Here's a little story than ran from training camp out at TAMUG in the Daily News today. http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=13949 _____________________________________________ Rockets travel to island for camp By Ted Dunnam The Daily News Published October 04, 2003 GALVESTON — What better place than Galveston to run a tight ship. That seemed to be the theme of the day as the Houston Rockets opened training camp under first-year head coach Jeff Van Gundy Friday at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Having departed the brand-spanking new Toyota Center just the previous day for an antiquat-ed, dim-lit facility on Pelican Island didn’t even register as an afterthought for Rockets players. Van Gundy’s objective seemed clear during practice closed to fans as well as media. “He wants everybody on the same page,” said newly acquired shooting guard Jim Jackson. “You could tell he wants everybody staying focused throughout practice. “That’s exactly what you’d expect. It’s a new system, and we need to be familiar with what he’s teaching us. He’s still learning about the team, and we’re learning about him.” Guard Steve Francis says if he and his teammates aren’t in shape soon, it won’t be from lack of effort. “We did a lot of conditioning today,” he said. “Everybody’s trying to get their bodies back in shape. We worked pretty hard. “People get out of focus in the off-season. It’s just human nature. We all need to get back in focus.” That includes Yao Ming, the only absentee from the Rockets camp. The 7-6 second-year player has just finished a stint playing basketball in Beijing, where he led his team to the Asian Championships title. By the time he joins the Rockets, they’ll have departed Galveston. “Yeah, it hurts not having him here,” Van Gundy said. “A lot of things happen in pro sports that you can’t do anything about, and you just have to deal with it. And how will Yao’s absence affect him as well as his teammates, especially with a preseason game at Portland just around the corner? “It’s hard to say until he gets here,” Van Gundy said. “We’ll have to see what he invests in it (the team).” For the most part, there was little for Van Gundy to assess after the day’s first practice. “Give me about a month,” he said. “It’s been 22 months since I’ve run a practice. The last one ended with me storming out.” Van Gundy, who resigned as the New York Knicks head coach in 2001, spent last year as an analyst. Friday, he did a little of both. “He’s been to the finals as a head coach and an assistant,” Francis said. “He knows how to get us there, and he knows what it takes. We’re excited to get headed in that direction.” ___________________________________ That was by Ted Dunam. Not much, but I know some of you (like me) are practically foaming at the mouth by now, so maybe this will give you a small fix.
“He’s been to the finals as a head coach and an assistant,” Francis said. “He knows how to get us there, and he knows what it takes. We’re excited to get headed in that direction.” So are we.
