For most of his early life, Mike Procopio had to deal with grief over his nickname, “Sweetchuck”, which was given to him based on the nerdy Carl Sweetchuck character from the Police Academy series.
"My friends used to always beat the crap out of me,'' he told SI.com. "I thought the nickname was quarantined at the city limits."
Sweetchuck may be the most flattering name he'll be called in the coming months as he's likely going to hear "traitor" or "backstabber" with those famous Bostonian F-word adjectives placed in front.
Procopio, a longtime Celtics fan, is credited with helping Kobe Bryant scout the Celtics during the NBA Finals. According to Bryant, it was Procopio‘s tips that helped give him an edge.
"He's my Jack Bauer," Bryant said. "He gave me all the edits and scouting reports and wrote defensive rotations of the Celtics. He was my eyes and ears, so when I played the game I'd use all the scouting reports and all the information. And it was huge for me."
For Procopio, he’s just doing his job.
"I have a bunch of childhood friends who won't talk to me anymore [and] I've been called every name in the book," said Procopio. "But for me, it's not personal at all. It's business. I have the best player on the planet asking me for advice, and what am I going to do?"
It was his straightforward attitude that got Kobe’s attention. The 5-foot-7 Procopio never succeeded on the court as well as he has off of it, but it has been his pure love of the game and down-to-earth attitude that has helped him climb through the ranks. He went from Junior Varsity head coach at Revere High School, to scout for the Celtics, to director of basketball operations for ATTACK Athletics and coveted adviser to the pros.
"I think he likes the fact I'm a little different, a little off," said Procopio. "I just work. I don't ask for tickets, I don't ask for shoes or any of that. I try to argue my way out of going to the games."
He may be arguing his way out of a lot more games at the Garden next season, since Celtics fans may not appreciate how well he does his job.
