Van Gundy trying to get Rockets to share the ball October 28, 2003 By Aaron Rennie SportsTicker Staff Writer JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) - The Houston Rockets begin their season October 30, which means workaholic new coach Jeff Van Gundy once again will be sporting deep, dark bags under his eyes by Halloween. But Van Gundy need not stress out over his new squad as he did over the New York Knicks, whom he coached from March 1996 to December 2001, when he abruptly quit the team. The Knicks fought hard under Van Gundy but were too old, too plodding, too short. The current Rockets squad is young and exciting - thank you, Steve Francis - and has an imminent superstar Yao Ming, a 7-5 center with outstanding footwork and passing ability who entering just his second season. Van Gundy's first chore is reprogramming the inner workings of Francis and fellow guard Cuttino Mobley to have them initiate the offense through Yao, something former coach Rudy Tomjanovich had no success with last season. "The ball is an issue that can divide a team," Van Gundy said. "It's the single biggest issue that can divide a team. We have to make sure the ball isn't an issue." The Rockets were a respectable 43-39 in the rugged Western Conference last season but missed out on the eighth and final playoff berth by one game to the Phoenix Suns, who were much better at incorporating their star rookie, forward Amare Stoudemire. Not coincidentally, Stoudemire edged Yao for Rookie of the Year. Swingman Jim Jackson, who signed with Houston as a free agent, recalls being underwhelmed by the Rockets' play while with Sacramento last season. "(They were) a team with potential, a lot of young faces, a team that needs to be a little more disciplined," Jackson said. "That's what happens with young teams. I understand that. You look at the championship-caliber teams, the one thing they have is discipline, the Lakers, San Antonio, the old Bulls teams, Detroit." But as much as Van Gundy would like for his guards to work the ball through Yao in the low post, it will not be easy for him to convince Francis to rethink how he plays the game - especially since no one has been able to shut down his aggressive, fearless style. "I've been playing the same way since I was 9 years old," Francis said. "I don't think it was getting into bad habits. You don't want to put a brake on things you've spent countless hours working on." Still, Francis seems amenable to listening to Van Gundy, a tireless worker, the son of a coach and a former collegiate point guard. "(He's) very precise. Consistent in what he believes in," Francis said. "He has lined up what he wants accomplished and what he expects of us as a team. The first meeting you have with him, he gives you an agenda of the things he expects. I think he has the swagger you need to be successful in this league." Van Gundy already has had success, guiding the eighth-seeded Knicks into the 1999 NBA Finals despite an injury to future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing. In selecting his staff, Van Gundy reached out to Ewing, who among other things will help tutor Yao, backup center Kelvin Cato and forwards Maurice Taylor and Eddie Griffin. Griffin admitted that Tomjanovich's hands-off style sometimes made him too nice. "I think that's good for some players and bad for some players," Griffin said early in the preseason. "Some players need a coach that's like a father figure and some players need a coach who's going to chew them up, get them focused. "It looks like (Van Gundy is) going to be the coach who lets you know what you're doing wrong. He doesn't care who you are. He wants everything done his way. That's exactly what we need." Griffin's words proved prophetic just a couple of weeks later, when Van Gundy indefinitely suspended the talented but troubled small forward for skipping practices. "He's honest. He's going to tell you a lot of stuff you don't want to hear," Taylor said. "He's a stickler for detail. He's going to tell you what he thinks, and as professionals you have to accept that or you're not going to play." Van Gundy must have said something to Taylor, who averaged a meager 8.4 points per game last season after bloating up to nearly 300 pounds. The power forward arrived at training camp at a much more svelte 254. "I haven't been 254 since Krispy Kreme franchises came into effect," Taylor said. A basketball lifer who appeared relaxed and content as an analyst for TNT after leaving the Knicks, Van Gundy hopes his two-year break will give him some more perspective on the game. "Since I've become the coach I've been asked to self-analyze my own personality so much, I feel like I'm sitting on psychiatrist's couch," Van Gundy said. "Did TV change me? Am I are more balanced? (Will I) not react so harshly after losses? I'm not so sure how I'm going to react. Until you win or lose, you really don't know." But although it is in his nature to hyperanalyze his team and develop an owlish appearance, Van Gundy should see his dedication to teaching a smarter style of play rewarded with the franchise's first playoff berth in five seasons. And the coach already seems uncharacteristically giddy about working with the team-first Yao, who soon may become an unstoppable force under the basket. "You don't really know all about him until you work with a guy, see how driven he is," Van Gundy said. "You can tell he's very respectful and polite. The four things you never expect to hear from a NBA player is, 'please,' 'thank you,' 'my fault' and 'I'll take the check.' He's already used three of them. And hopefully, he'll take the check." If Van Gundy can convince Francis and Mobley to share the ball, the coach may even pick up a check himself. Updated on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2003 6:08 am EST
I like people who can laugh at themselves and who don't take themselves too seriously . That quote could have been straight from here, by the way! Overall, nothing new in the article, but nice compilation.
