http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/story/388580p-329715c.html Van Gundy Curse lives at Garden BY FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER The booming voice from the back of the bus belonged to Dikembe Mutombo, but his question to Jeff Van Gundy was something every Knicks fan wanted to ask. "Hey Jeff," Mutombo began, "how come every time you come to New York somebody gets fired?" This happened last season, the morning after Scott Padgett's last-second shot gave the Houston Rockets a win at Madison Square Garden and forced Lenny Wilkens into retirement. Thirty minutes after the loss, the Knicks fired the Hall of Fame coach. One year earlier, Van Gundy's team came into the Garden and beat the Knicks by 32 points. One week later, Don Chaney was fired. Could there be a Van Gundy curse on the franchise? Since the former Knicks coach resigned during the 2001-02 season, the Knicks have yet to win a playoff game or produce a winning season. Two head coaches and one president have been fired and several rebuilding projects have come and gone. "That has nothing to do with me," Van Gundy said. "It has everything to with the pieces that were lost. Teams sometimes get old quickly. It's happened to us here in Houston. In New York, we lost our starting front line, Oakley, Ewing and Johnson. Allan's knees, Charlie was hurt and Latrell was traded. "Even though they didn't win a championship, those were all championship level guys. You can't stay young forever. All the coaches following me have had a much more difficult job." Larry Brown already is the fourth Knicks coach in the post-Van Gundy era and hasn't had any more success than Chaney, Wilkens or Herb Williams. But Brown is the one coach that many, including Van Gundy, believe will turn the franchise into a championship contender again. In fact, Van Gundy thinks that Brown should have a greater role in building the roster. "The tough part is finding the right mix of players and the right coach, and they've got the right coach," said Van Gundy. "Because of his past success he, and he alone, should be the one who decides who fits in. I think he's earned that right. He's also proven that when given time and that responsibility he produces every single time." Brown is gaining a greater appreciation for the job Van Gundy did. Van Gundy won 248 games in New York while juggling basketball, media requirements and Garden politics. Being on the periphery of a controversy is part of the job. Brown appears almost numb to what has gone on this season. The Knicks are 14-31, while the Garden has been embroiled in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee, Anucha Browne Sanders, two weeks ago. Van Gundy declined to talk about Sanders, whom he felt interfered too much with the players. Isiah Thomas had similar complaints and eventually barred Sanders from the team's training facility in Greenburgh because Thomas, like Van Gundy, wanted the players to focus on basketball. Van Gundy credited former Garden president Dave Checketts with insulating the basketball team from outside distractions. "I had, if not the best boss in sports, then one of the very best in Dave Checketts," Van Gundy added. "He made it all about winning. Without question, his leadership had a great deal to do with us having a sustained period of excellence." Van Gundy's season has followed the same path as the Knicks this year: injuries and losses. Houston, which plays at the Garden today at noon, is 17-29 but 11-6 when Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both in the starting lineup. McGrady has missed 13 games due to injuries and Yao 21. Van Gundy has never experienced a losing season as a head coach. "No one is above losing in this league," he said. "It's very humbling and at the same time it's very motivating to try and get it right. We've had some things occur, some injuries, some decisions that I've made and we've made that have put us in that position. But I'm very motivated to get us to play better." As for being responsible for putting a curse on the Knicks, Van Gundy isn't buying it. "It's pure coincidence," he said. "Scott Padgett hit the only runner of his career that day." Originally published on February 5, 2006
You just gotta love this guy and his one liners. I can't figure out which is funnier...his lines or his delivery. He doesn't appear like it on the surface, but I bet he'd be a blast to hang around with.
A major portion of this board hates him. His players...past and present...love him. Your comment probably runs deeper than you think.
He is. Very underrated as a fun guy, and one of the funniest coaches in the league, intentionally or unintentionally.
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I have been wondering for some time if Van Gundy watches this site - many good ideas are tossed out here on how to better utilize players and the team. Then a week, a coupla weeks later a player who had never done a certain type play starts doing it. Case in point: Bowen can't shoot, tossed out here to have rybo drive the lane and at least draw some fouls, hit some FT's. Couple weeks later sitting watching a game and Rybo starts driving the lane and drawing fouls. I'm sure there are a lot of people who wish Gundy would plagiarize us more. Maybe it's the players themselves. Clutchfans: 12th man of the Houston Rockets!
