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Jeff Van Gundy pleading the 5th on Pelicans coaching search
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:14 pm
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:14 pm
quote:
Jeff Van Gundy was mum on Wednesday afternoon when asked if he was indeed a possible candidate for the Pelicans’ head coaching job.
Yahoo Sports reported on Monday that the Pelicans were interested Van Gundy as a possible replacement for Monty Williams, who was fired last week.
But Van Gundy wouldn’t confirm or deny that report on Wednesday when he and broadcast partner Mark Jackson answered questions on an ESPN conference call.
“I have too much respect for the coaching profession and the sanctity of a job search to publicly to speak about any job openings,” said Van Gundy. “That’s really not my style.”
LINK
4
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:17 pm to Fun Bunch
McNamara spouting things:
quote:
He and Sean Miller were the first two names I heard who were aggressively pursuing the job last week
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:20 pm to Fun Bunch
slight thread hijack/
what would everyone say is Van Gundy's style of play?
what would everyone say is Van Gundy's style of play?
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:21 pm to Ryan3232
quote:
what would everyone say is Van Gundy's style of play?
Defense. Defense. Defense.
Slow paced offense.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:23 pm to Ryan3232
quote:
what would everyone say is Van Gundy's style of play?
Circa 2003 offense, meaning nonexistent
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:25 pm to Fun Bunch
quote:
He preaches elements of various defensive styles, and is well aware of the vulnerabilities that come with being too static or predictable – as a result, he attaches a variety of situational caveats and counters to his schemes while maintaining the basics. His base system, both in Houston and New York, ran inside-out; that is, the big men inside are the captains defensively, recognizing the response particular situations call for and communicating outwardly to their guards. He preaches many elements of “Red” defense – heavy guard pressure on the ball, particularly on the wings and especially after the ball-handler has picked up his dribble. His Knicks teams especially used this in conjunction with frequent fronting of the low post, something modern fans will equate with the Miami Heat’s strategy.3
Van Gundy was particularly wary of becoming transparent against the pick-and-roll, even during the mid-90’s slog-fest when only the Jazz and a handful of other teams were even using it as the centerpiece of their offense. He varied things quite well based on personnel, and his Knicks teams in particular were versatile given the presence of Patrick Ewing and several long, speedy wing defenders. These Knicks would often blitz the ball-handler up high with both defenders4, and were particularly diligent in playing a “down” coverage (also known more commonly as “ice” or “blue” today) against side pick-and-rolls to cut off the middle of the floor5. His Rockets certainly varied things to a degree, but were generally a bit more conservative, again due to Yao’s skill set as a defensive anchor. Elements like heavy on-ball trapping after dribble pick-ups, selective double-teams situationally, and precise rotations remained constants throughout.
Perhaps most vital, though, is the way Van Gundy teaches recovery. First-level stuff is important, but also expected in the NBA – where many defenses break down is in the time it takes them to rotate through multiple offensive actions and remain stout. JVG spends a huge amount of time with his teams on this detail, preaching a “big pushes small” philosophy where wings crash into the paint and bump opposing big men, creating enough time for the recovering defensive big to get back in position and “push” the wing back out to his man. He details specific recovery protocols for each of his defensive schemes and their potential variations, and while complex, these have resulted in his teams always being among the most disciplined in the league defensively. My strategy-inclined readers should gain some real insight from this late 90’s video detailing many of Van Gundy’s defensive principles along with corresponding tape from his Knicks teams:
LINK
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:25 pm to Ryan3232
Since these days every coach is either "offensive" or "defensive," JVG would be the latter. That is, his team always performed well defensively.
This post was edited on 5/20/15 at 4:26 pm
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:28 pm to Fun Bunch
As others have put it, he's the original Thibs only he doesn't have an infamous grating personality. Riley begat JVG who begat Thibs. Also, several months back on Zach Lowe's podcast the question came up whether he'd prefer a defensively skewed player or an offensively skewed player and he said he'd take offense every time because you can coach players to play defense. This seems to be the opposite philosophy of Monty, although I suppose you can also read it as "I don't know how to coach offense so my players need to figure it out."
David Fisher posted some interesting stats about "stuck in the 90's" JVG
David Fisher posted some interesting stats about "stuck in the 90's" JVG
quote:
David Fisher @usnfish · May 19
JVGs last year in Houston
1st in 3PT attempt rate
1st in Defensive eFG%
3rd in DRtg
4th in SRS
RAFER ALSTON LED THE TEAM IN MINUTES
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:29 pm to Fontainebleau Dr.
