Posted by fishmike:

Now I like him even more...

Q&A with Pat Croce, former Sixers president


Q: You say you would have stopped Billy King from acquiring Glenn Robinson. Why?

A: I wouldn't even have let him cross the bridge. You beat your wife, no way you are going to be on my team ... When times get tough, the weak bail. And that's what he did.

(Robinson was convicted in 2002 of domestic violence charges in a case involving his ex-fiancee and put on a year's probation.)

Q: On the Larry Brown-Allen Iverson relationship, post-Croce:

A: When Larry Brown was pulling all that stuff about leaving ... He wouldn't have if I was there. Or when Allen Iverson was sitting up there talking about practice. He wouldn't have gotten very far. I would have yanked him off the podium. I would have gotten a hook if I had to. I winced when I watched all that.

Q: On Larry Brown's latest departure from Detroit:

A: How can he claim to be hurt? He's the one who had all that stuff going on with Cleveland. How can he stand there and say that?

Q: You said you believe Brown might still be the Sixers' coach if you were still here. Given your sometimes edgy relationship, why?

A: Because I wouldn't have let him get away with all his crap. The one time I gave him permission to talk to somebody was when Dean Smith retired. And there was no way of stopping that. It had to play out. But when it was over, it was over. And we said, that's it. Any time he spoke about problems he was having, we addressed them. I think a lot of things could have been avoided that led to his departure. He's still mad at me for forcing him into that meeting with Allen in '99. He wanted to trade him. And Allen wanted me to fire Larry. But we went to the Finals, man. And look at how tight they are now.

Q: Do you like this series?

A: Absolutely. What-ifs are good for your life. I love what-ifs.

good guy

Posted by fishmike:

Now I like him even more...

Q&A with Pat Croce, former Sixers president


Q: You say you would have stopped Billy King from acquiring Glenn Robinson. Why?

A: I wouldn't even have let him cross the bridge. You beat your wife, no way you are going to be on my team ... When times get tough, the weak bail. And that's what he did.

(Robinson was convicted in 2002 of domestic violence charges in a case involving his ex-fiancee and put on a year's probation.)

Q: On the Larry Brown-Allen Iverson relationship, post-Croce:

A: When Larry Brown was pulling all that stuff about leaving ... He wouldn't have if I was there. Or when Allen Iverson was sitting up there talking about practice. He wouldn't have gotten very far. I would have yanked him off the podium. I would have gotten a hook if I had to. I winced when I watched all that.

Q: On Larry Brown's latest departure from Detroit:

A: How can he claim to be hurt? He's the one who had all that stuff going on with Cleveland. How can he stand there and say that?

Q: You said you believe Brown might still be the Sixers' coach if you were still here. Given your sometimes edgy relationship, why?

A: Because I wouldn't have let him get away with all his crap. The one time I gave him permission to talk to somebody was when Dean Smith retired. And there was no way of stopping that. It had to play out. But when it was over, it was over. And we said, that's it. Any time he spoke about problems he was having, we addressed them. I think a lot of things could have been avoided that led to his departure. He's still mad at me for forcing him into that meeting with Allen in '99. He wanted to trade him. And Allen wanted me to fire Larry. But we went to the Finals, man. And look at how tight they are now.

Q: Do you like this series?

A: Absolutely. What-ifs are good for your life. I love what-ifs.

The only problem with that, is that he totally lied. Iverson was given free reign. Iverson showed up to practice when he wanted and often times with his "crew". Peter Vescey used to have field days about the constant beef that AI's crew had with Stackhouse guys. This is the same guy who wanted Derrick Coleman badly. The Sixers were in disarray when Brown arrived and alot of it had to do with Croce's influence.

Posted by Pharzeone:

The only problem with that, is that he totally lied. Iverson was given free reign. Iverson showed up to practice when he wanted and often times with his "crew". Peter Vescey used to have field days about the constant beef that AI's crew had with Stackhouse guys. This is the same guy who wanted Derrick Coleman badly. The Sixers were in disarray when Brown arrived and alot of it had to do with Croce's influence.

Posted by firefly:

Posted by Marv:

Posted by Pharzeone:


Actually I am addressing the time before LB, where the Sixers practices consisted of turf gangland type of fights. How quickly does Pat forget the dark days in Philly.

http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1997_draft/2.html

http://www.njweedman.com/iverson.htm

pharzeone those are great links! i recommend the ibilio one for everyone - what great nostalgic reading, including a line about clarence weatherspoon of the 76'ers getting blocked 6 times in a row by dikembe!

Yeah thats a great article. I remember the sequence with Deke, it was like block on the weak-side, move to the middle, block again...and again, move to the right, block again...and again...and again. Beautiful. BTW, who did the Sixers pick in that draft in the end? Anyone remember?