Phil Pressey's Former AAU Coach Helps Explain Why Boston Celtics Love Their Young Point Guard

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Phil Pressey's former AAU coach helps explain why Boston Celtics love their young point guard



Print Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com
on July 16, 2014 at 12:00 AM, updated July 16, 2014 at 8:21 AM




BOSTON – As he ran, the jersey looked three sizes too large, flapping like unhooked luggage straps on the roof of a moving car. The small point guard was like most eighth-graders: scrawny, undeveloped and years away from filling out. Uninformed spectators initially suspected he should be playing a different sport.

For many reasons, people have always doubted Phil Pressey. He’s too small. He can’t shoot. The list continues. But the people who know him, who see how he approaches the game, who noticed his rare basketball intelligence even back then, have long understood his potential. Inside the Boston Celtics organization, he has always had support.

A former senior director of basketball operations for the Celtics, Leo Papile has known Pressey since he stood about 5-feet tall and couldn’t have weighed more than 100 or 120 pounds. Just a middle schooler, Pressey would walk into practices with his father, Paul, a Celtics assistant, and he would spark up games against his brother, Matt, Doc Rivers’ sons and Papile’s daughter, all of whom played or will play Division 1 hoops.

As Papile recalls, Pressey would orchestrate some type of competition wherever he went.

“He had this basketball, and he always had it with him," Papile said during a phone conversation Monday. "It was like it was stuck to his hand, he never left home without it.”

At the time, Pressey wore his hair in braids. If his body could have screamed, it would have asked for directions to the weight room. He looked nothing like a future NBA player.

“But everybody knew. Even the Celtics players knew,” Papile said. “‘That little dude,’ they would say. ‘He’s alright.’”

Almost 10 years later, Pressey signed with the Celtics as an undrafted free agent. He spent his whole life hoping to get selected in the draft, but after every team passed on him, he learned that missing out on the second round was actually a blessing. He got to choose a team instead of the other way around. The Celtics called right away with the promise of opportunity.

All of the personal connections helped Pressey's decision, but, just as importantly, Boston wanted him and had a real need at his position. Rajon Rondo missed half of the season while recovering from ACL surgery. Pressey stepped in, played in 75 games, made 11 starts, and racked up a 6-5 record as a starter. He shot just 31 percent from the floor, but managed an assist-to-turnover ratio of almost 3-to-1 – very good for any point guard, never mind an undrafted rookie who loves to thread the needle. By limiting mistakes and influencing games with his pesky defense, Pressey eased some of the concerns scouts echoed when he left Missouri one year early.

He still needs to develop an outside jump shot, but the Celtics have put their faith in him once more, guaranteeing his contract for the 2014-15 season. Whatever Pressey's potential is, the organization believes he will reach it.

Head coach Brad Stevens recently singled out the point guard, calling him "as hard a worker as we have on our team."

"In fact, I think he sets the bar for most everyone else with regard to how often he's in the gym, how much he's worked on his game," Stevens said. "That really shows itself. That’s a great thing, when all these young (summer league players) come in, to know a guy is coming back at 10:30 at night. Are you going with him?”

This summer, Pressey, Chris Babb, Chris Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger and Rajon Rondo all spent significant chunks of time at the team’s facilities in Waltham, going through workouts five days per week with the coaching staff.

“I know I have to improve every year because if you don’t, you’ll find your way out of the league. I know I have to get better," Pressey said. "There are All-Stars in the NBA right now who are getting better every year, so why can’t I? I think about that every day, and I know that if I don’t get better, somebody’s trying to take my spot.

“The culture that Coach Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff is (fostering), it’s unbelievable. Because the way they’re having us work, the detail that we’re going through, the film that we’re watching, it just lets you know that the little things matter. That’s what Coach has been telling us the whole entire time. That’s why we’re doing drills that guys get bored of. Those are the drills that make teams better.”

