This is definitely a sad day for for Houston. All I want to say is thank you, Rudy. Get well soon and enjoy your life. Whoever the next head coach of the Rockets is will definitely have some big shoes to try to fill.
rudy you were a champion and i never doubted your decisions. you were the best coach i've ever watched. a lot of people expected/wanted to go to the playoffs and you were tinkering with the system so that we could eventually reach the finals again, thinking longterm instead of short-term. don't think that we, the fans, will forget you wearing you emotions on your sleeve, your heart and your determination. you were truly a class act, and an icon for the city of houston. you still have many fans, like myself, in your native michigan, and we are all proud of you. thanks for all the memories rudy take care of your health, we wish you only the best
Rudy, you were a classy guy. As a Jazz fan who appreciates the game, I thank you, and wish you the best.
At last year's summer league games in Cali, I'll remember 2 things the most : 1) I'm sitting on the front row and Rudy's on the court just below me. A kid, probably less than 8 years old, comes down and asks Rudy for a picture. Rudy's been saying "hi" to a bunch of his fans and signing autographs for everybody that comes down. The kid just wanted a picture of Rudy, but I thought it would be cool if he could be in the picture with Rudy, so I started to say "let me take the pic and you be in it with him". Rudy chimed in at the same time, pointed to me and said basically the same thing. So I took the picture of the kid standing with Rudy. Rudy thanked us both. 2) After on of the SPL games, Rudy climbs over the guardrail up into the bleachers. Now I'm not a very forward person. Even as a kid, I really never wanted to bother anybody by asking for autographs or anything because I always thought I was bugging them. I'm still pretty much that way, but I knew I'd probably never get a chance to come in this close contact with Rudy T again. I stuck my hand out and as he was passing by and just said "I've always wanted to thank you for 2 championships, but I never thought I'd get a chance, Rudy". He stopped, laughed, shook my hand, said "Hey thanks!" and moved on as he was starting to attract a bunch of attention. I know it wasn't much, but looking back it feels pretty good now. The handshake meant more to me than an autograph ever could. I've been a Rockets fan since I was about 8 or 9 years old (back in 1978-1979) and have to say this is really a sad, sad moment to me. Good luck, Rudy. I hope you never coach another team again, because it just wouldn't look right... kind of like Hakeem Olajuwon in a Raptors jersey.
Two championships, many years of Rocket playoff basketball, and this website would not be here if not for Rudy T. I remember the time before the Rockets won the championships, it was pretty much impossible to find any Rockets merchandise in Houston. Hardly anybody cared about the team. Rudy wanted this city to be proud of the Rockets, and the turnaround was unbelievable. Now there are thousands of die-hard fans. Thanks Rudy! Those two years were the most fun times I will probably ever have in my life! I only met Rudy once in my life. My wife and I were at Rockerfellers to see the band War. It was a night or two after Stockton hit the three to beat us in the playoffs. Rudy was there, and he was getting down! Everybody in the place was giving him love and support even though we had lost the night before. I shook his hand and he gave my wife a high-five. Thanks again Rudy!
I didn't want to see Rudy go I like this, and I wish him a quick recovery. There are no words to express the gratitude of a city for two,... two of it's first professional sports championships ever. The heart of a champion and an all around class act. I got a little choked up the 1st time I saw the press conference, but I'm ok now.
Rudy has done alot for the Rockets, whether as a player, scout, or coach. He always conducted himslef with style and pure class. He was a great coach and led us to the only championships this city knows.....if u dont count the comets and aeros. Just an all-round great guy who deserves all the praise he gets. Thanks for the ride Rudy! Good luck in the future Rudy! We'll miss ya on the sideline....but we're all prayin for ur speedy recovery. Watch out Hall of Fame....Rudy's on his way.... "Never Underestimate the heart of a champion!"
Rudy is THE MAN - always was, is, and will be. If you need a mentor or inspiration in life, look no further. As a class act, I can't imagine the Rockets without him. Oh well......I hope they at least get someone with huevos - Jeff Van Gundy does not have any (by the way) and isn't remotely in the same league as Rudy.
I hope to see Rudy inducted into the HOF as a coach, and a statue of him outside the arena with Hakeem.
Rudy T is not just a championship coach, but also a very fine human being. Best wishes for his health!
Thanks Rudy T. For all the great memories of you as a player and for finally allowing me to celebrate a championship in Houston. "Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion." May God Bless you with health, happiness, and peace.
There are too many things to remember about Rudy. I'll always remember him raising his arms in triumph and the look of sheer joy on his face when the Rockets won. I'll always thank him for bringing 2 championships to my hometown that had come close so many times. As Bum Phillips might've said "Rudy finally kicked the door down." Good luck and get well Rudy. Be humble and be hungry. Never underestimate the heart of a champion! Two bits of wisdom we should all live by.
