Jeff Van Gundy

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Jeff Van Gundy
Jeff Van Gundy (right) was the coach for the Rockets from 2003 to 2007.
Born	January 19, 1962 (1962-01-19) (age 47) Hemet, California

Jeff Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962 in Hemet, California) is a former American basketball head coach, he coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. Van Gundy transferred to Menlo College and ultimately graduated from New York's Nazareth College (1985) after he was cut from Yale University's basketball team.

Van Gundy grew up as a son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at Brockport State University in Western New York. Jeff Van Gundy's brother Stan Van Gundy is the current head coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic.

[edit] Career

Van Gundy began his basketball coaching career at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York, where he coached during the 1985-1986 season. Let's Go Nights! The following year, he became a graduate assistant under Rick Pitino at Providence College, helping the Providence Friars advance to the Final Four. In his second season with the Providence Friars, he was promoted to assistant coach under Gordon Chiesa. The next season, Van Gundy became an assistant coach under Bob Wenzel at Rutgers.

On July 28, 1989, Jeff Van Gundy became assistant coach for the New York Knicks. The next six-and-a-half seasons would be spent providing support to Stu Jackson (1989-1990), John MacLeod (1990-1991) , Pat Riley (1991-1995) and Don Nelson (1995-1996). The Knicks never finished lower than third in the Atlantic Division, won three division titles, and qualified for the playoffs in every year of his tenure as an assistant coach. The Knicks would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in 1994.^[1]

From March 8, 1996 to his resignation on December 8, 2001, Van Gundy was the head coach of the New York Knicks. He led the Knicks to the playoffs six times, including their Cinderella run to the 1999 NBA Finals.

Van Gundy was hired by the Houston Rockets in 2003. On May 18, 2007, Van Gundy was fired from his position as head coach of the Houston Rockets after their seven-game first-round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz. Later that night, Van Gundy was a guest analyst for ESPN's broadcast of the Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs game in San Antonio, Texas and has since helped cover the playoffs for ESPN in the broadcast booth.^[2]

On May 12, 2009, Van Gundy expressed his desire to eventually return to coaching on ESPN writer Bill Simmons' podcast, stating he would even consider being an assistant coach.

[edit] Coaching record

[1]: Took over after Don Nelson was fired

[2]: Resigned on December 8, 2001 and was replaced by Don Chaney

[edit] Other information

"JVG", as he is called in Internet fandom, created a memorable scene in the 1998 NBA Playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. When the Heat's Alonzo Mourning and the Knicks' Larry Johnson engaged in a violent, bench-clearing brawl, Van Gundy unsuccessfully tried to break up the fight. Most memorable is Van Gundy's fall to the floor, where he then hangs onto Mourning's leg.

In a 2001 game against the San Antonio Spurs, Danny Ferry elbowed Marcus Camby; While talking to the referee, Camby lost control and tried to punch Ferry, however he missed and hit coach Van Gundy instead.

In May 2005, Van Gundy was fined $100,000 by the NBA for accusing referees of targeting the Houston Rockets center Yao Ming . Van Gundy blamed Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for causing the referees (alleged) bias. This is the largest fine ever handed down to a coach in NBA history.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• BasketballReference.com: Jeff Van Gundy
• Why Houston Rockets Coach Jeff Van Gundy Is a More Fitting Free Speech Hero Than New York Times Reporter Judith Miller - Michael C. Dorf, FindLaw, May 11, 2005
• Van Gundy’s Inner Comedian New York Times article by Richard Sandomir