NYT: Van Gundy Still Trying to Play Down Image

Van Gundy Still Trying to Play Down Image
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/22/sports/basketball/22vangundy.html

By IRA BERKOW

Published: January 22, 2005

For many Knicks fans, the first image of Jeff Van Gundy is his wrapping himself around Alonzo Mourning's leg like a barnacle.

"I know it is," Van Gundy said with a wan smile and a shrug before his team, the Houston Rockets, defeated the Knicks, 92-91, last night at Madison Square Garden. "It's shown over and over and over again in highlight films."

The bizarre scene took place in the last seconds of Game 4 of the Knicks' playoff series with the Miami Heat in 1998 at the Garden. Mourning and Larry Johnson got into a scuffle, and the 5-foot-9 Van Gundy raced off the bench to attach himself to the 6-10 Mourning in an attempt to protect his player, Johnson, who happened to be built like a tank.

"If I had it to do over, I would not have gone out and looked like a fool," Van Gundy said. "I was crazed. I didn't know what I was doing. Some people have said to me, 'What were you thinking?' The answer is, I wasn't thinking. I was just reacting."

There are other memories of Van Gundy here, like his being the coach of Knicks teams that were annual participants in the playoffs. That is a delicious recollection for New York fans who now follow a team with a 17-22 record and shaky postseason possibilities.

Van Gundy added to the Knicks' uncertainty last night as Scott Padgett's driving last-second shot gave the Rockets the victory.

"This isn't the same as coming back to the Garden for the first time," Van Gundy said before the game.

He returned for the first time last season, his first with Houston after having quit as coach of the Knicks in December 2001. "But it's still special," he said. "It's the Garden."

He was asked about Lenny Wilkens, the Knicks' coach, whose job seems to be in jeopardy.

"I admire Lenny," Van Gundy said. "I admire his calm demeanor. He's been an excellent coach for years in this league. And with that experience he knows things go from good to bad and from bad to good real quick."

Van Gundy added: "When you're going good, there's no better place to be than New York. When you're going bad, well, it can be difficult."

While New York has a reputation for being a tough place for sports figures because of the news media and the fans, Van Gundy said it was a myth. "I think they were fair to me," he said. "I like the scrutiny. I like the passion. You take the good with the bad."

He said his team, which is 22 -19, was "battling mediocrity."

That is even with the acquisition this season of Tracy McGrady. The Rockets are one of the oldest teams in the league and lack the speed and athleticism of many opponents. The trade that brought McGrady to the Rockets and sent Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to the Orlando Magic gave Houston one of the best players in the league but took away Francis, a point guard who was a creative force.

"It was overhyped and overplayed about negatives about Steve," Van Gundy said. "But he had a good year last year and helped us get into the playoffs for the first time in five years. He made it easier for everybody, and he made good decisions on when to defer to Yao and when to attack. He's now made a big difference with Orlando."

Orlando has improved markedly - the return of the injury-riddled Grant Hill has also been a significant factor - while the Rockets have not.

"Every team has talent," Van Gundy said, "but the best teams have their best player as the best worker, the best practice player, the player who plays through pain. Tim Duncan is a perfect example of that. That's why, for example, San Antonio is the best team in the league, and was the best team last year though they didn't win the championship."

Last night, the Rockets' McGrady was such a player, finishing with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Perhaps the biggest test for Van Gundy's team is to take advantage of the talent of the 7-6 center from China, Yao Ming, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds last night. Patrick Ewing, the longtime star center of the Knicks, has been coaching Yao.

"Patrick had an intensity level that is hard to teach," Van Gundy said. "He was born with size, though not necessarily with the most ability. But for the 12 hours before a game, he would get himself into a rage to play. Yao doesn't have that kind of personality. But what he does have is great poise. That also serves him well."

Van Gundy was asked, if he had it to do over again, whether he should have stayed at Yale after his freshman year, instead of transferring to a junior college in California to get more playing time on a basketball team.

He considered the question. "My mother thinks so," he said, with raised eyebrows.

 

http://www.nynewsday.com/sports/bas...009jan22,0,6542223.story?coll=ny-knicks-print

Jeff: If I could do it again, I would have stayed longer

BY ANTHONY RIEBER
STAFF WRITER

January 22, 2005

If you're wondering if Jeff Van Gundy has changed since he left the Knicks, consider his response when someone said his Houston Rockets have been playing well of late.

"Not really," he said, a trademark can of Diet Coke in his left hand.

"We played OK [Thursday in a 108-99 win in Orlando]. Two games before that we were pretty bad. Four games before that we were pretty good. I think us and the Knicks are very similar in that we're struggling to break through mediocrity."

That's the Van Gundy Knicks fans know and love - frumpy and cranky and demanding and always seeing the glass as half-empty. But he's a reminder of past Madison Square Garden glory, which is why he received a warm ovation before Friday night's game against the Knicks. The Rockets (22-19) won, 92-91, on Scott Padgett's off-balance shot at the buzzer.

Van Gundy comes back to New York only once a season. This was his second time as an opposing coach at the Garden since he resigned 19 games into the 2001-02 season, a decision he says he now wishes he had delayed.

"Did it end badly for me?" he said. "No. Well ... Didn't end badly, could have ended better. There's no doubt that when you leave a place after being in a place for so long, to say there's no regret, that would not be truthful. If I had a total do-over . . . I knew it was time, I knew they thought it was time. I should have done it at the end of the season."

In Van Gundy's first Garden return, on Jan. 8, 2004, the Rockets blew out the Knicks, 111-79. Knicks fans chanted Van Gundy's name and called for the firing of Don Chaney.

There were no such chants calling for the head of Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens on Friday, although the loss was the ninth defeat in the last 10 games for the Knicks (17-22). Van Gundy, who was smart enough to get out before the Knicks got bad and before his head was on a platter, said he felt for Wilkens.

"If you look at Lenny Wilkens, he's proven to be an excellent coach wherever he's been," Van Gundy said. "If you're not going to give him all the credit for the wins, then he shouldn't be getting all the blame when he loses."

Van Gundy also was typically tough on his Rockets, who have won 16 of 24 after a 6-11 start. He knows the trade for Tracy McGrady made Houston a trendy preseason pick, but the supporting cast doesn't support that assumption in the rough Western Conference.

McGrady had 35 points Friday and Yao Ming had 22 points and 12 rebounds, but Padgett (12) was the only other Rocket in double figures.

"We were the seventh seed last year, the West is better this year, we've had more injuries than we had last year," Van Gundy said.

"That's why it's always a struggle."