Mario Elie was on 610 again today, stating that he will contact JVG about having him on his staff. It would be nice to have at least one Rocket link on the staff. However, I am sure Yetti won't like him since he will be considered a "Trainee assistant coach".
JVG should have a 'FRESH' approach and leave his old Coaches in NY!! Patrick Ewing should stay put in the job he is in!! This Team should be coached not as NY but as the Houston Rockets, he should pick appropriate coaches to carry out his NEW Game Plan.
codell:- Quite the opposite I WANT MARIO ELLIE because he has the way with all that our old Assistants DIDNT HAVE. I am sure he will do us a lot of good, especially when he shows what it means to be a gutsy player! A mind set which has been missing from the Rox.
I will be the first to admit I know nothing about assistant coaches other than Larry Smith sucks and please don't bring Patrick Ewing, he failed in Washington, not suggesting that anyone could have succeeded considering K. Brown might be the greatest underachieving number 1 pick in the history of the NBA draft. Other than that, I'm sure JVG will very tactful in choosing is assistants.
Let me start by saying that I have rooted AGAINST Patrick Ewing since he was at Georgetown(college). He was in competition with Hakeem(UH) for both the national championship, and the best center/player in the land. After Georgetown beat UH in the NCAA title game, I've rooted against him all the more. After we beat the Knicks for the title in '94, my favorite moment(other than the celebrating) was when the Knicks were walking off the court after game 7, and someone threw a streamer down near Ewing. He had to jerk his head sideways to keep from getting hit, as he was going(head down) to the dressing room. Kinda like adding insult to injury(defeat). Hakeem had his payback, and we had our championship. With that said, I have always respected Ewing as a player, and I think that he might be able to teach Yao Ming a thing or two. I think Ewings' style of play/skillset is(was) closer to what Yao Ming could develope than Hakeems', especially on the defensive end. Hakeem was an ultra-athletic center who could jump, and re-jump quicker than most players could go up once. He could be out of position, and still recover in time to make the play. Yao is not this type of player. Ewing, on the other hand, was not nearly as athletic, but was taller, and longer(like Yao), and played good position/team defense. His teams have always been very good defensively. Another good thing about Patrick was that he didn't get into foul trouble that much. He knew when to go for the block, and when to just stand in front of his man, and hold his hands up. I think Yao could become this type of defender a lot easier than he could become another Hakeem type. To me, Ewing has always been the enemy, but I would give him a chance as an assistant coach. Just don't let him take Yao out at night to party.
What about Keith Jones?????? This is one guy I do want to hang onto. I believe he holds another position with the team besides head trainer....He seems to have a great chemistry with the players, and is well known. Supposedly, he's one of the best at what he does.
Well, at leaset Mario wont let players slack off or get soft. It was Mario that taught the Spurs how to be tough in 1999. Mental and physical toughness.
i guess all the former knicks are taking the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach. just say no to patrick ewing.
The assistants that Jeff had in New York were pretty good. I think they are coming along with him to Houston. And Mario Elie and Patrick Ewing would be good additions. Also...I think we need an assistant coach just for offense...like Eddie Jordan, Rick Carlisle, or Jim Cleamons....or like a Del Harris on defense for offense. That would be nice. I don't know who though!
