What's Next For Riley?

So where does Pat Riley go from here?

How about anywhere he wants.

More importantly, anywhere he wants anytime he wishes.

Riley, the Heat president and former coach, will be formally enshrined in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. It's been a long journey for Riley, who has all but three fingers covered in NBA championship bling (5 titles as a coach, 1 as a player, 1 as an assistant).

Friday's honor has been a long time coming for Riley, who has been in the NBA game in one capacity or another for 37 years. After stepping aside after the Heat's dismal 15-67 season, Riley insists he's retired from coaching for good this time. He'll remain busy running the team as president.

Recently, I asked Riley was he certain he wouldn't have a Brett Favre moment, and reconsider as he was preparing his Hall of Fame speech.

"No. Not at all. Absolutely not," he vowed.

Then, he laughed. And then, he spoke like a man finally at peace with the entire process.

"For 25 years, it’s always been from September to the end of the season. It’s 25 years of schedule, practice, games, flights and hotels, and it’s never ever changed," Riley said. "During that time, you never get the chance to do anything other than be a coach or player. It’s glamorous, but it’s very monotonous and it can get to you. It takes its toll over the years. And it has done that to me. Everything (wife) Chris and I have done as a family over the summer has been a fastbreak. Get it done quick, get it done now."

Now, Riley insists, that will change.

"Whatever interest I have out there and whatever friends I have, I will have more time as president, even though that will keep me busy, to do other things," Riley said. "To follow other ventures without being involved in the spotlight."

Among those ventures, Riley said, will include longer vacations, more travel with family and friends and "a meaningful, very meaningful commitment" to philanthropic and public service efforts.

Riley said he also plans to take on more book projects. And he isn't completely done with coaching.

"At times, I will coach a kid, coach a player (individually)," he said. "At times, I may go talk to a junior college. Teach, motivate, inspire people. I'm not completely done yet. I think I still have a lot to offer. So this won't bring my career to an end. It's going to be a lot more fun this time."

I had a chance to spend the day in Riley's hometown of Schenectady, N.Y., about a 90-minute drive from the Springfield, Mass. Hall of Fame site, and spoke to a lot of his old friends and long-time associates. They seemed as excited about the Hall of Fame deal as Riley. Check Friday's newspaper and online edition for our story on Riley's deep roots in this town.

Here are some photos (albeit poorly taken by some amateur with a camera phone who will remain nameless) from Riley's hometown:

  Although Riley and his family no longer occupy this home on 58 Spruce Street, neighbors remain fond of the house where Pat grew up.

These are the basketball courts at Central Park, where Riley first caught the eye of Linton High's basketball coaches as a dominant ninth-grader coming out of junior high school. Central Park was also a hangout where friends and family went to listen to University of Kentucky games on the radio because the signal was better in the park than in most homes.

Walk into the Pat Riley Sports Complex at Schenectady High, and this is the mural that greets you above the double doors. It's a painting of Riley in his old high school uniform. He was an All-American at Linton High.

Again, pardon my camera phone's lack of focus on this one (and the rest of them, too), but squint your eyes and notice the sign above the bleachers. It says, Pat Riley Sports Center. The facility serves as the main gym for Schenectady's high school athletic teams.

This is Pat Riley's trophy case in the Hall of Fame wing of the Riley Sports Center. Among the trophies in the case is the one Linton received after Riley's team upset Power Memorial, which featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The two were even more successful as coach and player with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s.

Comments

[heatstroked]

Riley said he also plans to take on more book projects. And he isn't completely done with coaching.
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Good stuff.

An update to "The Winner Within" -- which was published in 1993 and does *not* include his time with the Heat -- would be nice and long overdue.

I'd also like to see Riley step back and assess the NBA game (in another book), e.g., conduct an objective study of game-related trends oncourt and off, both foreign and domestic, that might trigger fresh insights and ideas for the Heat as well as the league.

P.S. The pics were fine but why are you guys stuck with camera phones for road assignments? I'd be willing to donate a Flip or SmallWonder if you'd post the videos to your blog.

[Shawn]

Pat Riley, a true Hall of Famer. We are lucky to have him running the Heat!

9/11 was an inside job

checkout wtc7.net & watch the collapse videos

learn the truth

[mindrangr]

I feel better with Riley either on the sidelines or as a GM, but not both.

Great job and congratulations Pat!!!

[Gilbert Wesley Purdy]

I was a Laker fan because of players like Magic Johnson and Kareem. When their day ended, and Pat Riley went on to coach the Knicks, I returned, after many years, to being a Knick fan because he was the coach and a fellow Schenectadian to boot. When I moved to Florida, Riles followed me down and picked up Zo and I was an instant Heat fan.

The only time Riles ever seriously disappointed me, in all those years, was when he went to the well once to often, handing the ball back to John Starks again and again in game seven of the championship series against the Rockets. He'd spent the entire series keeping Ewing fresh and relatively foul free by putting Mason on Olajuwon. It was time to go down low. He might just have another ring, now, if he'd gone to Patrick in the post instead of depending on Starks from the perimeter every time up the court.

The Miami championship was a lot of fun. Wade and Beasley (and Marion?) promise an exciting and successful future. Riley's a winner but should he move again he'll learn (much to his regret I'm sure) that I'm even more a Wade fan now. Go Heat! Best wishes Pat Riley wherever you may be.

Hey, Dwyane! Does this get me in your Five?