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**Peja Vu** · 07-30-2006, 02:26 AM

Passion joined by perspective: New Kings coach Eric Musselman attempts to strike a balance

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By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 30, 2006
"Defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat." -- The late Bill Musselman

Eric Musselman is in relaxation mode, which is a good start in and of itself.

If his reputation precedes him -- and it does -- that's a gear many weren't sure he had, a shift from the persona of the 5-foot-7 fireball coach known for his fervor and sometimes friction-causing ways.

He is stretched out on a lounge chair, shirt off and smile on as he sunbathes poolside at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas earlier this month. Musselman's two sons, 10-year-old Michael and 5-year-old Matthew, play in the water with his new Kings coaching staff, the immediate family and the extended one getting along famously during this break from summer-league action.

"There's nothing like competing, but you've got to let it go when you've got to let it go," he said. "I think, as a competitor, everyone has different levels of will to win."

And by name alone, for those who don't know, the Musselman level is something altogether different.

"Defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat" was a motivational message gone wrong, the outlook of Eric's late father, coach Bill Musselman, that hung inside the University of Minnesota men's locker room on a January night in 1972. That's when intensity went too far, when a bench-clearing brawl between his Gophers and Ohio State was perhaps the worst of its kind in college basketball history, and largely blamed on a man who was known as much for his legendary passion as he was for his five Continental Basketball Association titles.

But mostly, his approach produced wins, a 589-421 record in a 25-year career that included college, the CBA, American Basketball Association, Western Basketball Association and three-plus seasons as an NBA head coach in Cleveland and Minnesota.

The son also built his own name in the CBA, becoming the youngest head coach in the league's history at 23 en route to dominating the minor leagues and eventually earning NBA credentials.

"I don't know if I've ever seen anyone with the intensity of his father," said former coach Chuck Daly, whose Detroit Pistons teams won titles in 1989 and 1990 and who guided the Olympic gold-medal-winning Dream Team in 1992. "(The Musselmans) are a little bit like the Woods family -- Tiger was raised to be a golfer, and Eric was raised to be a coach."

The kid who grew up in Cleveland and Minnesota with a round-the-clock basketball influence is now 41, an NBA head coach for the second time two years after his firing at Golden State raised so many questions about his style.

"Maybe they (coaches) should never be fired. Maybe you should do a lot of research before you hire a guy, then you hire the right guy. And when things don't go well, you look somewhere other than him." -- Eric Musselman, San Francisco Chronicle, March 21, 2004.

They didn't look elsewhere.

In April 2004, the Warriors replaced the man who hired Musselman, promoting franchise hero Chris Mullin to the post formerly held by Garry St. Jean. And when the time came to consider the future that appeared so bright, they looked directly at the coach.

Musselman had gained his first head-coaching job after stops as an assistant in Minnesota, Orlando and Atlanta. He wowed Warriors owner Chris Cohan and chief operating officer Robert Rowell in the interview process, beating out finalists Brian Winters and Eddie Jordan on the same platform on which he became the Kings' coach -- passion and preparation.

In Year No. 1, Golden State improved by 17 games and Musselman was a runner-up in Coach of the Year voting to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich. All was well. Year 2 saw the Warriors' roster depleted by trades and free agency. Future All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison were gone, with veteran point guard Earl Boykins.

Still, the Warriors went 37-45, winning more games than they've won in the two individual seasons since as their playoff drought has been extended to 12 years.

"When you try to change the culture, it's not easy," Musselman said when he was introduced as the Kings' coach in June. "This culture here has been set up. It's a winning culture. I went into a situation (with the Warriors) where things had to change, and sometimes with change, there is resistance. You have to keep pushing, you have to keep prodding. I mean, if your son is a straight 'D' student for 10 years, you're not going to change him to a 'B' or 'C' student with a new teacher."

But while Musselman's tough tactics improved results on the floor, the locker-room flareups never helped his case. With so many players lost to free agency and trades, he lost some of the remaining talent in a much more dangerous way as his rotations and methods were questioned.

