for firing and supplanting Coach Bob Hill on the same day that All-Star center David Robinson returned to the lineup after a two-month injury hiatus.
But friends and colleagues from around the country speak of Popovich in the loftiest of terms.
Former Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks coach Don Nelson - rumored to be a candidate for the Spurs job next season - likened Popovich to legendary coach Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics.
If you were going to spend your last day on Earth with somebody, you couldn't do any better than Pop,'' said Nelson, who hired Popovich as a Golden State assistant. He’s the guy I’d want in my foxhole.‘’
``He’s very demanding of others, but he’s more demanding of himself,‘’ said Robert Marbut Jr, San Antonio city councilman and a friend since Popovich’s days as a college coach at Pomona-Pitzer in Southern California.
``He’s very competitive, but reasonable,‘’ said David Wells, longtime coach of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, bitter rivals of Pomona- Pitzer.
Wells coached against Popovich several times.
Robert F. McDermott, former Spurs chairman and the team official credited with luring Popovich from Golden State in 1994, says he ``is a good blend of disciplinarian, technician, tactician and leader.‘’
He's always doing the right things for the right reasons,'' McDermott said. Right now, Pop is playing the role many of us have to do. He has to bite the bullet sometimes. It’s a tough job. I hope we give the guy a chance.‘’
When others speak about Popovich, they focus on their personal relationship with him.
Popovich once called a friend to confirm a social engagement and had intended to make it a brief conversation. But when the friend told Popovich about a private problem, Popovich spent 90 minutes on the line - canceling other calls and appointments for that afternoon - to counsel the friend.
It was an incredible thing,'' said the friend, who asked not to be named. He was clearly calling for a one-minute conversation. And the guy could’ve said, `I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.’
``But he listened, and he laid out for me a method of analyzing the problem. He asked three or four really insightful questions. He broke the problems down, but he didn’t try to tell me what to do. He’s probably the single most helpful person I know.‘’
San Antonio reporters complain Popovich is manipulative and difficult to work with, but friends say he’s just misunderstood.
Most guys in sports are diplomatic and will try to give reporters the answer they want,'' said Glenn Doc’’ Rivers, former Spurs guard and now a television commentator. ``But Popovich just speaks his mind. He’s up front. You can relate to him. I like that, but unfortunately, it works against him with some people.‘’
Basically, he says it the way it is,'' Nelson said. If you have a hard time accepting that, then you maybe have a hard time with him. I like it, though.‘’
Maybe it's his military background,'' said Reggie Mintion, current Air Force Academy head coach and an assistant when Popovich played at the institution. In that culture, you simply say what the facts are. You don’t need to shade or color it. People
misunderstand that.‘’
Several friends describe Popovich as ``intense,‘’ which Rivers views as a compliment.
We're in an intense business,'' he said. If you’re not intense, then you’re going to fail.‘’
Popovich hasn’t failed yet. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1970 and trying out for the Olympics in 1972, he spent six years as an Air Force assistant coach.
It was there he met and married Erin, daughter of the team trainer and now his wife of 20 years. They have two children, son Micky and daughter Jill.
He tried out for the Denver Nuggets but didn’t make it. He opted for a coaching career, landing at tiny Pomona-Pitzer in 1980. He stayed for eight years and shall forever be revered by students and alumni for winning the conference championship there in 1986.
``He put them on the map,‘’ said Wells, the opposing coach.
Popovich made the leap to the NBA in 1988 as a Spurs assistant under Larry Brown. Four years later, he went to work for Nelson and returned to San Antonio in 1994. Under Popovich’s leadership, the Spurs assembled a respectable cast around Robinson and became a title contender, though they’ve yet to make it to the NBA Finals.
Popovich has been hammered by Dennis Rodman, the flamboyant former Spur, current Chicago Bull and acknowledged flake, as being ``Mr. Military’’ for his no-nonsense approach.
Observers say that drives Popovich nuts, but he laughed it off in interviews this week.
You've got to have a sense of humor about that kind of stuff,'' he said. How can you take it seriously?‘’
Popovich breaks the coaching mold to a certain extent, since he speaks plainly, intelligently and doesn’t lean on sports cliches.
Listen to him discuss basketball, life, coaching and his role in all three:
Athletics is sometimes blown way out of proportion in our society,'' he said. It’s laughable, when you really think about it on an intellectual basis. It’s a game. It’s not life, it’s entertainment. To us who coach it, it becomes something we want to perfect, both offensively and defensively. There begins the challenge.
``The second part of the challenge is working with people and developing those relationships you have to have to have a successful basketball team. It keeps you busy, but the teaching part of it is what’s really interesting. If it was just going to games, I think it would be pretty boring. The teaching part is where you actually see ideas grow and see people improve and see people’s self-esteem rise or see people’s self-image get better because they know what they’ve done.
That's where you get your satisfaction. I mean, somebody who invents a vaccine (gets satisfaction),'' he said. There is no satisfaction in this business if you can’t realize that it’s the thrill of watching people enjoy their own growth.‘’
The same holds true, Popovich said, for salaried professional players.
I think that pros get a bad name (because most people feel) they're pros and they're rich, that they don't give a damn, the coach doesn't control them anyway, they don't care, they don't listen,'' he said. It’s all untrue. There might be a guy like that here and there, but on the whole, the league is full of lots of willing guys who want to listen and want to learn. And we’ve got a lot of those guys on this team.‘’
Popovich, by the way, realizes what he’s gotten himself into.
``My focus has to be on this team,‘’ he said. ''I have a priority now, and it’s this team. I can’t concentrate on what may be going on around the team and still be able to get the job done.
By Roy Bragg Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News