What if the Rockets treated Rudy T like the Jazz treated Jerry Sloan?

an unintended knock on Dream...

 

Yeah, it's not like Rudy T ever had any success coaching against different defenses, like in say, international ball, where zone defense is allowed.


U.S. Finds No Disappointment in Bronze-Medal Victory

Published: August 10, 1998

It was not a gold medal, but the United States basketball team was satisfied with the bronze at the world championship, a medal that several players joked they were going to gold plate.

Ignored at home, ridiculed in the Greek press -- one story called them ''the lint after the wash'' -- and unfairly compared to the absent National Basketball Association All-Stars, the mix-and-match Americans beat Greece by 84-61 today for third place.

The Americans, a collection of players from the Continental Basketball Association and from European teams, were led by Jason Sasser's 23 points. Jimmy King added 14 points, all in the second half, and Wendell Alexis had 12 as each of the Americans scored.

Yugoslavia rallied to beat Russia, 64-62, for the gold medal and a record fourth world title.

''Before the game we talked about what a great opportunity this was,'' United States Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. ''One game to get a medal. These guys got as much out of what they have as any team I've been around. We were the team with the fewest fans here and always in a hostile situation. We were always hearing in the background, 'These guys are rejects; those are guys that can't make it.' And they hung in there.''

Tomjanovich ranked the bronze alongside his two N.B.A. titles with the Houston Rockets.

A loss would have sent the United States team home from a world championship without a medal for the first time since the 1978 squad finished fifth.

''You always set your goals for the gold, but this is the greatest accomplishment of my basketball career,'' said David Wood, a former N.B.A. journeyman who split last season between the C.B.A. and Spain.

''We're strong individuals,'' said forward Gerard King, who played in Italy last season. ''Everybody on our team has been through the rough times. We know what it takes to bounce back and come out swinging.''

The United States ambassador to Greece, Nicholas Burns, who met with the players afterward, said: ''They weren't a team when they got here. They came together so much. We should be proud of them.''

Still, the United States will have to go through qualifying to earn an invitation to the 2000 Olympics.

Only the world champion and the host, Australia, receive automatic bids.

A sellout crowd of 18,000 cheered Greece early, but jeered when they left the court at halftime, trailing by 48-27.

Greece, which lost a hard-fought overtime semifinal game against Yugoslavia on Saturday night, appeared tired.

''I think we had maybe the deepest team in the tournament,'' Wood said. ''We're just as fresh today as we were at the start. I think the Greek stars were just fatigued from the heart-wrenching loss last night.''

In the championship game, Zeljko Rebraca had 16 points and 11 rebounds and hit two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to provide the winning margin for Yugoslavia.

Dejan Bodiroga added 11 points and 5 rebounds and was chosen most valuable player of the tournament. He averaged 14.7 points and 4.9 rebounds over nine games.

Sergei Panov and Igor Koudellin had 14 points apiece for Russia.

In consolation games, Spain beat Italy, 64-61, for fifth place, and Lithuania defeated Argentina, 77-76, for seventh.

 

Sloan had won a playoff series by his 3rd year. Not to mention Utah has never won a championship, so their standards are much lower.

 

Great. I remember that. Rudy's offense with a big man was inside outside against a man defense. That isn't as effective with a zone defense.

I'm not saying Rudy is a bad coach...I love the guy. I just don't think he is the perfect coach in today's NBA just because we have a good big man.

 

I am sorry but that is INTERNATIONAL ball. Have we forgot how the Rockets faired against the Sonics? The Sonics back then basically had a zone defense which gave us fits.

The new rules have made it almost impossible for a big guy to dominate. Dream struggled back then so I dont fault Yao for struggling now.

 

Hakeem didn't "struggle" against Seattle when he was healthy. MAJOR misconception that has been passed off as truth for years. Go back and check his stats against Seattle in the '93 playoffs when he was healthy. He dominated them. They should have won that series.