There were one-practice protests from Arenas and then-first-round draft pick Mike Dunleavy, and mysterious game absences from Danny Fortson for "personal reasons" or "the flu."

And there was, of course, center Erick Dampier referring to his coach as "Musselhead" to reporters after a loss to Minnesota in which the two argued over whether to double-team Kevin Garnett (Musselman challenged Dampier to handle the duty alone). There was a reported argument with Dunleavy, the Mullin favorite telling Musselman he was no fan of his coaching ways. It was also reported that Mullin wasn't fond of how Musselman used Dunleavy and, in the next season, rookie draft pick Mickael Pietrus. Mullin and Dunleavy could not be reached for comment.

Yet many players who once seemed to despise Musselman now swear by him, perhaps because of the lesser talked-about effect of his tenure. Arenas, Dampier and Jamison, among others, had some of their finest years under Musselman and landed huge contracts after leaving Golden State. Musselman was fired with one year left on his three-year contract.

"What happened at Golden State? He brought a team up, did what it took, and we won (17) more games than the year before with the same group," said Arenas, the two-time All-Star Washington guard. "That should speak for itself."

Arenas' first impression wasn't so flattering. On the first day of training camp, Musselman told him that Bobby Sura was going to be the opening-game starter. Musselman was, as Arenas learned, telling a white lie to motivate him into having a good camp.

"I was like, Uh, uh, not on my watch," Arenas said. "But he got me going. He reminds me of an Avery Johnson (Dallas) type of coach. He's fiery. He's going to push you. He's a player's coach, and you rarely find that in this league."

Months after Dampier's name-calling, he became the first player to invite Musselman to his house. With some Warriors teammates, they had a catfish dinner courtesy of Dampier's mother and sisters that showed Musselman the importance of player-coach bonding.

"That was a point in time where there was pressure, and I felt we should have won the (Minnesota) game," said Dampier, who is now with Dallas. "It was (said) just out of frustration. If I could go back and do it over, I never would've said that.

"Eric gave me the opportunity that no other coach has given me, the opportunity to show the real Erick Dampier. He's a player's coach, even though he's never played in this league."

In many ways, Musselman's Golden State experience was an eerie case of history repeating. In 1989, Bill Musselman had become the first coach of the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves. In two seasons, he went 51-113 in what was an extreme case of relative success. He won more games than any of the four expansion teams and more in his second season (29) than any expansion team since the 1974-75 New Orleans Jazz.

But from the beginning, he was questioned for not playing the young talent and using an autocratic style that led to his firing.

"I think Eric learned a lot by watching the situation that his father had been in," said Keith Smart, a Golden State assistant who coached under Eric Musselman with the Warriors and played in the CBA for father and son. "He started to reach out more, understand the league and the new players coming in. He knew he'd have to start forming relationships with guys."

"You never want to see guys who care about the game be out of it. But it's a player's league, and I think you have to understand that as a coach. If there is a problem, the coach has to go." -- Then-San Antonio coach Larry Brown, regarding Bill Musselman, Dec. 22, 1991, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Soaking up rays by the pool wasn't the only good start in Vegas.

The first day Ron Artest joined the youngsters, Musselman found a seat next to the small forward on the team bus. They talked about Artest's new rap career, about his family and Queensbridge, N.Y., roots, connecting in ways he now knows are so important.

Musselman disputes claims that he's no fun. He rewards hustle, good play and, of course, victories. At summer league, he canceled a morning shootaround because of the previous night's victory and rescheduled a practice for R&R purposes.

"It's hard to please 12 guys for 12 months out of the year," said Musselman, who interviewed for head-coaching jobs in Cleveland and Orlando last summer while he was a Memphis assistant. "As in any relationship or any family, you're always going to have ups and downs. The key is that, when there is a fragmentation, you try to get to it right away."

