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Columnist: Pat Riley hires coach he trusts
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-15 09:26
CHICAGO - It was always just a matter of time before Miami Heat president Pat
Riley turned the ballclub over to the only coach he's ever really trusted ¡ª
himself.
 The "compulsive-obsessive" ¡ª Riley's words ¡ª returned to the bench
Tuesday night after two years away, looking none too worse for the wear. He
hasn't forgotten how to win, either, punching the air in the briefest of
celebrations after a 3-point attempt by Chicago's Luol Deng clanged off the rim
at the buzzer, preserving Miami's 100-97 victory.
Not that Riley was claiming much credit.
"My mind was too full of stuff," he said afterward. "I've forgotten
everything I used to know."
Well, not quite everything.
The facade of cool remains intact. If either the timing, the manner or the
criticism that followed the departure of Stan Van Gundy a day earlier was
troubling him, Riley didn't let on. At 60, the slicked-back mane above a
widening forehead was grayer, but still featured as many comb lines as wrinkles
gathering below. His answers remain just as crisp as the knotted tie and spread
collar on Riley's impeccably tailored white shirt.
One thing was different, though. The man who made a small fortune giving
motivational speeches to corporate chieftains about winning expects a grace
period himself.
"There have been some changes in the game," Riley said. "I'm going to have to
catch up with it."
Some 90 minutes before tipoff, Riley stood in a hallway and admitted the
butterflies were fluttering in his gut, the way they always did before big
games. He could draw on the experience of four NBA titles and 1,110 wins, but
coaching, Riley insisted, was nothing like riding a bicycle. For one thing, he
wasn't sure how long he'd need to steer the franchise in the right direction
again.
"Until the time comes where I can inject a different personality into it," he
said, "the only thing that counts is what's been on the last couple of weeks."
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