European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Future has Lucas wondering too Jim Luke other Peoples curiosity pales beside his own. John Lucas knows he wont be the Only one watching this Experiment of the recovering addict As pro coach. But he will be the Only one living it. Anecdotes make the rounds every now and then but nobody has Ever really addressed How a or How Many a coaches and managers Slink through a career impaired by drink or drugs or some other equally intoxicating vice. It May be a sign of the times that we now count at least one who had to Battle an addiction even before the competitive pressures encircled him. A the important thing is that people get the right idea about this. Its not about recovery a Lucas said from his san Antonio hotel room sunday evening after Only his third Day in town. A when the spurs looked at me what they saw was the Best Man for the Job. A a that a not to say people Arentt interested in my past. I expect people to be looking. That does no to worry me. I know where i come from and i know what in a about. A what i want to find out a he added a is what ill be like As an Aba  the one thing Lucas knows already is that he wont be a coach for Long unless he wins some games. His predecessor Jerry Tarkanian of univ Fame got Only a 20-game tryout and he won nine of those before getting the Pink slip from Spur owner red Mccombs last Friday. Lucas was considerably More successful in his last and Only pro coaching stint winning the . Basketball league championship less than a year and a half after buying the Miami franchise. But both the circumstances and the players on his roster there were unique and he has yet to learn just How Well that experience will translate in the rough and Tumble circus of the Aba. Lucas purchased the Ubl tropics As a kind of graduate course for the ballplayers who made it through the drug and alcohol treatment Center he founded in Houston after wrestling with those demons himself throughout a 14-year playing career. The team had former Michigan and Dallas Maverick Star Roy Tarpley and standouts Treg Lee and Ken Bannister. But it Wasny to until turning away a handful of candidates last Winter that the 39-year-old Lucas decided much As the spurs have that he was the Best Man for the Job. A i Learned it was different being a coach than a player but there were a few constants. I Learned to do the Best i can in evaluating people and preparing them to succeed and then letting the results take care of themselves. Ill try to bring that Here. A there will be some times when i May get out coached. There May be other times when i out coach somebody a Lucas said. A i know a Little bit about what in a John Lucas with Ball draws a smile from David Robinson left rear while getting acquainted with his san Antonio spurs last weekend. Tark kicks Back in Las vegas Las vegas apr Jerry Tarkanian is Back Home out of work and prepared to spend time with old friends. Tarkanian fired last week As coach of the san Antonio spurs has no plans to meet with univ officials who forced him out of College basketball. A one things going to be Nice a going to the Bank every two weeks with a Check a Tarkanian said sunday. He a due $1.3 million on the remainder of his 3-year contract with the spurs. Tarkanian does no to hide his feelings about univ. A i would love to get to the Point few practices maybe go out and have a ears with Rollie a Tarkanian said where i could come out and watch a p1 Tew be referring to his successor Rollie Massi Mino. A i have no problem with Rollie but my problem is i have absolutely no respect for Brad Booke or Robert  Booke is the univ counsel and Maxon is the school president. A it would be hard to get close to Massimino now. He a working for Maxson now and he can to say anything bad about them and if he Ever supported them around me id  he said he does no to plan to get involved in the Flap Over his resignation from univ including legislative hearings on the Issue. A i just want to be there when Maxson gets run out of town. I want to be at that Parade a he said. Tarkanian blames Maxson for forcing his resignation last year. He coached his final univ game in March wrapping up 19 seasons. Tarkanian wants to take it easy for awhile. After new years he said he might Mign a lev return to san Antonio and watch a Tew. Spur games and might even try Golf or skiing. Doing. Besides this is not Only a coaching position its a Job about getting people to pull together. A i want my players to think this is about winning a he added a but also that its about  Lucas is aware that people looking in might View his words As just so much naivete which is precisely what got Tarkanian canned. Stories abound about How the shark made Lazy by years of uninterrupted Success at the College level never bothered to learn the personnel in the league or the countless intricacies the pro game demands nor especially the difference Between hungry wide eyed kids and Well paid cold eyed professionals. On the other hand readiness was the hallmark of Lucas game. And he has already succeeded in the motivation Racket with much tougher audiences. Those who still wonder whether his addiction was a weakness a his own players his fellow coaches the curious who wait to see if there will be a crack up a will be surprised to learn just now much of a strength it has become. A i read where the players Are calling me a players coach a Lucas said. A a in a not sure exactly Why but i like it. A they might mean if we come up a few bodies Short in practice i can fill in. Maybe they re saying it because i played until a few years ago. Or because i know what its like to get into it with a ref. Quot ill Tell you the reason i Hope its for. I Hope its because they know i know All the tricks you use to get out of things. A after All a Lucas said a i used All of them  the a eclat a Pena full strength cars hard for foes to Swallow by Chuck Melvin Richfield Ohio a much As they hate to admit it the Cleveland Cavaliers have come to grips with an unpleasant fact they re a fragile team. When somebody a missing its Tough or us. Whether that a Good or bad that she Way it is a Mark Price said Lor the last five games the Cavaliers Uve been healthy and they be won All Lve. The Streak began one game after Nee returned from a hip Pointer that a sidelined him for three games. Cleve land lost All three. Earlier while Brad Daugherty missed nine games because of a sore knee the cars went 3-6. When both Price and Daugherty have been in the lineup this season the Cavaliers have gone 10-2. A we always knew we were a Good team a Price said. A i think people underestimate the Way our team is made up. We need All the pieces in  the Cavaliers stretched their winning Streak to six games monday night by defeating Washington in overtime on the Road. Daugherty scored 23 Points to follow his 27-Point Effort on nearly perfect shooting saturday in a 121-104 rout of the Utah jazz. In that game Daugherty made his last 12 attempts after missing a Baseline jumper Early in the first Quarter. Although Utah constantly tried to double team Daugherty the Cavaliers used Crisp passing to pry him open for layups dunks and Short jumpers. The demonstration even impressed the jazz a team built around the passing of John Stockton. A a they re probably the most unselfish team in be Ever seen a said Utah a Karl Malone. A they done to make the extra pass. They make the extra two passes. They really break Down the  the winning Streak has pushed the Cavaliers to two games above .500 for the first time since they were 3-1 earlier this season. A they basically put on a clinic on How the game is supposed to be played a passing moving keeping the floor spread a Stockton said. A they played a terrific game