With his ability to get the most out of veteran teams, Flip Saunders was supposedly a perfect fit when he was hired in April 2009 by the Wizards. But he ended up with a young group of players and a situation he hadn’t bargained for almost immediately. Even when Saunders finally was fired in January 2012 with a 2-15 record, he was being blamed in part for problems that really came down to the roster. As such, Randy Wittman’s relative success as interim coach since replacing Saunders may matter little to the Wizards’ front office and owner Ted Leonsis as they weigh whether to keep him. But many players hope he will stay.
“I fully endorse Randy,” Maurice Evans said. “I think that he did a really good job. It wasn’t a smooth transition to start. Once we finally got our team in place and we got our lineup set, we really contended. We’re a much better team. Statistically, even though we’re second worst in the league, this isn’t the second-worst team in the league.”
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Wittman went 18-31 and guided his team to eight wins in their final 10 games of the season but also presided over a number of embarrassing losses. He pulled no punches, challenged his guys and never looked beyond the next game.
“He’s an aggressive coach and always right there on us, making sure we’re doing the right thing,” guard John Wall said. “When he took over, he was being honest with us. … He wanted us to play hard. He wanted us play as a team. Once we started doing those things, the season turned around for us, and we started winning games.”
Washington’s breakout story was second-year center Kevin Seraphin, who started the final 15 games of the year, averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds after the team traded for Nene.
“I really like this coach because he gives me my opportunity,” Seraphin said. “And I like Flip, too. He don’t really let me play. So I like Witt. After Flip go, I had a meeting with him. He was like, ‘Now you will get your opportunity. You will play. So now you have to get it.’ That’s how I did.”
It’s harder to say whether Witt?man’s own opportunity will continue.
– Craig Stouffer
