“Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting hard-working and going to improve...” Rick Pitino, 2000.
Things weren’t going well for the Celtics during Pitino’s third season with the club and after a loss on March 1, the frustrated coach unloaded on Boston, its fans and anyone else who was in ear-shot. His long rant came after the Celtics were beaten at home by a three-pointer at the buzzer and fell 12 games under .500.
The Celtics finished in fifth place that season. They didn’t get better until Pitino walked through that door on the way out of town. Some Celtics fans were green with envy when Pitino and Louisville won the NCAA tournament in 2013, but they weren’t nearly as upset as fans of Kentucky.
RAY STUBBLEBINE