Didn't he also have Thibs on his staff for a number of those years? You have to wonder if it was Thibs making the defense so great or if JVG helped Thibs become the coach he is.
You also have to wonder if JVG's time in the booth has given him some perspective to change philosophy somewhat with the modern game. He does embrace analytics these days, from what I understand.
You also have to wonder if JVG's time in the booth has given him some perspective to change philosophy somewhat with the modern game. He does embrace analytics these days, from what I understand.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:29 pm to Fontainebleau Dr.
Anyone else pissed that it seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:34 pm to quail man
quote:
Anyone else pissed that it seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
Not at all. This is the deepest coach pool I can remember since I started following the team 7 years ago. I think part of the reason for firing Monty now is because you have so many options. 2 successful coaches were fired for creative differences, not failure (Thibs and Malone), multiple high level college coaches threw their hats into the ring, AND, there really aren't that many vacancies considering the number of coaches available.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:35 pm to quail man
quote:
Anyone else pissed that it seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
Not really. All that matters is that he's fired.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:38 pm to quail man
quote:
seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
Not at all. This isn't like 5 yrs ago when we weren't an attractive landing spot. I'm glad they are taking their time with the hiring process.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:42 pm to WB504
quote:
Anyone else pissed
Not at all, why rush this?
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:43 pm to Fun Bunch
The Pelicans are probably contacting a lot of coaches right now. This isn't that surprising.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 4:45 pm to WB504
I would not mind JVG if he has learned some new things about todays game from being a commentator.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 5:20 pm to quail man
quote:
Anyone else pissed that it seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
No, you shouldn't keep someone who is incompetent around just because you don't yet know who you're going to replace them with. They obviously felt like there were many candidates that could replace Monty and do a better job.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 5:24 pm to quail man
quote:nope. i'd rather they do their due diligence and look for the best possible candidate. secret back door meetings while monty is still the coach wouldn't give them the freedom they have now.
Anyone else pissed that it seems pretty clear (at least to this point) the team didn't have anyone lined up as a successor to Monty before they fired him?
This post was edited on 5/20/15 at 5:25 pm
Posted on 5/20/15 at 5:54 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
As others have put it, he's the original Thibs only he doesn't have an infamous grating personality. Riley begat JVG who begat Thibs. Also, several months back on Zach Lowe's podcast the question came up whether he'd prefer a defensively skewed player or an offensively skewed player and he said he'd take offense every time because you can coach players to play defense. This seems to be the opposite philosophy of Monty, although I suppose you can also read it as "I don't know how to coach offense so my players need to figure it out."
David Fisher posted some interesting stats about "stuck in the 90's" JVG
Anyone interested in knowing more about JVG needs to go search the Lowe Post archives. He's been on there with Lowe several times (not just the most recent coach talk one) since he started the pod a year ago or so. Very enlightening and interesting conversation.
JVG is more hip to the modern game than people think. He clearly talks to his brother, who was going small and launching tons of 3s in Orlando. Can Jeff actually coach in a modern style or will he revert to Riley ball? Who knows. But he's definitely aware of how things have changed.
Posted on 5/20/15 at 7:40 pm to corndeaux
I have listened to some of the podcasts with JVG in the past and I agree with you. I also would like to think that if he is a serious candidate, the first question in the interview would be asking him about what he plans to do offensively with the team. So if he does get hired, I'd assume he answered those questions adequately.
I just wonder how much pull/respect he still has to pull assistants. I imagine it has to be more than Gentry and maybe even Thibs. I think there would be a greater emphasis for JVG to hire the right assistants than the others. It would be important for JVG to hire an assistant who was recently a HC to help with his transition back to coaching, like Malone. Hopefully he has that pull.
Whether you like JVG or not, you have to like that JVG is interested in the job. He has to really like the direction the franchise is going if he wants to step in, and speaks to how outsiders view the position of the franchise.
I just wonder how much pull/respect he still has to pull assistants. I imagine it has to be more than Gentry and maybe even Thibs. I think there would be a greater emphasis for JVG to hire the right assistants than the others. It would be important for JVG to hire an assistant who was recently a HC to help with his transition back to coaching, like Malone. Hopefully he has that pull.
Whether you like JVG or not, you have to like that JVG is interested in the job. He has to really like the direction the franchise is going if he wants to step in, and speaks to how outsiders view the position of the franchise.
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