Happy Ourer: “We’re here with Pio Reina outside the Linndale locker room at Shaw Memorial Gym, where Linndale prepares to do battle with Coach Stephenson and his San Dominica Warriors. Coach, first of all, how are you doing? How is the team?”
Pio Reina: “We had a really bad week. We lost a lot of ground in the playoff race. We lost two of our best interior defenders and our second best rebounder. We suffered 2 extremely disappointing losses. And still, here we are on the outside looking in with a chance to fight our way in. Happy, we’re down but we’re not out. We’re fighters, and we’re gonna fight. We’ve been here before. We’ll fight as always.”
HO: “Speaking of fights, would you care to address the rumors swirling around the team of dissension and infighting amidst the players, and also in the front office?”
PR: “No, I don’t care to, but I have to. We ---”
(voice off camera) “Sorry Coach, but I got a piece of this.”
Floyd Hearn: (walks into view) “Happy what do you want me to say? That we were happy to lose Ramon? We weren’t. That we were happy to lose Harrison? Things had to change. It’s sad, but it’s the business. Still it was on me as the team leader to step up and produce. It was on Kyle Knowles and Rod Guyton to produce. We didn’t. We got our butts handed to us. We didn’t like it. We didn’t like losing our brothers. It was a lot to handle, but we absolutely should have handled business in those games and we didn’t. Now here we are about to play our respected rivals and we know they would love nothing more than to knock us out of playoff contention. That’s not happening. Not tonight. I got a bad attitude and I’m in a worse mood. If they want to think we’re not on the same page, let them. If they want to think this team, this family isn’t united, let them. The team you watched last week, that’s not the team you’re playing tonight. Last week was tough, but despite all the losses, we come out on the other side a better team.” (Walks away, into locker room.)
HO: “Coach, that tells me a lot about how the players feel. What about the front office?”
PR: “Every coach goes through it with their general manager sooner or later. At the end of the day, I think I have it pretty good. I tell the front office what I want and what I feel we need, the front office goes and gets it as long as I’m clear about the why. Have I been happy with everything? No, but admittedly, we also picked up a couple of pretty good players when it was all over. Having said that, we’re not going to agree every time. At the end of the day, we still share the same vision.”
HO: “Coach, on to tonight’s game. What’s the plan look like?”
PR: “We’re going to rebound, defend, and take care of the basketball. We know what we want to do, but we’re also going to be smart and take what the defense gives us. Coach Stephenson’s teams don’t give you anything. The team that wins the battle of wills wins this game. We have the will, so we’re going to find a way.”
HO: “Thank you for your time, Coach, and good luck tonight.”
PR: “Thank you, Happy.”