But the fragmentation that can never be fixed is the absence of his father, who succumbed to bone marrow cancer in 2000 at 59. From Eric's first day at the University of San Diego in 1983 until his dad was gone, they spoke daily on the phone. In 1990, Bill gave his son his first NBA experience, adding Eric to his T-wolves staff in a season he said he'll always cherish. When Eric was hired by the Warriors, the Musselmans became the first father-son head-coaching duo in NBA history. And in a twist of irony, Bill's passing disproved his infamous quote about defeat vs. death. At least for the family he left behind.

While Musselman is close with his younger sister, Nicole Boykins, and mother, Kris Musselman, the immediate family now begins and ends with his boys. The towheaded mini-Musses have been at nearly every Kings practice and summer-league game thus far, playing video games while they wait or wrestling with their dad and his players.

Musselman is recently single after 13 years of marriage. His ex-wife lives in Danville, making the proximity to his boys a fringe benefit of the new gig. And with a daily routine that is typically filled with basketball, two hours of exercise and an occasional afternoon baseball fix, the boys are his favorite hobby.

"It's not easy to all of a sudden have your kids when you're single like he is now," said Boykins, who lives with her husband and 2-year-old son in Dallas. "I can't believe all the things Eric has taken on. He's packing their suitcases and folding their clothes, laying all their stuff out for them. As a mom, it's very lovely to see."

Smart, the Warriors assistant, said Musselman's boys have taught him the value of give and take -- whether it's negotiating with 10-year-olds or $10 million-per-year athletes.

"You can't challenge the guys all the time, no different than you can't be on your kids all the time," said Smart, the father of two sons. "I think there's been an evolution between learning from his first head-coaching position and his sons coming of age."

Memphis general Jerry West agreed.

"I think Eric is certainly intense, but he's not to that level (of his father)," said West, who hired Musselman midway through the 2004-05 season when he was a commentator for ESPN Radio. "With the changing nature of the game, with the younger players who need maturing, I think it makes all the difference in the world for a coach to understand that they have to change sometimes also. Everyone has to change."

It seems to be the only question about Musselman, whether he can convince his players to buy into a system that has proven effective wherever he has been. Otherwise, few dispute his hoops acumen.

Musselman played point guard at San Diego and was drafted in the CBA, but he never played professionally.

Before his coaching career began, he was selling tickets for the Los Angeles Clippers, a job that segued into a position as an account executive and, three months in, an assistant director of scouting role that came with the basketball responsibility he so desired.

Then came the call from Pat Hall, the owner of the CBA's Rapid City Thrillers in South Dakota.

"Everybody in the league said, 'Don't do this,' " Hall said, opting to hire the 23-year-old Musselman because Bill Musselman was busy coaching the Timberwolves. "The commissioner of the CBA called me and said, 'Don't do this. You're insane.' "

They weren't saying that for long. Upon arrival, Musselman traded 10 players from a team that had gone 18-36. The following season, the Thrillers went 36-18. In eight seasons, Musselman had 24 players called up to the NBA and was attracting the best of the NBA-caliber players. Despite his youth, his no-nonsense attitude already had begun.

He once cut three former NBA first-round draft picks from his Thrillers team because of their apparent lack of interest in the CBA. They couldn't name another team in their three-team division, and so came the ax. At Thrillers games, Musselman was known to bark not only at officials, but the occasional fan, too.

"He was so fierce, it was unbelievable," Hall said. "He'd turn to some fan who was criticizing him and say 'I'll be at your office tomorrow at noon. I want to talk to you the way you're talking to me.' "

Musselman's CBA stint concluded with a .689 winning percentage (270-122), ranking behind only George Karl in a CBA history that includes coaches Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders and John Chaney among its alumni.

But the Kings don't play in the CBA, and recent history shows that they're far from the Warriors. Eight consecutive playoff berths were orchestrated by former coach Rick Adelman, whose NBA credentials trump Musselman's 10 times over.

With Artest as the new frontman on a team with plenty of talent, Musselman has players like never before. He knows his hiring doesn't come with lowered expectations from the fans, that the playoffs are expected and that having a three-year contract worth more than $7 million doesn't mean history can't repeat again. He wants to win now. And his will to win, after all, is on a level all its own.

