BOO, boo this man! Stop raggin' on JVG; the man is going to lead the Rockets to multiple titles SOON. He has the Rockets playing great defense and will have this new team playing smart basketball. Screw the young players. All the young guys on this team for the most part know how to play anyways. The only thing that matters about him is if he's leading the Rockets to wins. He will be, 55-60 of them this year.
edc, roc paint, thefreak, oldmanrock, are the dark haired dudes down the hall with the kiss makeup hanging with the gothics. and we know RocketRich sent you(lytruc) as his jeff van guny hater hate monger butter spreader. you guys should take up muralastic gansta wall spray painting
interesting comments.... the post wasn't meant to bash JVG, but simply point out why players like Kirk Henrich, Jiri Welsh, Rodney White, and Nikoli Tskitishvili won't ever be on the roster anytime soon. But, instead we have players like Charlie Ward and Bobby Sura, which by the way if you haven't heard is injured. Why wasn't Gaines sent to Summer League? For those Boki fans out there... Why are the Rockets looking into getting Ryan Bowen? Oh, and what ever happened to the Knicks... they became old because they didn't develop players, and what did JVG do? I don't hate JVG. But, if another dinosaur is added to the roster, and we're wondering why were so "cursed" with injuries, it just makes me think, "has JVG ever developed a player."
I don't think he has really developed anyone from a rookie standpoint and made them a superstar but i believe his mentality and his ability to teach hard nosed defense and fundementals goes a long way with even veterans.
Has JVG ever developed a player? .... and why does that matter? Has Phil Jackson ever "developed" a player? The answer to both is No, but JVG has come in and helped Ming at an early stage in his career. Jackson never did that, at least with players that actually start contributing while under his reign.
For the most part, I like JVG, I think he is a good coach and I dont have a problem with him coaching this team. But I have reservations on his ability to give younger players chances to succeed. They are going to make mistakes. But they need to get out there. I think his leash is too strick sometimes. I think the younger players are too afraid to fail. With that said, as long as YAO develops, that's all that really matters. With Yao and Tmac we can plug in guys to fit our needs.
I don't care if JVG doesn't develop players as long as he can help develop a championship. Who cares of you've got a team of 30+ year olds or 20+ year olds? Most championship teams have good talent (whether they be young or old) surrounded by veteran role players.
You know, Yao is developing pretty well under JVG. JVG hasn't developed many players because he hasn't had many young players to deal with. His Knicks teams consisted of veterans and low draft picks. Granted, Sloan was able to develop a ton of low 1st rounders, but most other coaches can't do that.
I take it from the lack of examples that there are none. I'll spare myself the trouble of looking at the Knicks rosters of old to find one. Francis, Mobley and Jackson don't count, they were vets. Yao maybe, but it doesn't really seem like his career took a different trajectory after JVG took over. I suppose it is too JVG's credit that Yao's game didn't take a dive because of him, like Francis'. He seems to know his strengths and weaknesses. He's apparently not good at getting production from young potential, so he stays away from it and gets veterans instead. Since he already has his 2 studs to build around, that probably won't be a problem for him. I certainly wouldn't hire him for a rebuilding effort though.
JVG is good with post players, not really developing them, but making it easier for them to succeed. If your game relies heavily on penetration, uuuhhhhh... Practice your jump shooting...
It could be easily argued that Larry Brown, considered by many to be the best coach working, has never developed a player. Pat Riley never really developed guys. He motivated and organized, but didn't develop. I think player development is something that is overrated for big time winning coaches in the NBA. I think that is more on the staff that is around head coaches than on the head coaches themselves. A head coach's job is more to provide motivation, preparation and adjustment than development.
A good question would be, "What championship-calliber coach WOULD you hire to develop young talent?" The vast majority of the big time coaches - Pat Riley (now a GM), Larry Brown, Phil Jackson - are notorious for NOT developing young talent. Riley and Brown have even been accused of holding young guys back and not allowing them to play early on. Again, I think this is not a very good guage of coaching talent.
Sorry, I forgot about your magic crystal ball that lets you see into the future. So, the fact that JVG hasn't won a championship means he never will. That ends that discussion.