1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Kevin McHale's candid comments about coaching this team

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Feb 22, 2012.

  1. Clutch

    Clutch Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 1999
    Messages:
    22,950
    Likes Received:
    33,697
    I <a href="https://twitter.com/?#!/clutchfans/status/172526621515972608">tweeted about this</a> but there's a lot more I wanted to say about this than one could post in 140 characters.

    McHale can be guarded in his comments -- he's tough and hard-nosed. That wasn't the case here... he was very open about how proud he is of the team and how far they've come since training camp.

    Here's video of the post-game press conference:
    http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2012/02/22/McHale022212MOV-2012782/index.html

    "34 games this season in totality, the guys have come from where we came from that first 5-minute scrimmage on December 9th where it was actually frightening. I literally went home and almost cried myself to sleep. That was like the worst basketball I've ever seen in my life. I had 10 guys holding their shorts after a minute and a half and I thought, 'Oh my word, we may not win a game this year. I wonder what 0-66 would look like.'

    Those guys have worked really hard and they've battled. I'm proud of them. (They're) buying in to the fact that they're just going to have to sometimes win ugly.
    .....
    We've got a long way to go yet but I'm proud of the guys. I'll be honest with you, they went from a group that was really, really, really hard for me to coach, to a group that I'm actually starting to enjoy a little bit, but I don't want to enjoy them too much. We'll lose our edge.
    .....
    I slept about an hour after the Minnesota game. I watched it like 5 times. I had myself so worked up at 3 o'clock in the morning I was calling people, then I knew I lost my mind. Nobody wants to talk to me at 3 o'clock in the morning. The worst thing is I tried to call people on the East coast so it was 4. I was so pissed. I [couldn't] sleep when I played poorly. That game bothered me so much. I wake up the next morning, I finally made a pot of coffee and said I'm just going to stew for 3 or 4 hours while I sit here. Then I honestly wondered, 'What am I doing? Why did I take this job? I've got to be out of my mind.' Then the guys battled back. We have a hellfight practice and it's a 2-hour film session, you jump knee-deep in them and they respond and you go, 'Ahh I love coaching!' I'm a nutjob when it comes to (that)... but I was like that as a player."
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. OlajuwonFan81

    OlajuwonFan81 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2008
    Messages:
    2,671
    Likes Received:
    186
    I think all of the Mchale haters need to finally admit this guy is a legit coach.
     
  3. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2006
    Messages:
    99,441
    Likes Received:
    49,131
    roller coaster of emotions
    good stuff
     
  4. TheresTheDagger

    Joined:
    May 20, 2010
    Messages:
    10,110
    Likes Received:
    7,766
    That sounds like what I was doing after the TWolves game.
     
  5. Scionxa

    Scionxa Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2010
    Messages:
    4,155
    Likes Received:
    224
    I have definitely gained a lot of respect for Mchale as a coach. I like his old school style. It lights fires under guys asses
     
  6. Carl Herrera

    Carl Herrera Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2007
    Messages:
    45,153
    Likes Received:
    21,575
    He is gonna lose all of his hair and shrink to 5'6" like Jeff Van Gundy by the end of the season.
     
  7. Yao11

    Yao11 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2006
    Messages:
    865
    Likes Received:
    80
    His honesty really reminds me of how honest JVG can be sometimes. I love that in a coach.
     
  8. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 1999
    Messages:
    128,989
    Likes Received:
    39,458
    JVG is whom he reminds me of, a defensively oriented coach who demands everyone plays hard.

    Love the bit about accountability, can not stand their lack of creativity on offense.

    Our offense just is not pretty to watch, and I feel will be exposed big time in the playoffs just like JVG's always were.

    Oh well, it tis, what tit tis.

    DD
     
  9. infinitidoug

    infinitidoug Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2010
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    26
    LOLOL

    I can see him running onto the court to defend his players in a fight :)
     
  10. durvasa

    durvasa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Messages:
    38,893
    Likes Received:
    16,449
    He's getting there ...

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2002
    Messages:
    46,550
    Likes Received:
    6,132
    Gotta love the passion.
     
  12. RoxBeliever

    RoxBeliever Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,608
    Likes Received:
    134
    It's not just a job to him. So he feels for the team just like we feel for them.

    I hope that Kyle Lowry has already realized how much alike McHale and he really are in terms of toughness and not being willing to lose. McHale may not have the X's and O's of the game all figured out yet but he's a bulldog when it comes to demanding defense and effort.
     
  13. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2006
    Messages:
    99,441
    Likes Received:
    49,131
    we did not have an offensive minded bench at that time.
    If we could get it going off the bench... that would be perfect.
     
  14. kharboosa

    kharboosa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2009
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    6
    He has passion for the game, which I respect a great deal. The great ones always have passion, and more often than not they usually end up winning it all sooner or later.

    I thought this hiring was a horrible mistake,especially after the first few games of the season. I was dead wrong. Once again, DMorey proving us all wrong again. Why I ever doubt this man is beyond me.
     
  15. cod

    cod Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2010
    Messages:
    3,672
    Likes Received:
    81
    If he's warming up to the occasional use of Adelman's playbook. Maybe he can adopt Adelman's philosophy of never being too high, never too low. Then he'll be able to get more sleep.
     
  16. durvasa

    durvasa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Messages:
    38,893
    Likes Received:
    16,449
    Its a good philosophy for an experienced, veteran team. For a young team that's learning how to play with consistent effort, a little extra passion and exuberance from the head coach seems appropriate.

    Not that Adelman can't be successful as a coach for a young squad. He's proving his excellence in Minnesota, once again.
     
  17. Aleron

    Aleron Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    Messages:
    11,685
    Likes Received:
    1,113
    it's not our offense that will be exposed in the playoffs, heck the lakers and spurs offense are the most boring things going.

    It's the lack of talent over a 7 game series that'll get exposed.
     
    1 person likes this.
  18. zhen_hui88

    zhen_hui88 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2012
    Messages:
    30
    Likes Received:
    1
    Preach it, brother!!!!
     
  19. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2000
    Messages:
    9,013
    Likes Received:
    7,250
    I like that McHale is honest. I can't get the video to play right now but I am wondering if he illustrated at all what made them hard to coach? In a way, that statement rubs me the wrong way.
     
  20. thetatomatis

    thetatomatis Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2010
    Messages:
    5,699
    Likes Received:
    101
    I think it is possible with experience to get better at his job. I think thats what happened here with Kevin Mc Hale. I think he improved his coaching over time. We get the benifit of that right now as he has his experience showing up at this moment.
     

Share This Page