"If coach Musselman could put the tennis shoes on and the jersey, he would go out there and do it," Jamison said. "When you're in his practice and playing the game, you can feel his passion and how much he wants to win. Anytime you have a coach with that much passion, you're in a good situation. Your organization and your team is definitely going in the right direction."

About the writer:

* The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@ sacbee.com.

**Peja Vu** · 07-30-2006, 02:27 AM

Marcos Bretón: Kings bank on link to the Bay

Quote:

By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 30, 2006
If history is any judge, Eric Musselman will be a great Kings coach because the Golden State Warriors didn't want him. And everybody knows the Kings have built a perennial winner by doing the opposite of the wretched Warriors on key personnel issues.

It's somewhat like George Costanza of "Seinfeld" and how he was an unemployed loser until executing the opposite of all his loser impulses. Then he became a New York Yankees executive.

How else to explain Chris Webber as the Antichrist in Oakland and as the Messiah in Sacramento?

There was also Rick Adelman, the fired Warriors coach, who led the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances while the Warriors chased sewer rats en route to 12 successive losing seasons.

Now comes Musselman, another exiled Warriors coach, who was slimed by creeps under Golden State's leaky roof after getting fired in 2004.

In the process, Musselman was branded as a bad guy, while the Warriors hardly upgraded by replacing him with the befuddled Mike Montgomery.

It wasn't even about that. It was about a new Warriors top dog in Chris Mullin wanting his own coach, so Musselman was out.

Ironically, that's exactly how Musselman came to Sacramento.

The Kings' owners, the Maloof family, didn't directly hire Adelman, couldn't connect with him personally, were frustrated by his methods -- so out he went.

All of a sudden, Musselman wasn't the odd man out who had been sacked for the flavor the month.

He was the flavor of the month, though he's looking to make his tenure last much longer and is aware that coaching opportunities eventually disappear.

Chance No. 1 came and went. Now here is chance No. 2. There may not be a third shot if the personable, engaging 41-year-old can't make it work with the Kings.

There is much in Musselman's pedigree to suggest that he will win.

But is Musselman an upgrade over Adelman right now? Only the most die-hard Kings fanatics would say yes.

To the Kings, it's not even a relevant question.

"Eric will be different," said Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations. "It can be better, it can be the same. Some people will perceive it as not as good, but at the end of the day, it's really about winning games."

On that subject, you'll recall that last season, the Kings woefully overestimated the talent on their team. They wrongly saw a plus 50-game winner and top Western Conference hopeful.

The team won 44, grasped the eighth seed in its conference, but only after "one of the most unusual seasons I ever been around," Petrie said.

What would have happened without getting Ron Artest in a late-January trade? No one at Arco Arena wants to think about it, though the experience clearly has chastened everyone in a position of authority in Kings Nation.

Consequently, you get a much more cautious take about the coming season. The expectations wrongly placed on Adelman's head won't be foisted on Musselman.

Petrie is quick to point out how the Western Conference will be tougher with improved squads in Houston, Utah and New Orleans. Are the Kings a playoff lock?

"I hope so," Petrie said.

Being the Maloofs' guy, Musselman will get a fair shot. And what's not to like so far? He had the Kings' summer-league team playing a hard-nosed game in Las Vegas, where players were noticeably aggressive, creating scoring chances by pressuring offenses.

Kevin Martin is working like a madman under Musselman. According to the new coach, Artest also is working like a beast, going so far as to call Musselman to make sure he's fit enough to play in the new coach's system.

Then there is Musselman's legendary work ethic, his willingness to shake hands all over town, to show up at River Cats games as a big baseball fan, to be an energetic face of a Kings franchise that places a huge value on image.

Will all that turn into victories that are now expected by the fans in Sacramento?

Hey, if the Warriors didn't want Musselman, he must be a winner.

About the writer:

* Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/bretón.

Sacramental · 07-30-2006, 03:28 AM

we'll see.

bruindre · 07-31-2006, 09:41 AM

Personally, I still miss him by the Bay....looking for BIG things from the Kings next year because of this guy.

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