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!

[FEIGEN ON PRO BASKETBALL] Rockets coach rarely gets into word games

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by codell, Feb 24, 2006.

Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. codell

    codell Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2002
    Messages:
    19,312
    Likes Received:
    715
    Good article.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3681991.html

    By JONATHAN FEIGEN
    Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

    When Tracy McGrady was speaking last week of his struggles and how his "personal family issue" was tearing him apart, he mentioned a conversation he had with Jeff Van Gundy.

    Van Gundy apparently showed up at McGrady's door just to talk, an act that Van Gundy seemed to consider nothing, but one that meant everything to McGrady.

    So when this was mentioned to Van Gundy, he broke some stunning news.

    "I'm probably not the ogre I'm made out to be at times," Van Gundy announced. "We all know the media drives perceptions. I don't think my players have ever perceived me like the media perceives me."

    So it turns out Van Gundy is not an ogre. At times. Probably.

    But while basically trying to deflect attention, or at least praise, something important about Van Gundy was clear. He is perceived the way that he is largely because he does not care how he is perceived; or at least, he will not make any effort to mold his image.

    If there is one thing certain about a guy who wishes to reveal as little as possible, it is that he seems to view the usual disingenuous acts as offensive. Perhaps that is his schtick.

    But to Van Gundy, the non-
    sense that is spewed around the league, the lines players use to protect their reputations or coaches trot out to guard their players' egos are to him trans-
    parent and foolish. The unvar-
    nished truth is everything.

    The truth and nothing but
    So when his Rockets are awful, he says they are awful. When he is miserable, he looks and sounds miserable. When necessary, he rips his team behind closed doors. And when prompted, he will repeat that message for all (including the paying customers) to see.

    When things are at their worst, Van Gundy has gone so far as to suggest that he understands why fans can't get excited about his team. After the recent loss to the Lakers, when he napalmed the product, he even seemed to mock the team's "Every Day, Every Game" slogan.

    "I so much want to have a team that's an every-day team that really, really wants to play every day, every night," he said that night. The next morning, you could almost hear the marketing guys upstairs bang their heads against their desks.

    Lately, however, Van Gundy has seemed to choose his words carefully.

    When the Rockets won despite nearly blowing a commanding lead against the Jazz, he said, "I don't want to be painted as quote-negative. It (giving up leads) is a good thing because it helps us work on our late-game situations. I'm a half-full kind of guy."

    When the Rockets no-showed against the Suns, he said, "I'm not going to sit here and beat the team up in the media."

    We checked: that really was him.

    Filling a needed role
    But even if he won't say it, he knows the Rockets don't need Coach Half-full. His team needs and expects the ogre.

    It might not be best if he is the most competitive member of Leslie Alexander's payroll. But if he is, the Rockets need him on their backs and in their ears.

    The truth he won't share is his players usually know this about him and themselves. He generally uses his biting humor to soften the mood. When players are asked to describe him, they usually say "funny." But other than that, they expect Van Gundy to come straight at them.

    The organization, with so many empty seats to fill at Toyota Center, might shake when he speaks. But Rudy Tomjanovich, who understood this market better than any coach ever has, was coach when the Rockets had the third-longest sellout streak in the NBA — and when they fell to last in attendance.

    In the end, the Rockets have to be the best team Van Gundy can make them. A good team — and not happy talk — is the only thing that will sell here. He said he is not the ogre of his reputation, and therefore, of course, cares about McGrady's problems.

    But he said he hoped his players already knew that.

    As for the rest of us, he might not care what we know, but the time seems to have come for us to know that if he is trying to do anything with all those hard words, it is to win.

    jonathan.feigen@chron.com
     
    #1 codell, Feb 24, 2006
  2. Almu

    Almu Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    2,387
    Likes Received:
    40
    Why would you post a positive article about Grumpy around these parts? Its totally against the 90percent around here. Like selling Democracy in the Middle East.
     
    #2 Almu, Feb 24, 2006
  3. codell

    codell Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2002
    Messages:
    19,312
    Likes Received:
    715
    I'm an agitator
     
    #3 codell, Feb 24, 2006
  4. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2002
    Messages:
    15,086
    Likes Received:
    1,352
    nice article. hopefully it helps just a tiny bit for the ppl who are against him for whatever reason..
     
    #4 kaleidosky, Feb 24, 2006
  5. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 1999
    Messages:
    65,255
    Likes Received:
    32,965

    I'm checking. . umn. . . no it doesn't

    I may not like his demeanor or personality
    but it don't matter

    I don't like his basketball

    Rocket River
     
    #5 Rocket River, Feb 24, 2006
  6. hansgee

    hansgee Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2002
    Messages:
    123
    Likes Received:
    1
    Honestly this article means oooohhh! Nothing :confused:
     
    #6 hansgee, Feb 24, 2006
  7. pradaxpimp

    pradaxpimp Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2002
    Messages:
    5,025
    Likes Received:
    71
    he needs to start giving away tickets to me if he really wants me to believe he isn't an ogre.
     
    #7 pradaxpimp, Feb 24, 2006
  8. solid

    solid Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2001
    Messages:
    21,229
    Likes Received:
    9,066
    JVG is smart and knowledgeable, we all agree to that. I am not crazy about his offensive style of play which at time seems too mechanical, too micro-managed. I didn't like the hully-gully, one on one style of the Francis era either. I believe the organization "over-corrected" in their coaching change.

