PISTON NOTES
AUBURN HILLS – As Nets coach Lawrence Frank emerged from the tunnel before Game 1 at the Palace on Monday night, he was embraced by an enemy Piston.
The hug came from an old Indiana University buddy, George David, Joe Dumars’ trusted aide as Detroit’s director of scouting.
David, one of the brainchilds behind the drafting of Tayshaun Prince, replaced Frank as the coveted manager of the Hoosiers basketball team run by Bob Knight. Like Frank, David went to Indiana not for the academics, but to work for Knight.
“Lawrence was like a New York kind of guy; he was like Vinny from ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ a funny New York guy,” David said. “You hear a lot of media talk about his Xs and Os and being a Jeff Van Gundy type. What he doesn’t get credit for is he’s a great players guy. He roomed with Calbert Cheaney in college. He has a great personality for players.”
David said he can imagine what Frank’s past three days have been like.
“Lawrence will leave no stone unturned,” David said.
* Former Bucks coach George Karl, who will analyze the game for ESPN tonight, was surprised by Knick Tim Thomas‘ ravings in the first round, when he called Kenyon Martin “fugazy” and pleaded for forcible retaliation. Karl once had a great relationship with Thomas but it soured at the end of his Bucks tenure. “Who’s advising him?” Karl asked. “If you’re going to say those things, you better be ready to play”.
The three-day layoff was a big bore to the Pistons. “You don’t want to practice three days when everyone else is playing games,” Chauncey Billups said. “This part of the season is all about playing games. We have three days of practice. It felt like training camp again”
* Pistons point guard Mike James, of Amityville, said he believes Long Island ballplayers often are overshadowed by City players. He said he knows nothing about Sebastian Telfair‘s game but said if he played in Hempstead, he wouldn’t be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“There’s more talent in the City because more players and people live in the City than the Island,” James said. “Overall there are a lot of good players coming out of Long Island but it’s overlooked because it’s Long Island.”
James said to watch out for Amityville PG AJ Price, who’s headed for UConn.