By the end of this season, Robert Pack might be speaking Croatian.

Veteran Teaches Rookie From Seats on the Bench
By LEE JENKINS

Published: December 1, 2003


ACRAMENTO, Nov. 30 — By the end of this season, Robert Pack might even be speaking a little Croatian.

Pack spends almost every game sitting on the Nets' bench near Zoran Planinic, the first-round draft choice from Croatia. As Pack points to the court, showing Planinic how to read a certain defense, Planinic nods earnestly. They had plenty to watch Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, who lead the league in several offensive categories.

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The Nets selected Planinic because they needed a backup point guard to Jason Kidd, but since Planinic could not learn the offense in training camp and did not know enough English to call the plays consistently, the Nets were practically forced to sign Pack on Nov. 13.

The Nets still view Planinic as Kidd's eventual backup, but he has fallen out of favor with Coach Byron Scott, who publicly chastised Planinic for "not playing hard" and "not playing with any energy" after a home loss to Toronto last week. As a result, Pack was promoted and Planinic was benched for the next three games. Scott said Planinic had dropped out of the point guard rotation and would have to earn back any playing time in practice.

Despite an obvious language barrier, Pack is lending more than a hand to his young competition. He is imparting much of the wisdom he has gained in his 12-year N.B.A. career. When the Nets signed Pack, no one told him that tutoring Planinic would be part of the job. Pack accepted the responsibility on his own, making the ultimate veteran move.

"I try to corner him with no distractions and tell him, `This is what I see you doing; this is what you should be doing,' " Pack said. "He understands everything I tell him. Being a foreign player, it's sometimes hard for him to see the game. So I show him what I see. This is something I've always done because, when I was a young player, I had guys do it for me."

The Nets would have been satisfied if Pack just led Planinic by example. While Planinic is 6 feet 7 inches and can make the game look easy with his ability to pass and score, Pack has remained in the league simply by working it. He applies relentless pressure defense and works tirelessly on the court and off. When he arrived in New Jersey, Pack said he studied game tapes in his hotel room every night to learn the Princeton offense.

After Pack became comfortable with the system, he turned his attention to Planinic, who obviously is not. When Planinic gets confused, he can find Pack for clarification and advice. "It's like when you talk to a friend," Planinic said. "He talks to you about ideas. He tells me normal things that I need to practice. It's not like it's anything spectacular, but it's good."

Scott was pleased with Planinic's performance in early victories over the Knicks and Hawks, but he has also seemed exasperated with the rookie's easygoing demeanor. Pack is significantly more patient with his new protégé, believing Planinic will eventually learn to play with the energy Scott demands.

"Sometimes, when you're younger and not playing well, you don't know why," Pack said. "It can be easier accepting criticism from a teammate than a coach. Effort is learned. If you haven't played that way your whole life, it can be tough. As Zoran goes in this league, he'll see that his intensity level has to be at a certain level all the time. He'll learn to keep his intensity level up from the time he hits the court."

Neither of the backup point guards has seen the floor much recently. With the return of Lucious Harris, Scott is relying on Harris and Kerry Kittles to handle the ball when Kidd is on the bench. Harris has also taken minutes away from Brandon Armstrong, who was in the rotation as recently as last week but has not played since.

The Nets might seek more help from their bench as they complete this exhausting five-game West Coast road trip. After facing the Kings, who started 9-0 at home, the Nets play Monday in Utah, where the Jazz is 8-1.

"It's tough, there's no other way to look at it," Scott said. "This is the hardest part of the trip because of the teams we play."

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