Good article on JVG. Talks about his obsession over losses and need to "lighten up"/change (Ewing's suggestion). Mentions that he meets with his coaching staff at Manhattan Pizza- where is that? Also puts in a slight jab at Francis, not really fair if you ask me.
Just to clarify, that was the writer taking a shot at Steve, not JVG. I really like JVG's comment about us being in a "bad, bad situation" in trying to break the cycle of mediocrity. The edge that JVG brings to the table is, I think, a plus.
Do you have a link? This sounds like an old article which was posted several weeks ago. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64551
Not sure. I bought U.S.A. Today this morning, and it was in one of the two sports sections (I think it was in the 2nd one with Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis on the front).
Oh, & there is another one on Ewing: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/rockets/2003-09-25-ewing_x.htm
I liked this part of the article.... "Kelvin's been looking for his earrings, Coach." Van Gundy reaches into his right pocket and pulls out the two diamonds Kelvin Cato mistakenly thought he could wear during a voluntary 3-on-3 drill. Kelvin, can you spell "discipline"?
At least we know Cato was there for the 'voluntary' games. That's a good sign. Don't know about Francis, Cat & Griffin , though... Where are they?
I hope it doesn't go the other way, though. by whatever voodoo magic, Rudy seemed to have unlocked a pretty productive Cato last year. I hope newcoach's hardline will work as effectively with fragile Kelvin. honestly, I could see this Van Gundy-Ewing thing working very well or also blowing up and failing monumentally. Francis, Yao, Cuttino, Griffin, Cato, Van Gundy, Ewing. . . all in all, it seems like a weird mix of egos and personalities.
It's a shame we have to go to newspapers outside of Houston for articles on our own team. Wake up Houston Chronicle.
Was their a Van Gundy poster in USA Today? I want a poster of Jeff Van Gundy. I'm not going to put it on my wall, but on the ceiling over my bed. I want to wake up to the Van Gundy Sunshine.
This is the best part of the article... "Challenge is an every night phenomenon in the Western Conference, and Van Gundy has little clue how — or if — his Rockets will embrace it. Van Gundy won't say so, but he'd clearly be happier if the likes of Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Eddie Griffin showed up for Houston's voluntary 3-on-3 workouts. Yao has an excuse; he's playing in the Asian Games. Van Gundy has sent him playbooks and tapes, and Yao emails back from China "with messages so polite," the Rockets coach says, "you say to yourself, 'This can't be a player.' He says things like, 'My best wishes to you and your family.'" Sometimes Van Gundy thinks he's the one speaking Mandarin in Houston; yes, there have been a few "My Cousin Vinny" moments. "He got off the plane and kept looking for cactus and desert," says Rockets GM Carroll Dawson. "He kept saying, 'You have a lot of green grass here.'" When one cowboy greeted him by saying, "Hey Van Gundy, what's going on?" the coach snapped, "Why do you want to know?" before apologizing for his Times Square sensibilities. When one Rockets suite holder promised that Houston fans won't boo too loudly on the bad nights, Van Gundy said, "I hope you do. The greatest thing about New York was that you were held accountable every night." Van Gundy still reads the New York tabloids every day, over the Internet. He is slightly homesick, even though he's found a comfortable home. "I told him in Texas the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee is that the Yankee leaves," Dawson says. "Jeff said, 'Well, then I'm a damn Yankee.'""
After reading the article I found out that Manhattan Pizza was right next to Westside and nearby my office... So of course I got our group from work to go have lunch there... no JVG, but there were alot of tastey hot wings and great pizza! Good restraunt although it took awhile to get our food.
