Houston Rockets • 2003-2004 Media Guide - NBA Media Central

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Jeff Van Gundy joined the Houston Rockets as the 10th head coach in franchise history on June 11, 2003. Van Gundy possesses a career coaching record of 248-172 and posted a winning record in each of his seven seasons with the New York Knicks. Among coaches with 400 games of experience, Van Gundy ranks 13th in NBA history with a winning percentage of .590. “Our goal was to bring in a championship-caliber coach, and we have done that,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said upon Van Gundy’s hiring. “Jeff is a proven winner, and I believe that he is the right person to get our franchise back in the playoffs. We were looking for a coach who was the right fit for the organization. Jeff is a great teacher, and his knowledge of the NBA game will be very important to the development of our young players.” Van Gundy stands third in Knicks history with 248 wins, trailing only Red Holzman and Joe Lapchick. In Knicks history, Van Gundy’s winning percentage of .590 ranks second behind Pat Riley’s franchise record of .680. Van Gundy became the Knicks head coach on March 8, 1996, when Don Nelson stepped down with 23 games remaining in the season. In his first full season as head coach, Van Gundy led the 1996-97 Knicks to a 57-25 record, marking a 10-game improvement over the previous season. New York’s 57 wins matched the third-best total in franchise history and marked the best record ever posted by a Knicks coach in his first full season. Van Gundy stands with Holzman, Rick Pitino and Riley as the only coaches to guide New York to 50 wins in a season. During the 1999-2000 season, Van Gundy registered his second 50-win season with New York. The Knicks finished in second place in the Atlantic Division in four of Van Gundy’s first five seasons. Van Gundy coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game. On Dec. 8, 2001, Van Gundy resigned as head coach of the Knicks. Last season he worked with Turner Sports as an analyst on its NBA broadcasts. JEFF VAN GUNDY Head Coach Coaching Experience: 8th NBA Season Born: January 19, 1962 in Hemet, California High School: Brockport (New York) College: Nazareth College '85 10 New York advanced to the playoffs in each of Van Gundy’s first six seasons, moving past the first round five times. In Knicks history, he trails only Holzman and Lapchick for number of playoff berths. Van Gundy’s most successful playoff run with the Knicks came in 1999, when he became the first coach in NBA history to guide an eighthseeded team to the NBA Finals. The following season, the Knicks continued their postseason success with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. “I think the only goal that is worthwhile in this league is to pursue a championship,” Van Gundy said. “You may not reach that every year, obviously, but you need to strive each year to be a championship-caliber team with championshipcaliber players. That is what we will try to do here from Day One – like they have in the past. Rudy Tomjanovich set the standard very high here. I want to make sure I live up to that and build on the winning tradition that he established.” Defense has been a trademark of Van Gundycoached teams. In each of his five full seasons, Van Gundy helped the Knicks to rank among the NBA’s top five in fewest points allowed and among the top three in lowest field goal percentage allowed. Over this five-year span, New York ranked second in the NBA in scoring defense, as its 89.0 points per game allowed trailed only Miami’s mark of 88.6. During this same stretch, the Knicks led the NBA in field goal percentage defense, as opponents connected on just 42.1 percent of their field goal attempts. Under Van Gundy’s guidance, New York held 33 consecutive opponents to under 100 points from Nov. 11, 2000 to Jan. 21, 2001, which stands as the longest stretch in the NBA since the shot clock was introduced in the 1954-55 season. In his first full season, Van Gundy helped the 1996-97 Knicks limit opponents to 92.2 points per game and a league-low .425 shooting. The following season, New York ranked second in the NBA in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, as opponents averaged 89.1 points on .428 shooting. The 1998-99 Knicks restricted opponents to 85.4 points per game on
.403 shooting, marking the team’s best scoring defense since the introduction of the shot clock. The following season, the Knicks held opponents to 90.7 points per game on .424 shooting. In the 2000-2001 season, New York led the NBA in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, as opponents registered 86.1 points per game on .417 shooting. Van Gundy joined the Knicks as an assistant coach on July 28, 1989 and spent the next sixand-a-half seasons in this capacity. Stu Jackson hired Van Gundy and coached the Knicks for a season-and-a-half. Van Gundy then aided John MacLeod, who replaced Jackson and guided New York for one season. Van Gundy then worked as an assistant coach to Riley for four seasons. Lastly, Van Gundy coached under Nelson for the majority of the 1995-96 season before replacing him upon his resignation. During Van Gundy's time as assistant coach, New York never finished lower than third in the Atlantic Division, winning three division titles. The Knicks qualified for the playoffs in every year of his tenure as assistant coach, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and the NBA Finals vs. Houston the following year. 11 Van Gundy’s coaching career began in 1985 at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York. The following year, he became a graduate assistant under Pitino at Providence, helping the Friars advance to the Final Four. In his second season at Providence, he was promoted to assistant coach under Gordon Chiesa. The next season, Van Gundy became an assistant coach under Bob Wenzel at Rutgers. Van Gundy hails from a family of basketball coaches. His father, Bill, retired after four decades of coaching, including 15 years as the head coach at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York. His brother, Stan, serves as assistant head coach under Riley with the Miami Heat, after a college coaching career at Vermont, Castleton State, Canisius, Fordham, Massachusetts-Lowell and Wisconsin. Van Gundy graduated from Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, where he played point guard for two seasons. In 1996, he was honored with induction into the Nazareth College Sports Hall of Fame. Van Gundy lives in Houston with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Mattie. Jeff Van Gundy’s Coaching Record Year Team Record Pct. Playoffs Pct. Playoff Result 1995-96 New York 13-10 .565 4-4 .500 Advanced to Conference Semifinals 1996-97 New York 57-25 .695 6-4 .600 Advanced to Conference Semifinals 1997-98 New York 43-39 .524 4-6 .400 Advanced to Conference Semifinals 1998-99 New York 27-23 .540 12-8 .600 Advanced to NBA Finals 1999-00 New York 50-32 .610 9-7 .563 Advanced to Conference Finals 2000-01 New York 48-34 .585 2-3 .400 Lost in First Round 2001-02 New York 10-9 .526 — — Did not participate TOTALS 7 Years 248-172 .590 37-32 .536 HEAD COACH
Page 1 and 2: Houston Rockets • 2003-2004 Media
Page 3 and 4: Houston Rockets Toyota Center 1510
Page 5 and 6: ROCKETS DIRECTORY Finance & Adminis
Page 7 and 8: When Leslie Alexander purchased the
Page 9: Carroll Dawson GENERAL MANAGER Carr
Page 13 and 14: Patrick Ewing Assistant Coach BASKE
Page 15 and 16: Andy Greer Assistant Coach BASKETBA
Page 17 and 18: BASKETBALL STAFF Dennis Lindsey Vic
Page 19 and 20: Mike Wells Video Coordinator Mike W
Page 21 and 22: Brent Johnson Personnel Scout BASKE
Page 23: Sally Martin Manager of Basketball

Houston Rockets • 2003-2004 Media Guide - NBA Media Central

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