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Thibodeau spotlightedWhen Jeff Van Gundy was made Rockets coach, there was little doubt his assistants with the Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, Steve Clifford and Andy Greer would join him. But during the NBA coaching searches last spring, something bothered Van Gundy that remained under his skin when he put together his staff. "I couldn't understand why more people weren't talking about (Thibodeau) as a head coach," Van Gundy said. Thibodeau, Clifford, Greer and former Knicks star Patrick Ewing are the Rockets assistants. But to help prevent what he considered an oversight the next time teams go looking for a new head coach, Van Gundy sought to raise Thibodeau's profile, naming him assistant head coach. "He's not a self-promoter," Van Gundy said of Thibodeau. "He's not always telling you how good he is. This is my way of rewarding his long service and dedication and ... to enlighten those that do the hiring for a head coaching job that this guy truly would be a great NBA head coach." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Wins, not frills, impress Rockets' Van GundyThe office Jeff Van Gundy chose for himself is hardly a broom closet. And the one he turned down is not the dark-paneled, leather-chaired, opulent palace of corporate CEOs or college football coaches. But in one of his tours of the Rockets' new arena, Van Gundy checked out the offices that lead from the oversized locker room to the steam room, sauna and whirlpools and made a switch. Rather than accept the larger quarters he had been assigned, he took the smaller room down the hall. "I thought it would work better that way," Van Gundy said. "It's not much different. An office is an office. It doesn't really matter, as long as it works well." Image is irrelevant. He got the job. Everything else, he said, is about what works. Now, Van Gundy said, "It's about winning." Van Gundy had long since embraced the reality that office size will no more measure success than the label on a suit or shine on a car. He would rather not describe the changes he has made or even the fingerprints he has left around the Rockets' organization. He is so unpretentious, he seems to consider it pretentious to even admit how unpretentious he is. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Rockets aide stays put, cites prayerMelvin Hunt was not in a position to be picky. He needed the job. It didn't have to be, but the job seemed perfect. Rudy Tomjanovich had stepped down as Rockets coach, and it would be weeks before Jeff Van Gundy would be hired. Hunt had no idea where his career was headed when Baylor, his alma mater, offered a job as an assistant coach. Hunt had a young family to support and a career to nourish. Patrick Dennehy was a relatively unknown, talented college basketball player alive and well at Baylor. There was little to even hint at the scandal and disgrace to come. Hunt accepted the congratulations of his friends and looked forward to becoming a college coach. He was not dipping his toes; he was ready to dive into waters that he could not have known would become a college basketball cesspool. "I was really excited," Hunt said in June, days after he had turned down the "perfect job." "But my wife and I prayed about it and something just didn't seem right. I don't know what it is. But I'm going to stay with the Rockets and trust that it is the right thing. Something just isn't right." Weeks later, Dennehy would be declared missing. In the weeks that followed, Dennehy would be found dead. His former teammate Carlton Dotson would be arrested and charged with murder. The ensuing investigation would uncover widespread rules violations. Head coach Dave Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton would resign. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Rockets Aug 2003 Archive
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