What’s Rick Pitino getting paid these days for giving a motivational speech?

Whatever it is, I’m worth twice as much.

Success Is A Choice was Ricky P’s sales pitch in that best-selling, self-help book he wrote with a former Brown basketball player whose name escapes me at the moment. Unfortunately, the Celtics didn’t buy it. The concept, that is. I don’t know about the book. Instead of choosing success, the Celts opted for mediocrity, and Ricky P. returned to college coaching, where he’s much better off and the C’s now are one of the worst teams in the NBA.

My motivational techniques are much more effective.

As proven Wednesday, when I wrote a column saying Boston College fans shouldn’t rush the court after beating unranked Duke.

“And you will beat Duke. Everybody beats Duke now,” I wrote authoritatively, if not exactly accurately.

As it turned out, the only thing BC fans were rushing for was the exits, after the Eagles, who came into the game leading the ACC, fell behind by 24 points to the Blue Devils, who had lost four straight conference games.

As a result, I’ve been inundated with e-mails from Duke fans, thanking me for inspiring their team.

Hey, anything I can do to help the underprivileged, I always say.

Many of these same fans also suggested that I consider a career change and, the more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that they might be on to something.

I could become a motivational expert, specializing in sports — a sort of Knute Rockne with a pen, if you will.

I certainly have plenty of testimonials from grateful Duke fans, attesting to my effectiveness.

“I realize,” a Blue Devils devotee named Bruce wrote, “that Duke fans may be ripping you apart after your latest article on the BC game, but I just want to say, ‘Thank you.’ I’m sure your article was used as motivation for the Blue Devils. I was just wondering if you could write up something by Sunday on how Georgia Tech is going to have an expected win against Duke?”

Sure, Bruce. Be glad to. Here goes: “The Blue Devils were lucky beyond belief to beat the Eagles. There’s no way they can win two in a row, the way they’re playing. Not even in Cameron Indoor Stadium against Georgia Tech, which wins on the road in the ACC about as often as a kid with SAT scores under 800 is admitted to Duke.”

There, that ought to do it. You know, I really think I have a future doing this. And there are plenty of Duke fans who concur.

“Thanks for providing the bulletin board material we needed,” Jamal Speller wrote shortly before the Blue Devils tipped off against the Eagles in Chestnut Hill.

He was too kind, so I responded with my customary modesty.

“I really don’t think,” I replied, “the Blue Devils need any bulletin board material after dropping four straight ACC games.”

But Jamal insisted.

“Don’t kid yourself,” he said. “Every little bit of motivation helps.”

And, apparently, I provided quite a bit.

“I’d like to thank you,” John Ross wrote, “for providing the bulletin board material which may have single-handedly inspired Duke out of its funk.”

Flattering. Truly flattering. And there were lots more.

“I grew up in Rhode Island, reading the Providence Journal sports section regularly,” wrote Andrew Byrnes of Baltimore. “In 1993, I moved away and ultimately wound up in Durham, attending grad school at Duke. I was surprised when I found your article linked on the front page of the Duke Basketball Report Web site. I’d be willing to bet your article found its way to the Duke coaching staff and that it was used — quite effectively — as a motivational tool.”

I probably should note here that a number of other Duke fans called me a “tool,” leaving out the adjective “motivational” in their haste to congratulate me on my keenly-prescient piece.

Not Greg Staton, though.

“A humble request from this Duke fan,” he wrote oh-so-politely. “Could you please write previews for the remainder of Duke’s games?”

There were others, I must admit, who suggested I never again write about college basketball — or any other sport.

“Thank you for being the dumbest sportswriter in all of America,” wrote David Hoyt in what, given my limited intelligence, I think is a backhanded compliment.

But I dismissed the particularly critical comments as coming from certified Cameron crazies, and focused only on those lauding my heretofore unrecognized talents for inspiring young athletes.

“Thanks for the motivation,” Joe Rone wrote. “I wonder how many reprints of your article were presented to the players by coach K?”

I wonder, though, if I was just lucky? If I’m only a one-hit wonder. So I’m going to try a little experiment with tomorrow’s games involving PC and URI. Here goes:

“The Rams’ bubble is about to burst. There’s no way URI belongs on top of the A-10. It’s high time they came back down to earth and started playing like the second-division team everybody thought they would be when the season started. Sure as you can’t spell Ryan Center with CVS, Charlotte is going to rout the Rams.”

As for the Friars . . .

“They may not win again the rest of the season. And to think that PC fans were hoping for an NCAA Tournament bid. After the Friars fade in the stretch run like a sore-legged horse, they won’t even get a sniff from the NIT selection committee.”

There. Now we’ll find out this weekend whether I’m better as a motivator than I am as a sports writer.

jdonalds@projo.com