Jeff Van Gundy

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Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American basketball coach and commentator for ESPN.

He has previously been the head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association.

Early life

Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and grew up in the town of Martinez, California. He is the son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College. Jeff's elder brother, Stan, later became head coach of the NBA's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and the New Orleans Pelicans, and is the former head coach and director of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons.

As a high-school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport Central to the Class AA finals. He continued his basketball playing career at Nazareth College, where he earned All-American honors, while leading the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1984. He remains the Nazareth career leader in free throw percentage, at 86.8%.

Van Gundy attended Yale University, where he was a classmate with Jodie Foster, before transferring to Menlo College, and ultimately graduating from New York's Nazareth College, in 1985.

Life outside basketball

Jeff Van Gundy was an executive board member of Pro-Vision Academy, a charter school and non-profit organization in Houston, that provides educational, job-training, and mentoring services to boys and girls aged 10–18.

Van Gundy's older brother is Stan Van Gundy.

On May 8, 2011, Van Gundy received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, from his alma mater, Nazareth College, during the college's 84th Annual Commencement Ceremony.

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Coaching career

Van Gundy began his basketball coaching at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York, in 1985–86. He became a graduate assistant under Providence College head coach Rick Pitino, helping the Providence Friars advance to the Final Four. He was promoted to assistant coach under Gordon Chiesa in his second season with the Friars. Van Gundy joined Rutgers as an assistant coach under Bob Wenzel.

Van Gundy was an assistant coach for the New York Knicks on July 28, 1989. Don Nelson (1995–1996), and Stu Jackson (1990-1990) spent the next six-and-a-half seasons as a mentor for the Knicks (1989-1990) John MacLeod (1990–1991), Pat Riley (1990–1995), and Don Nelson (1995–1996). The Knicks won three Atlantic Division titles, never finished lower than third in the division, and qualified for the playoffs every year during his tenure as an assistant coach. In 1993, the Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, and the 1994 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets.

Van Gundy was named head coach of the New York Knicks on March 8, 1996, taking over Don Nelson's role as head coach. He notably led the Knicks to a 32-point victory over the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who had barred the Knicks from the playoffs four times since 1989. Van Gundy was unable to change that trend in the postseason, as the Knicks fell to Chicago in the conference semifinals.

The Knicks tied for the third-best franchise record in franchise history in his first full season as head coach, at 57–25. The Knicks defeated the 69–12 Chicago Bulls in the regular season finale, preventing them from posting two consecutive 70-win seasons in a row and tying the best home record in NBA history. Van Gundy starred in a memorable scene in the 1998 NBA Playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. 240 lb. when the Heat hits 6'10" (2.08 m). Alonzo Mourning, a 109 kg) center, and the Knicks' 6'7" (2.01 m) 250 lb. Larry Johnson, 113 kg) power forward, who was involved in a bench-clearing brawl, was unsuccessfully attempting to break the game up. The 5'9" (1.75 m) was the most memorably, with 165 lb. Van Gundy, 75 kg, collapsed to the ground, and Mourning's leg clung to Mourning's leg. The brawl was suspended, but the Knicks fought the series 3-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The Knicks suffered with injuries (particularly to all-star Patrick Ewing) and finished 27-23, finishing eighth seed in the playoffs (they had to win six of their remaining eight games just to qualify) during the lockout (1998–99 season). The Knicks defied expectations and defeated the Heat in five games, defeating the number one seed in the playoffs and overcoming the previous season's losing season. The win gave the Knicks a improvable run in the semifinals and advanced to the NBA Finals, with a sweeping sweep of the Hawks. They were no match in the Finals against the Spurs without Ewing, and they lost the series in five games. The Knicks were the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Knicks followed up their Finals appearance with a 50-32 record and advanced to the Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Indiana Pacers. This was the last time the Knicks had won a playoff series before the 2013 playoffs.

Danny Ferry elbowed Marcus Camby in a 2001 game between the Spurs and the Knicks. Camby lost control and threatened Ferry while talking to the referee. Camby missed Van Gundy instead, who said he learned his lesson about breaking up fights between players. In the first round, the Knicks defeated the Raptors 48-34, but in the first round, they lost to the Raptors.

Van Gundy resigned from the Knicks' head coach position just 19 games into the 2001–02 season. The play was unexpected, as the Knicks were on a winning streak and winning by 14 points over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Van Gundy was named head coach of the Houston Rockets on June 10, 2003, succeeding Rudy Tomjanovich. The Rockets finished with a 45-37 record and qualified for the first time in five years in his first season as head coach, but the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs.

Van Gundy led the team to a 51–31 record in their first season with more than 50 victories in eight years. The Rockets have lost in the first round of the playoffs, this time to the Dallas Mavericks.

McGrady and Yao missed a total of 70 games due to sickness in the 2005–06 season, and Van Gundy did not make the playoffs for the first time in his NBA head coaching career. Van Gundy was fined $100,000 by the NBA for accusing referees of attacking Houston Rockets center Yao Ming. Van Gundy chastised Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for the referees' apparent bias. This is the highest fine ever paid to a coach in NBA history.

The Rockets' injuries and disappointments continued into the following season, with injuries restricting Yao to just 48 games played, and McGrady has yet to recover from his injuries. The Rockets were on a late season run, on the back of a McGrady revival but the Utah Jazz's loss in the first round playoffs has sealed Van Gundy's fate as the team's head coach. Van Gundy was shot and then replaced by Rick Adelman after a dramatic Game 7 loss in the first round of the playoffs.

Van Gundy, the head coach of the senior United States national basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup tournament and in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, was announced in July 2017. If they qualify for either, USA head coach Gregg Popovich will return to coaching the team at the World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics. After leaving the Rockets in 2007, Team USA became Van Gundy's first coaching job since leaving the Rockets.

Van Gundy went on to guide the United States to the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup and then qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Broadcasting career

Van Gundy was a guest analyst for ESPN's coverage of the Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs game in San Antonio, Texas, and he has since been a regular broadcaster for ESPN. With play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and Mark Jackson, the NBA Finals, he now calls games as a color commentator.

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