About the repetition, Stevens said: “You’re only good once you get good at doing boring things. That’s a big part of being great. I used to read about (Joe) Montana and (Jerry) Rice. As Bill Walsh said in his book, they threw routes that would bore high schoolers to death. That’s what makes them great.”

Pressey has focused on his jump shot, as one would expect, and he unveiled some funky flip shots during the summer league, releasing quick floaters off the wrong foot almost like Steve Nash. The new wrinkles didn't pay immediate dividends – Pressey averaged 10.6 points, 5.6 assists and 2.2 steals at summer league, but shot just 32.2 percent – but the Celtics have invested in his long-term success.

They don't expect Pressey to turn into Nash or any type of facsimile, but believe that adding creative ways to shoot should allow him to finish more accurately at the rim. As assistant coach Jay Larranaga explained it, Micah Shrewsberry, Pressey's "individual coach," has focused on adding some type of "scoring element" to the guard's repertoire. Pressey can already make plays happen with his quickness, ball-handling and court vision, but as long as opponents can get away with abandoning him, his long-term worth will be hindered.

"This summer he has spent a lot of time on his shooting, and the 3-pointer is going to be a part of his game," Larranaga said last week while acting as the summer league head coach. "It’s not where he wants it to be right now, but we want him to continue to be aggressive with that. The amount of time and work he puts into it, in combination with his intelligence and his confidence, he’s going to end up being a very good 3-point shooter in his career.

“Phil continues to progress. He’s a pass-first point guard, but the more he can add some scoring element – whether it’s a floater or a three – it’s going to make him that much more dangerous. You saw throughout the (summer league) that it was hard for guys to stay in front of him when he wanted to get to the rim.”

Papile remembers that about Pressey, too. Not long after the two crossed paths, Pressey began playing for Papile’s AAU program, BABC, long regarded as the best in Massachusetts and one of the strongest in the country. During the point guard’s second season, as an eighth-grader, BABC traveled to Detroit to play in the ninth-grade national championships. The crew completed a 9-0 run through the field, then took another flight to Orlando, where the 10th-grade AAU Super Showcase was being held. That tournament brought another 9-0 record and another championship, as Papile recalls. And Pressey wasn’t done.

The following week, the team stayed in Orlando for the 11th-grade showcase. During the first playoff game, according to Papile, Pressey "found a deficiency in the (pick-and-roll) defense" of an opponent and scored about 40 points. Even as a middle schooler Pressey didn't normally look for his own offense, but during that game, he carved his way to the rim time after time.

"We had one junior, Tommy Hubbard, a good player who went on to play at East Tennessee State," Papile said. "We had a lot of talent, it was a good group of guys; Alex Oriahki and Jamal (Coombs-McDaniel) both went on to play at UConn. It wasn’t just Phil. But in a lot of ways, it was his basketball intelligence, it was his fight, it was his knowledge that let us make the final eight of that tournament. Most guys were three years older than him. We weren’t expected to get that far."

During 37 or 38 years in AAU basketball, Papile said that he has never coached anyone else who overcame as much of a size disadvantage to succeed like Pressey did.

“He was about 5-5, we probably listed him at 5-6. He couldn’t have weighed more than 120 pounds," Papile said. "But he’s a tough little guy. He was way ahead of his years and he didn’t back down from anybody.

“He’s the same now. The NBA, it’s a long winter, there’s a lot of nights when things aren’t going your way, and he brings you energy, he brings you hope, he brings a fun style of play where everybody needs to be ready to catch the ball. He’s just the type of guy you want to have around.”

The Celtics agree. They always have.




bob
MY NOTE:  Phil came in and did something that is very hard to do.  He knew, immediately and instinctively, how to run a pro offense.  Centers need years to grow into their bodies but point guards need years just to learn the pro game.  Phil is a true point guard and, it is my opinion, true point guards are born not trained.  You either have "it" or you don't.  You can't teach 7' and you can't teach someone to sense where 9 other moving players are at a given split second and, within that split second, make the right decision.

