Chron: Rockets roll out red carpet for Van Gundy

June 5, 2003, 10:59PM

Rockets roll out red carpet for Van Gundy
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

FANS CHOICE? Jeff Van Gundy may be the choice of Rockets fans to be the team's next coach, but that wasn't true when Larry Brown was available. A poll that asked who should be the Rockets' next coach ended Monday when Brown officially became the Detroit Pistons' coach. In that poll, Brown received 54 percent of the 7,959 votes. Van Gundy received 18 percent, Dunleavy 17 percent and Mavericks coach Don Nelson 9 percent.

There were tours of unfinished training facilities and posh neighborhoods. There were introductions and hundreds of handshakes. There were media interrogations, photo ops and hours spent just talking basketball with Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. Finally, there was a dinner to complete Jeff Van Gundy's whirlwind trip through Houston that moved as swiftly, and touched as much ground as the storms that greeted him.

There was roughly everything that could be squeezed into a day as a coveted free agent coach.

But there was no deal.

Van Gundy and his wife Kim gave the life the Rockets have offered them a close look, and could look again today. But Dawson said Van Gundy had not decided to succeed Rudy Tomjanovich as the Rockets coach.

That did not, however, prevent him from bubbling with optimism about landing the catch of the day.

"It went as well as it could go," Dawson said. "I feel pretty good. You don't know until you get job done. But this is a great day for us."

Completing a deal would have to come after a successful contract negotiation, a process that began on Wednesday with Van Gundy's agent but can not be completed or grow too serious until Van Gundy decides he is ready to make the move. He also must consider a chance to take over the Wizards now that Michael Jordan was not brought back as team president and his friend Doug Collins was fired as coach.

But after a 30-minute walk through the Rockets' new downtown arena, offices and practice court, Van Gundy raved about owner Leslie Alexander, Dawson, Tomjanovich, Steve Francis, Yao Ming, Cuttino Mobley, the city and the city's fans.

Still, he was just not sure.

"It's a great job," Van Gundy said. "Carroll would tell you, there is a lot of people who want it, and for a lot of good reasons. Houston is obviously a great town, great sports town, a new arena, good young talent. You're following an icon (Tomjanovich), one of the great coaches who has ever coached the game, so you have big shoes to try and fill. I don't think anyone can fill Rudy's shoes. You just have to try to build on what he accomplished here. Boy, that's a hard legend to live up to.

"I've been very fortunate to get to know (Dawson) more over the last seven or eight days and to meet Mr. Alexander was a lot of fun. I spoke to Glen Rice about the situation and to Rudy this morning, so it's been good.

"I always have been very impressed and continue to be. But as we all know when we've moved, it's a major decision in your life and a lot of things go into it. So I'm obviously going to take my time and try to make the right decision for me and my family."

After his arena tour and media session, Van Gundy went with Dawson to the Rockets' Westside Tennis Center facilities where after more introductions and a brief tour, they sat alone for several hours to talk about the Rockets and basketball philosophies in general.

"I showed him our set up, Westside, the offices, conference room, video room, how we do things," Dawson said. "Then we just talked about basketball four a couple hours. I had a great feeling about that. He said a lot of complementary things that I won't repeat. But I tell, I think it went as well as it can go."

Dawson said he invited Van Gundy to return to Westside today to avail himself to the video room and the tapes he would study as Rockets coach. But he already had asked many questions about the players he could inherit. But he already had a few opinions.


"It's very hard to fill the two positions -- center and point guard -- and the Rockets have done a great job getting that base," Van Gundy said. "They also have Cuttino (Mobley) and a great core to build from. Those jobs -- where you have a good center and point guard and a good nucleus of youth -- that's hard to find.

"I think there is a great opportunity," Van Gundy continued. "I think all players are judged in the end by how much they win, as are coaches. So the job here is about only one thing: winning and winning big -- winning championships. I've said all the time that the only worthwhile goal in the NBA is to be pursuing a championship. That doesn't mean if you don't win, it's a failure in that year. But you always want to be making strides to try to get there. I think because of the nucleus that has been assembled - good ownership, good management, good nucleus -- it's a wonderful opportunity."

Still, he had just begun talks with the Wizards. He likely will not have to do as much research to get a feel for the Wizards. Van Gundy is close to Collins and Wizards assistant coach Patrick Ewing. Either could offer insight into the organization.

But the Wizards were prepared to offer Larry Brown a contract reported to be in excess of $7 million a year as coach and president, making a bidding war possible. Washington, however, also has a reputation for running through coaches.