Thanks for the two best years as a sports fan in houston Rudy. If Hakeem is getting a statue made, there should clearly be some sort of tribute to you. Maybe the rockets could start a Rudy T. Cancer Treatment Center and sponsor it w/gamenight events......
I became a Rockets fan, as opposed to someone who watches a game or two and follows the standings, when Rudy was made coach. It was something about having a coach who had devoted his entire professional career to the Rockets that made it seem that they were a TEAM, not the usual group of overpaid egos who play together only because the rules say that you have to have five players on the court. He was one of the few examples of class in a profession that lives by the idea that nice guys finish last, rules were made to be broken, and winning by any means, fair or foul, is everything. I'm glad that he will still be with the Rockets. If they don't do right by him, it would be very hard to remain a fan. Best of luck, Rudy. You taught us to believe.
I've bled Rockets' red since the early 80's. In fact I bleed pajama blue pinstripes now. As a sports fan, there was no greater moment for me than watching Maxwell bury a 3 in game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals, the moment at which I knew that the city of Houston and the Rockets' franchise was going to break the curse that seemed to hover over all of Houston's sports teams. I'm talking N.C. State's ally oop against UH in Alburquerque. I'm talking the Astros being 5 outs away from the World Series in 81' before choking it away. I'm talking Oilers vs Broncos 92', Oilers vs Buffalo 93', Oilers vs Kansas City 94'. Any fan of Houston sports shudders at the thoughts of the above. It's interesting to note that prior to 1993, one had to look real hard around Houston to find any Rockets related items. No one gave a damn about a team that seemed to be heading for disaster. Hakeem was at odds with team management over the faked injury controversy and it seemed his days in Houston were numbered and what had begun as a team of the future in 1985 was now looking like a major disappointment. We couldn't even find hope in a 50 win season under Don Chaney as the following season was off to a miserable start. Well in the fall of 1992 that was all about to change. Out with reigning coach of the year, Chaney, and in with.........................Rudy Tomjanovich? At the time I thought I was really questioning the change. Within weeks I had done a 180 like a Yao Ming critic. The Rockets were winning and winning oftern. This Tomjanovich guy had the Rockets contending for a division title. He said he wanted to bring a team to Houston that Houston could be proud of. He spoke of his dislike that the kids of Houston wore Michael Jordan shirts and shoes instead of the gear of the Houston Rockets. Well it was one thing to say it. It was another thing to make it happen. Rudy Tomjanovich teamed up with Hakeem Olajuwon to make that happen. By the time Rudy T was giving the speech that he would forever be known for following game 4 of the 1995 finals, every single last person in the east Texas knew where and what the heart of a champion was. A lot of people will in retrospect say that maybe it had more to do with Hakeem than with Rudy T. I would have to stop them and remind them, who drafted Robert Horry and Sam Cassel when no one else wanted them? Who saw something in Mario Elie that a dozen other team's world wide had not seen. Who found success with one CBA player after another to compliment the Hakeem, the nucleus of the team. That was Tomjanovich's greatest talent. The supporting cast. Finding the perfect role players to surround the team's star or stars. These kind of moves were every bit as important as a Dreamshake or pirouette. Without these moves, Hakeem never lives the Dream and we're still living in Choke City. Thank you Rudy Tomjanovich for playing an instrumental role in teaching the fans of Houston what having a winning team is all about. Thank you for the memories, thank you for conducting yourself and the Rockets' franchise with class (and I mean it. A lot of people are labeled as classy by their peers when they retire but Tomjanovich earned the right to the label). Reading the above, my point of view about yesterday's announcement might surprise you. In my opinion, the Rockets' franchise has made many more poor decisions than good ones the past four years. With the kind of diappointments the Rockets' have had, most coaches would have been ousted a year or two ago. You know Rudy T had to be in on many of the poor decisions the Rockets have made in the new millenium. Rudy T got a pass from me because of what he did for this franchise in the past. In fact, I would have been willing to give him one more year with Yao Ming to turn things around based solely on his past achievements. However, it seemed clear to me that the player personnel decisions that Rudy T and CD were making in recent years were bad for the franchise. It's a tough, tough call given all that Rudy T has done in the past for the franchise, but I really got the impression that Rudy's best days were behind him and that he was riding the waves of his past glory to keep him afloat. I think the Rockets needed to use their heads and not their hearts to make a change. Regardless, I hope Rudy T gets a coaching job somehwere else some day and proves me wrong. As far as I'm concerned, his legacy in H-Town is now secure, safe from further deterioration by the current cast of players. If Hakeem gets a statue in front of the new stadium next season, there should be one of Tomjanovich side by side.
RudyT -- Thank you so much for all that you've done. Thank you for your hard work, thank you for the championships. Best of luck to you, RudyT!
The only coach to ever bring a championship to the city of Houston. We're gonna miss you RUDY T!!!!!!!!!
