Sunday, July 6, 2003 By AL IANNAZZONE STAFF WRITER "I think the main thing for us right now is we have to win. We have to win now. We're not young anymore." Jeff Van Gundy, new Houston Rockets' coach The scenic drives up and down the Saw Mill River Parkway or the traffic jams on the West Side Highway have been replaced by rides on Route 10 or the West Loop, major roads littered with high rises bumping up against barbecue shacks and hotels at every off-ramp. No more bitter cold or snowy New York nights, either. They've been exchanged for cool winter months that, as the days pass, quickly turn to warm, hot, very hot, and can someone turn a hose on me? But rain is a constant. Deep in the heart of Texas, Jeff Van Gundy has immersed himself into his new job. Going from ex-coach and broadcaster to head coach of the Rockets, Van Gundy has discovered what living in Houston for the next four years will be like. "It's really hot," he said, "but I like it." The weather won't bother Van Gundy as much as losing. He never could stand that. Still can't. As the Knicks' coach, he won 59 percent of his games and made six playoff trips. In Houston, where he signed a four-year, $20 million deal last month, Van Gundy has a nice nucleus with second-year sensation Yao Ming and All-Star point guard Steve Francis. The Rockets went 43-39 last season, missing the playoffs by one game. It was the fourth straight year they were left out of the postseason. Van Gundy, who called Houston "a super situation," can't fathom a fifth consecutive year. That's why he's brought his reinforcements with him. Former Knicks' assistant coaches Tom Thibodeau, Steve Clifford, Andy Greer, and legendary center Patrick Ewing have joined Van Gundy in Houston, as he tries to return the Rockets to their glory years when Hakeem Olajuwon led them to back-to-back championships, including 1994 over the Knicks. Clearly, you can take the coach out of New York, but you can't take New York out of the coach. "This team hasn't been to the playoffs for four years running. Some due to some bad luck, some due to some inconsistent play due to the youth of the team," Van Gundy said of the Rockets, speaking with the sense of urgency that was one of his trademarks with the Knicks. "I think the main thing for us right now is we have to win. We have to win now. We're not young anymore. We're not inexperienced anymore. It's time to win." Van Gundy came home to Chappaqua, N.Y., for the holiday weekend before returning to Houston to resume his new old life. By September, his wife, Kim, and daughter, Mattie, will join him in Houston. Until then, Van Gundy will continue watching game tape, doing work on free agents, getting to know his players better, and watching more film. Summer league begins for the Rockets this weekend in Los Angeles, so he's preparing for that. The bags of overwork inevitably will reappear under Van Gundy's eyes. Strategizing, worrying, taking every win and loss home with him, and replaying every possession of every game and deciding what could have been done differently had not been a part of Van Gundy's everyday life the prior 18 months after his resignation from the Knicks in December 2001. But they're back. "As a staff, I hope we reflect a come-early and stay-late mentality, that we'll go the extra mile to try to win," Van Gundy said. "That's what we'll require our team to be all about." Van Gundy has been in Houston less than a month, has made several trips back to New York, and he's already seen and dissected about 15 to 20 Rockets' games, working backward from the end of the season. You know Van Gundy, a master at preparation, already has figured out how to win with his new group. It starts with defense. "I just think I'm going to try to do a good job and give them a good plan come October," Van Gundy said. "I'll be patient, but as Lou Piniella says, too much patience is utter stupidity. I want to be patiently impatient." It will be interesting to see the impact Van Gundy and Ewing have on the 7-foot-5 Yao. As a rookie, Yao averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. But the offense wasn't run through him. Van Gundy might go back to old reliable and feed the post, which worked very well with Ewing in New York. Van Gundy hasn't forgotten his past. "I owe a lot to that organization," Van Gundy said of the Knicks. "The players and the management people helped me get there, stay there, and prosper there. I have nothing but great memories in New York. Hopefully when my time is over in Houston I'll be saying the same thing." http://www.bergen.com
He's only seen and dissected 20 games?!? And the offense wasn't run through Yao??? Well I loved this guy's description of Houston. How nice of him. At least he is looking at free agents!!!!! Or talking to them. Thanks for sharing!
The more I hear the more I like. He wants to win now, has a "come early stay late" style and is already is stressing defense. I see good things in our future.
the one thing i liked about him is that he's telling the team especially mobley and francis that they aren't young anymore that will pay divident come seaon starts.
It sounds good but its nothing we dont know. The team knows and the fans know that JVG wants to win. We know the team is not young as it was a couple of years togo. But this team is going nowhere unless it adds some players. Some veterans. leadership some guys that have been through the wars.
The scenic drives up and down the Saw Mill River Parkway or the traffic jams on the West Side Highway have been replaced by rides on Route 10 or the West Loop, major roads littered with high rises bumping up against barbecue shacks and hotels at every off-ramp. huh? There are Barbecue shacks at every off ramp? No more bitter cold or snowy New York nights, either. They've been exchanged for cool winter months that, as the days pass, quickly turn to warm, hot, very hot, and can someone turn a hose on me? But rain is a constant. Constant rain?
Nice article, I can't wait to see what JVG does to this team. And I am looking forward to what JVG and Ewing do with Yao. I think Yao could be a 20-10 guy next year easy if he get the ball enough.
Yeah I really like hearing this. And it's reallity, this team may be young but it's a veteran team with no excuses.
Seems like he's confusing interstates with US routes. The guy is just wrong, but what do you expect -- he's from New Jersey.
I see and hear alot about him stressing defense. Defense was not our problem last year. We need some offensive help. We looked absolutely pathetic on offense last year, and when did it happen mostly? During the final few minutes of games where we just folded. Our defense is fine, we need the coach to stress offensive improvement, and so far I haven't heard any of that. I would have rather had Dunleavy. You know he would have jump started our offense.
Who told u defense was not our problem? We ranked 5th in Opp FG% only because we blocked 6 shots/ game. We'd have been last if we blocked only 3, 4 shots/ game. More than statistics, watch the games and see how we played defense!