As far as his shooting goes, yeah, he has a problem.  So did Jason Kidd.  Kidd is a career 35% 3pt shooter but in his rookie season he only shot 27% and he took over 3 attempts/game.  He also averaged 8.2assists and 3.4TOs per 36mpg (2.41 : 1).  The difference?  Jason Kidd was the #2 pick in the draft and signed a longterm rookie contract, so nobody was worried about whether he was going to make it or not.  By comparison, Phil had 7.7assists and 2.8TOs per 36mpg (2.75 : 1).  I'm not saying Phil Pressey is going to be the next Jason Kidd, I'm pointing out that Kidd wasn't a good shooter straight out of Cal either but he was liked because he was a floor general.  So is Phil.




.

Phil needs to recognize that, while a no-look pass can be very effective, no-look shots tend to be ineffective. He sometimes shoots while looking at the same instance, when he should have had his eyes on the riim a split second earlier and also should follow the ball into the basket.  I think that some floor generals (including Phil) emphasize so much trickiness and misdirection in their passing game that it spills over into their shooting.

Sam

D'ya think maybe we're watching a Celtics legend in process?

According to Leo Papile,“He had this basketball, and he always had it with him,". "It was like it was stuck to his hand, he never left home without it.”

Who does this remind me of?

"Basketball Jones, I got a Basketball Jones
Got a Basketball Jones, oh baby, oo-oo-ooo

Yes, I am the victim of a Basketball Jones
Ever since I was a little baby, I always be dribblin'
In fac', I was de baddest dribbler in the whole neighborhood
Then one day, my mama bought me a basketball
And I loved that basketball
I took that basketball with me everywhere I went
That basketball was like a basketball to me

I even put that basketball underneath my pillow
Maybe that's why I can't sleep at night
I need help, ladies and gentlemens
I need someone to stand beside me
I need, I need someone to set a pick for me

At the free-throw line of life, someone I can pass to
Someone to hit the open man on the give-and-go
And not end up in the popcorn machine
So cheerleaders, help me out

Basketball Jones, I got a Basketball Jones
I got a Basketball Jones, oh baby, oo-oo-ooo"


And what's this about a funky flip shot, a quick floater off the wrong foot almost like Steve Nash? Steve Nash, hell! Bob Cousy could do that funky flip shot with either hand. Pressey needs to watch some vids of the Cooz, who wasn't that great a shooter himself until he practiced, practiced, practiced. "Do your best when no one is watching." It was a famous quote from the Fifties and Cousy took it to heart. Do that funky flip shot, Pressey, do that funky flip shot now!"

And all this talk from Brad about how often he's in the gym, how he's an inspiration to the young guys? I can envision a disconnect somewhere along the line between the so-called captain and the burgeoning unacknowledged captain. He's already taken Marcus Smart under his wing, telling him to keep shooting until they drop. Let me know if you ever hear Rondo say anything like this: Pressey: “The culture that Coach Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff is (fostering), it’s unbelievable. Because the way they’re having us work, the detail that we’re going through, the film that we’re watching, it just lets you know that the little things matter. That’s what Coach has been telling us the whole entire time. That’s why we’re doing drills that guys get bored of. Those are the drills that make teams better.”

There's a synchronicity between this artice and the Tommy Heinsohn interview, especially when Tommy talks about the power of playing as a team.

I love this quote: “‘That little dude, ‘He’s alright.’”

I love this kid! Maybe because I am prejudiced, while his dad was here working for the Celtics, Phil played for Waltham High School, where I live. I can only hope that with all the tutoring, maybe he will develop a shot that will keep him in the league.
I know Cedric Maxwell has said repeatedly that he remembered him as a kid and they always thought good things would happen for him. If he develops a shot, he could be a Mugsy Bouges in the making!And the best thing is, he is such a good kid.



Rosalie