http://www.nynewsday.com/sports/bas...875317.story?coll=nyc-sports-short-navigation Wired Van Gundy Driving Rockets By Barbara Barker STAFF WRITER November 5, 2003 It's only four games into the season, but Jeff Van Gundy is already in midseason form. He's running three-hour practices, chugging Diet Coke as if it were a health elixir and screaming himself hoarse by halftime. This isn't the way Jeff Van Gundy wants it to be. It's the way it has to be. The only way he knows. So when he walked to the visitors' bench at Continental Airlines Arena last night with his new Houston Rockets team, he looked every bit as miserable, every bit as intense as he did during his seven seasons running the Knicks. "He's exactly the same," said former Knicks All-Star Patrick Ewing, a Rockets assistant coach. "He's the same workaholic. The same man who strives for perfection. Nothing has changed." Van Gundy has heard there are coaches in the NBA who have hobbies, guys who collect cars or meditate or travel in the offseason. He has seen pictures of guys who look happy, healthy and well-rested at the beginning of the season, guys who don't have bags under their eyes so large that they belong in the overhead compartment. And he's accepted he will never be one of them. "It's not fun," Van Gundy said of his chosen profession. "It's often rewarding, many times frustrating. But fun is not the right term." Van Gundy's new players found this out shortly after he was hired to replace Rudy Tomjanovich this summer. Van Gundy sent a letter to everyone demanding that they report in top condition. It scared Eric Piatkowski, 33, so much he dropped 12 pounds and tells teammates he feels like "a 21-year-old." Changing his team's body-fat composition is just the tip of the iceberg. Van Gundy has the makings of a very good team - a young franchise center in Yao Ming and an All-Star point guard in Steve Francis - yet they are in the midst of a Van Gundy attitude adjustment. To play for Van Gundy, you have to want to win and want to work as much as he does. Those who don't - or those like Eddie Griffin who have off-the-court situations that keep them from giving 100 percent - are asked to leave until they can figure things out. Van Gundy's most important task is turning the 7-5 Yao into a show-no-mercy monster, a player like Shaquille O'Neal who rules the court. "There's no physical basketball skill he doesn't have," Van Gundy said. "But Yao doesn't have that disposition to dominate every night. He's a very kind man, which is great. But when he gets the ball in single coverage he should be thinking score every time. If he gets 10 early, I want him to keep going and get 12, 14, 16." Francis, the player Van Gundy was supposed to have the most trouble with, is the one who seems to be buying most into his mind-set. Francis pushed Houston to its biggest win of the season last night, 86-75 over the Nets, leading a 14-1 game-ending run. Francis had eight of those points. The Rockets are 3-1, which means maybe they will practice for only 2 1/2 hours today. There had been a rumor going around the league that Van Gundy had softened, that he had gained perspective since walking away from the Knicks nearly two years ago. After going 100 mph for seven seasons in New York, he had burned out. During his two years away from coaching, the world saw a different side of him. The guy who did color commentary for TNT last season was funny, relaxed and unwrinkled. He looked like a man enjoying life. The other members of Van Gundy's broadcast team, Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, used to tease him about finding out about the world, joking that he just attended his first parent-teacher conference. There are times now when Van Gundy pines for that lifestyle. "It's an adjustment going from that to working seven days a week year-round," he said. "There's a huge sacrifice. I often question myself. Why would you do that? I guess I enjoy the competition and camaraderie of a team." What Van Gundy enjoys most, however, is what happened at the end of last night's game. His team beat a good team by making a run when it had to. Afterward, he even allowed himself the luxury of a smile. "Things change fast in the NBA, and you guys all know I'm a very positive person," Van Gundy said sarcastically. "I'm a very happy guy - tonight."
I really admire JVG for being such a workaholic and student of the game, but it's also pretty scary. At the same time, I can't imagine a better fit for the Rockets.
i had a coach that also was a workaholic. he was all about basketbal and nothing more in his life. he was one of the reasons i didn't go to america to play basketbal. But i respect it alot in van gundy. i hope he is happy. i think he is ideal for the rockets
Jeff Van Gundy has many Bob Stoops-like qualities. What's amazing is the immediate impact he's provided.
Yes it is amazing the noticeable impact JVG is having so soon. He is truely a coaches coach. Big props. Also, with his ties to NY the Rox will get more media attention just if for no other reason than the NY media love to talk about themselves, and JVG provides that link.