    I don't like the way Ming has been developed and is often utilized. But he has improved, no doubt. I don't like all the ex-Knicks, especially those that are still hanging around on the Rocket's payroll. I like positive rather than negative motivation. In this respect JVG is "old-school," management theory X. Discipline is good, system is good, control is good, but not too much of it. It is all about balance. The Rockets may or may not do better with another coach. I kind of like JVG, but I wonder if he is the best fit. Next season will probably determine his future here.
     
    #8 solid, Feb 24, 2006
  9. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2003
    Messages:
    1,855
    Likes Received:
    3
    so he is a good human being, that is great. it really is, because there are a lot of jackasses out there parading around as good people, giving good people a bad name.

    that still doesn't take away the fact that he isn't the right coach for us. he is never going to get us a championship. he will get us to the playoffs but never a ring. you would know this if you watched us play. he just isn't a championship caliber coach.
     
    #9 Hakeem06, Feb 24, 2006
  10. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2002
    Messages:
    15,086
    Likes Received:
    1,352

    is larry brown a champ. caliber coach? He won one last year...but he was great forever with people saying he wasn't champ. caliber
     
    #10 kaleidosky, Feb 24, 2006
  11. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2002
    Messages:
    15,086
    Likes Received:
    1,352
    It's about time to stop using that argument. Spoon is off the books after this year...and if you count Baker as an "ex-Knick" even though he didn't really come here because of JVG liking him at all, then I guess he's off after this year..

    really it's just Ward, and at least he's coaching
     
    #11 kaleidosky, Feb 24, 2006
  12. ico4498

    ico4498 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 1999
    Messages:
    3,766
    Likes Received:
    1,512
    wonder how much ole grumpy pays Feigen to run his pr campaign?
     
    #12 ico4498, Feb 24, 2006
  13. TMac640

    TMac640 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2005
    Messages:
    5,484
    Likes Received:
    2
    i require season tickets and several dozen strippers to be impressed.
     
    #13 TMac640, Feb 24, 2006
  14. C-Kompii

    C-Kompii Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    710
    Likes Received:
    0
    Ewing might be your man then :D

    -G'day-
     
    #14 C-Kompii, Feb 24, 2006
  15. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2003
    Messages:
    1,855
    Likes Received:
    3
    larry brown has always won wherever he has gone and is a GREAT TEACHER OF THE GAME. i find it ridiculous you are even comparing larry brown to JVG. brown won a national title at kansas, took UCLA to a national title game. has been to 3 nba finals, winning one title. ranks third in nba history in playoff wins. 8 50+ win seasons in the nba. and those people who said larry wasn't a championship caliber coach were stupid, the guy won a national championship in 1988 at kansas.

    jvg is nowhere near the level of larry brown, and never will be. he couldn't touch those accomplishments in his dreams.

    and i don't like larry brown because he is so unloyal to the oranizations that he has been with. but no one can deny the fact that he is a champion and a winner. what jvg ever won?????
     
    #15 Hakeem06, Feb 24, 2006
  16. solid

    solid Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2001
    Messages:
    21,229
    Likes Received:
    9,066
    And Ewing, and we don't know what he is doing. Most likely looking at cheerleaders, sucking up air, and taking up space.

    And it is more of an observation of fact than an argument anyway.
     
    #16 solid, Feb 24, 2006
  17. codell

    codell Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2002
    Messages:
    19,312
    Likes Received:
    715
    Can you please tell us what Ewing and Yao work on in practice?
     
    #17 codell, Feb 24, 2006
  18. solid

    solid Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2001
    Messages:
    21,229
    Likes Received:
    9,066
    The Art of Girl Watching? Breathing? Taking up space drills? Feet shuffling? ;)

    I know what you are suggesting, but I just have a hard time thinking that an ex-player who had a hard time speaking in complete sentences during his playing years has transformed himself into a "coach." Of all the players in the league, Ewing would be one of my "least likely" coaching candidates. I would put Kareem, Magic, Walton, R. Barry, and about fifty others ahead of him. Why Ewing? Because JVG loved him and wanted the Rockets to give him a retirement plan. I don't want Ming to model after Ewing, who is a very poor choice for a role model, in my opinion. Plus, I never liked him as a player and, so far as Ewing is concerned, I am admittedly prejudiced. And Hakeem never liked him either. So there.
     
    #18 solid, Feb 24, 2006
  19. StupidMoniker

    StupidMoniker I lost a bet

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2001
    Messages:
    16,171
    Likes Received:
    2,823
    You do realize that after the same number of years coaching in the NBA that JVG has now, Brown had made it to 0 NBA finals, right? That would be one less than Van Gundy in the same period. Brown made the playoffs 6 out of 9 seasons, though his teams went on to the playoffs under a different coach in 2 of the other three seasons. JVG made the playoffs 8 out of 9 seasons, though Van Gundy was on pace to make the playoffs when he left the Knicks. Given the same amount of time in the NBA, Van Gundy accomplished more than Brown. Since Brown has 22 years of NBA experience, it is to be expected that he has more career accomplishments than Van Gundy, but we shall see where they both end up when they are retired. As for winning a National Championship at Kansas, I think Rick Patino shows how much college coaching means in the NBA.
     
    #19 StupidMoniker, Feb 24, 2006
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2006
  20. GrapeJuices

    GrapeJuices Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2005
    Messages:
    196
    Likes Received:
    1
    IF they'd lower the tickets prices, maybe i can go to 10+ games a month as opposed to 1-2 160 dollar per tickets a month.
     
    #20 GrapeJuices, Feb 24, 2006
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 2

Share This Page