I noticed that too. But part of me wonders if maybe JVG was Les' main target all along, after all. Guess it doesn't matter now.
I'm most impressed with the fact that he focused on winning and playing at the highest level. He's not going to mortgage the future to become a perennial 1st round loser.
Simply- JVG -NO Starks, NO Ewing, No Larry Smith.Please! YES Moses Malone and YES Mario Ellie. Please!
A game lasts much longer than 48 minutes do to the stoppages of plays (time outs, fouls, free throws, etc. And as someone else pointed out, I think he'll be breaking down the tape which means pausing, rewinding and stopping a lot. It'll take a bit of time to go through 82 games. Is everyone assuming Starks is going to be are assistant. I'm hoping he's just going to see his former player coach and that the media is just trying to drum up something to talk about.
Ok...let me ask one question. Lets say Van Gundy bring in Starks, Ewing, Riley, Anthony Mason, his mom, his uncle, his 3 dogs, and his pet Iguana to his coaching staff and the Rockets in two years get on a roll that brings the Rocks 4 rings in 10 years, would anyone care who is on the bench with him or are we just in the b****in mode on this happy occasion?
I think bringing in Starks (a low percentage, shoot happy guard) to coach Mobley is ... well a bad idea. But JVG is the coach.
Almu, some people just believe that ex-Rocket players will definately be good assistants. Of course Mr. Mean not withstanding . I don't get it, why do many people on this board immediately assume ex-Rocket players will be good assistants. I am not saying they won't, but to say that they will "definately" be better than xyz (ex-player from other teams) just doesn't make sense. Malone, Ellie, nor Dream has had prior coaching experience. If we just judge them by their playing days then JVG should have never gotten a job since he never even played in the NBA. Oh, don't forget what a wonder jobs that Clyde & Magic had done. Drewdog, go see the tapes when he pouted on the bench because we wanted to trade him. Don't tell me that attitude doesn't weigh just as much as the kiss-of-death. I have nothing against Ellie, Malone, or Dream as assistants, but to make them out to be saviors is what I don't get. ArtV, what % did JVG shot during his NBA career? See what I mean... Again this is not an endorsement for Stark, just wanted to make it a fair assessments for all available candidates.
What he lacks in USBL coaching experience he makes up in rings and leadership. I understand JVG looking at people hes familiar with and feels he can work with. I guess I agree with Almu but this Rocket franchise has handed coaching jobs to people despite a lack of experience and won big. Don't care to dip into a diatribe here just feel Elie deserves consideration. If Starks gets the job it was meant to be I guess. Won't keep me away from the games next season.
i like how he mentions balance so much. didnt know van gundy was a zen buddhist! yao is going to love this guy.
it's very amusing to see people bristle about Ewing or Starks after they've already opened their arms wide and enthusiastically welcomed the wolf into their bedrooms. were you mistaken about who we just hired? this guy oozed up onto the beach from the same primordial sludge from whence Patrick Ewing and John Starks were fashioned. and apparently, Judas Alexander. maybe we can change our team colors to blue and orange while we're at it. JV Gundy is a joke and an embarrassment, and in my opinion, hiring Ewing, Starks, Oakley, and Spike Lee would not make the situation one tiny fraction worse than it already is. and it makes me laugh to see that there are people who think it would.
First of all, he'll be watching an already edited tape. At worst, the only thing that will take away from the 48 minutes would be free throws, and those would not add any more than about 10 minutes to a game. That's worst case scenario. Also, it's not like it's that hard to watch a few basketball games a day when you're a freaking million dollar basketball coach. It's his job! He's had a over a year of "vacation time" to do non-basketball stuff, and he should be more than ready to actually watch game tape of the Rockets. I bet you Rudy would have done the same thing, so whatever the hell JVG brings in work ethic is no different than what we already had. Watching an entire season's worth of game tape by a brand new coach during the offseason in which he really has nothing better to do should be expected, not appreciated... Also, for the Starks/Ewing dumbies...I'd like to hear a logical reason on why Mario Elie would be a better assistant coach than Mr. Mean...both are ex-Rockets that played hard for Houston...what does Elie have that Mean didn't on a basketball coaching level?
Ok - I wouldn't hire any low percentage, shoot happy guard as a coach for a back court that includes Mobley and Francis. Fair?
1. I can understand Ewing as a big-man coach. It makes sense to have a mentor like that who has been exactly where we hope Yao will be. But, Starks does not make sense. I hope he is not hired. 2. I think people deride Larry Smith over-much. That he's getting consideration to remain aboard despite not being in VG's posse is telling. 3. I have no idea how they edit tape, but I imagine they can compress the information an awful lot. You can do it by subject: fast breaks, offense, defense, inbounding, free throws, pick-and-rolls, etc. 4. I don't think most ex-Rockets would make good coaches. Others seem promising from their personalities. Elie seems promising as does Bullard and possibly Kenny Smith. Others (like Dream, for example), I think would be terrible at it.