In '96 he wasn't healthy (couldn't jump hook) and the team around him wasn't healthy either. Thus the reason for the struggles.

 

to remind us that god hates the knicks!

 

I think your Poll options are bias. You should at least have an option saying something like "Rudy's health can't last a whole season and the Rox suffered by blah blah blah..."

 

I am so glad the "dream team" bronze was brought up. Rudy got a bunch of CBA players to play ball. And who has the last gold medal in basketball? He also took a POS Rockets squad and had them tie the record for best record not to make the playoffs.

Like Tinman said; its not about X's and O's. When you have two of the best players in the game and (formerly) the most dominant center in basketball you simply want hustle, chemistry, and a basic gameplan.

No one could manage egos like Rudy, no one could get role players to take pride in their job like Rudy, no coach is approachable like Rudy. Players from all over the league wanted to play for him. It was always about winning, heart, passion. Things your boys Adelman and McGrady don't know $#$T about.

 

Rudy T took a bunch of scrubs and college players to the Bronze medal at the Worlds -- something our elite teams can't do or barely achieve just a short time later.

The last gold won by a US team -- coached by Rudy T.



Rudy drew up that play especially for Vince.

We would be playing for our 3rd straight championship if Rudy was coaching this team.

 

What about if Rudy was added to this current Rockets team as of now?
From how you all describe him, he was good with veterans, but not so much with young egos (Steve-Cat). He sounds like a perfect fit for this current team with its lackadaisical and inconsistent play.

 

The Rudy T meets Dream, OT, Vernon, Elie (Clyde later on) and the rest of the crew was a match made in heaven. You had some very, very hungry veterans lead by a Center who was in the process of becoming one of the best (if not the best) player in the game. Then, you add in some very clutch, very skilled, very smart youngsters (Cassell, Horry) who were probably too naive to realize exactly how big a stage they were on. (Then again, both guys have gone on to be amazing clutch players so maybe they did know but just were not scared.)

Rudy T could fire those guys up but the motivation and the hunger to win was already there. Rudy probably helped focus them and channel the competiveness more than anything. Those Rocket teams were just spectacular in that every guy was such a competitor. Even their version of Bonzi (Vernon) was a devil on both ends of the floor. Rudy had to be more of a mentor and a "friend" to those guys than he had to coach them much less motivate them.

I think Rudy T is a pretty good NBA coach but the Championship years were more a "perfect storm" than anything else. That doesn't mean we have to downplay his legacy, however. He IS the Houston Rockets.

 

See- Horry, Cassell, Maloney (geez, but seriously), Dickerson, Harrington, etc

Not so good with young egos? Not sure what that means. Who cares. He got more out of Francis, S. Anderson, and Griffen than anyone else...

 

i meant that the style Rudy played with the youngsters made us a perennial loser. He gave them too much freedom within the offense.

But do you all have any comments on my original question (would Rudy T be a great coach for us now if healthy?)

 

Thank you for pointing out the fact that it was RudyT who coached the US Men's team to the gold medal at the XXVII Olympics in Sydney - winning the gold in an 8-0 sweep.

 

Actually, in 2002-03, it was lottery 43-39 for the Rockets. The following season (2003-04) was JVG's first as head coach, and the result was the first round loss to the Lakers.

 

The Rockets' draft history is poor in general, and you can even go back to the 1980s as well. Historically, they never really built their team up all that well through the draft, but mainly through trades instead.

Outside of Hakeem, the only players they really got through the draft that were good and helpful for the team as far as winning championships are concerned were Robert Horry and Sam Cassell.

 

Well Yao, TMAC and all the guys we have now maybe.

Not last years team though.

 

Rudy wasn't a good gm, but he was a great coach. He took steve cuttino and the scrubs and won 45 games. He took a bunch of scrub to a bronze in international play. He is the reason the nba instituted its new rules. First with the hakeem backing it up and then with steve and cuttino show. The steve and cuttino team had very little talent, but they still had some good years.