Who and how is Rudy T.

The answers you get in this forum will run the gamut of opinions, from some people telling you he is a drunken idiot, to others telling you he's the best coach in the league.

Regardless of people's opinion of him as an X's and O's coach, I think everybody can agree that he is the type of coach players want to play for. He never embarasses players publicly (a la George Karl and Phil Jackson) and he always gives his players his full support.

He's also an icon of this organization, as he has been with the team as a player, scout, assistant and head coach, all told for over 30 years now, I think.

I personally think the guy is a good coach that doesn't get the credit he deserves in this forum, by some people who wouldn't know NBA basketball if it bit them in the ass. Some people have this notion that the only correct way to play basketball is found in Pete Carril's playbook, which is great if you have a bunch of slow and plodding players that can't create their own shot, but doesn't really apply to the Rockets with the individual scorers they have.

I think the talk of him getting fired after this year if they don't make the playoffs is blown out of proportion...next year he might be out of excuses, but with this the first year that we have our complete nucleus together, I don't think it would be time to replace him.

 

You DON'T know who Rudy T is?!?!?!?!

I never thought this day would come.

How can one be on this BBS and NOT know who Rudy is?!?!?!?

Well, now that I have that off my chest...he's obviously the coach and it may seem that we are unhappy with him, he is the first coach who has brought a championship to the city of Houston (with respects to Lou Rymkus, coach of the 1960 Oiles AFL champs). Rudy T has battled alcoholism and has struggled the past 3 or 4 seasons. They pretty much declined each year since the championship years, except in 96-97 when they had a (near?) team record for wins. The reason he hasn't been fired is because the injuries and rebuilding. But after next year, if there's no improvement, he's surely gone. It's just that fans expect a lot more from Rudy (especially half the country of China just about) than in recent years. There's no reason for a struggling team, but then again, a lot of teams are struggling this year.

Let's just hope for the best, but I still do not believe you didn't know who Rudy T was....

 

He told you that in the first line of his post

 

No, you see I'm illiterate when it comes to these things. I suppose stupidity is the essence of being dumb?

You tell me.

 

One of Rudy's best coaching jobs was the 98 or 99 world championships. It was during the NBA strike so the pros were not allowed to play. The team was comprised of college pros and some CBA castoffs...basically, the team was given no chance. But, Rudy gathered the troops and the team made the medal round, I think finishing fourth overall (to the surprise of many).

I think Rudy needs people who are hungry to play for him. The championship years were composed of Hakeem and Clyde's will to win. That 99 World Championship squad was motivated because its own country gave them no chance. Rudy is a lot like Phil Jackson in my eyes. If you have players willing to sacrifice for a championship, he will lead you to one. Unlike Phil, Rudy is willing to rebuild (which maybe a bigger compliment). Only time will tell if Rudy has the right players but I have a feeling that if Rudy was leading the Spurs or Kings, jamalccc and others would not only know, but admire, the coach.

 

Jamal,

With all due respect, Rudy is one lucky guy! He took over a team from the previous NBA Coach of the Year, Don Chaney. People said Don had lost the team and his trusty assistant, Rudy, pulled the knife out of Don's back and took over. He guided the Rox to consecutive championships! He has blind love throughout. He has overstayed his welcome. The Rox went from selling out every home game to finishing next to last in attendance. He has his deepest team ever this year. So making the Playoffs should be easy for this incredible coach. The Rox are 5th in the West, so we will see if Rudy can hang on to his job by making the Playoffs. Jamal, I'm sure that you wouldn't pay a guy $4M/yr and he fails to make the Playoffs 4 straight years. I will watch along with you and see how this pans out.

 

Jamaal,

Rudy to us is like Michael Jackson's kids are to him, we love him but every now and then we want to toss him out of a window.

 

The way it goes is that Rudy NEVER really wanted the job. Apparently, his first game as head coach, he told Otis Thorpe that he wasn't ready and did not want the position. He said he thought Don Chaney was doing better than he ever could and Rudy assumed he would only be a filler for a few months.

It's amazing that he has been head coach of the same team longer than anyone in the league except Jerry "Can't-Win-Crybaby" Sloan. It's good to see the Jazz suffer.

 

Derrock, Rudy led the USA team to 3rd place in the World Championships.

 

Well, he said "I am a converted Rockets fan due to Yao Ming's presence there, and now I love the Roxs more and more", so he obviously wasn't even watching the team during the Rockets glory days to know what an integral part Rudy is to this team's history

dumb? stupid? Hey, take your pick

 

I don't usually respond to these kinds of posts, but I will make an exception for this. This is total BS. Nobody (let alone Rudy) stabbed Chaney in the back. It never happened, and frankly I don't recall anyone even implying that it did. Chaney lost the team on his own.

 

It needs to be pointed out that Rudy Tomjanovich was also, at one time, one heck of a player, a forward with a sweet shooting touch. The Rockets teams with Rudy and Calvin were a lot of fun to watch.

Rudy Tomjanovich is the third leading scorer all time with the Houston Rockets. His scoring average while with the Rockets was 17.4 points per game, and he averaged 8.1 rebounds a game.

Rudy T was an excellent player, and knows how big men play, because he was one.

I really think Rudy knows the game and he is capable of using a big man well. There is some concern on the BBS that maybe Rudy is too nice a guy sometimes, and may not be able to get his point across.

All I can say is, he's one of the best coaches I've seen with the Rockets. The three coaches I've liked with the rockets are Del Harris, Bill Fitch and Rudy. And Rudy was the coach who unlocked Hakeem's potential as a player.

Dave.

 

At first, I thought you were crazy (like saying Phil Jackson unlocked MJ's potential) but looking at Hakeem's stats, you are right if you meant his full potential . After Rudy came aboard in'91-'92, Hakeem had his best 4 seasons ever, including a MVP runner-up (wrongly given to Charles), a MVP, and a MVP by example (the Admiral can attest). Good timing on Rudy's part or the Rudy influence? Hey, the same arguments can be discussed about PJ and Michael but in the end, they still won. As did Rudy and Hakeem.

 

Rudy is also called "Soup Commander in Chief." That means he is good with food-like entities such as Rice, Snachbar, Cat (uh, sorry about this one), and some Mooshie stuff.

 

I think I saw an SI article back then that said that it was Rudy who had a long discussion with Dream to convince him he had to trust his teammates to win a championship, or something like that.

 

Full potential is exactly what I meant. The first time I saw Hakeem pass out of a double team, my jaw dropped to the floor. And it was in Rudy's tenure that he began to develop better floor vision and get others more engaged in play.

Dave

 

I'm pretty good with the Snatch-bar myself.

 

In the world we now live in polls help answer questions like these. For example "what is Rudy T to you":

1. A great coach. A top 5 NBA coach.
2. A great man manager but a questionable play-caller/teacher.
3. A pretender.
4. An over archiever.
5. All of the above.


For me he is a good man manager but he has not really wowed me with "coaching" per se. He did a great job in 1993-1995 with vets and was able to deliever two rings but many would agree with me that it was more Hakeem that Coach. He was truly exposed by George Carl (sp) then of Seatle Super Sonics who Rudi in those playoff series. Simply he could not come up with a counter when his star player was "locked-up".

That is just my opinion.