Stan the Man

Shaq called him the “Master of Panic”. Dwight called him out after a Game 5 loss to the Celtics. Heck even the Magic’s backup center, Marcin Gortat, had the nerve to rip his own head coach. The media makes Van Gundy out to look like Joe Biden, the target of all jokes who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. Yet with all of the criticism he has received by outsiders and within his own locker room, Stan Van Gundy has the chance to win the Orlando Magic its first ever NBA Championship. He must be doing something right.

Van Gundy started out his career by learning from one of the best in the business. He was an assistant and the heir apparent to Pat Riley within the Miami Heat Organization. After taking over for Riley he turned the Heat into a playoff team; however, Riley surely wanted to come back to coach once he was able to acquire Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers. Riley basically told Van Gundy to “Stan” down or else he would be fired. Van Gundy then announced he was taking a leave of absence to spend more time with family which sounded as believable as OJ Simpson announcing he was going to search for the real killer. He finally found the job he wanted in Orlando only to be passed on by Billy Donovan, the Florida Gators coach who led the program to back to back championships. It was only after Donovan decided to go back to school {to prove to dad that I’m not a fool} that Van Gundy got offered the job. And now in only his second year as the Magic head coach, they are Eastern Conference Champions.

Part of being a great head coach is the legacy you leave behind. Hiring Patrick Ewing as an assistant coach after he previously worked for the Houston Rockets, proved to be valuable. After elevating the careers of both Yao Ming and Dwight Howard, Patrick Ewing will now have the opportunity to become a legitimate candidate for a head coaching position. Dwight Howard became the unquestioned, most dominant center in the NBA. This season, Howard won Defensive player of the year after leading the league in rebounds and blocks. He finished second only to David Lee with 63 double-doubles, and in the two years Ewing coached him he averaged 20 points per game.

Van Gundy’s team is playing unconventional basketball. Dwight Howard is the defensive guru while not necessarily their main offensive weapon in the closing minutes of a game. They rely mostly on the one NBA rule you are never supposed to follow. {They live and die on the three point shot} They have the most versatile front court in the NBA headlined by Howard. Rashard Lewis at 6’10 is an extremely tough cover for any opposing forward who can make threes while also having the quickness to drive to the basket. Hedo Turkoglu also at 6’10 from Turkey has the ability to put the ball on the floor and even plays some point forward during crunch time. I forgot to mention that for the second half of the season, Van Gundy’s team has been missing their all star point guard Jameer Nelson. There are not many teams that can survive a playoff run without having one of its all stars playing.

Sure it is easy to make fun of the guy who looks like porn star Ron Jeremy, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Stan Van Gundy is only one of three current NBA coaches not in their first year of coaching who has made the playoffs in every season. {Mike Brown and Phil Jackson are the other two}He was a finalist for Coach of the Year but the award was given to Mike Brown instead, who was badly outcoached by Van Gundy during their series. Of course for Van Gundy’s story to have a fairytale ending, he needs to defeat the Lakers for the NBA championship. Getting a ring before his brother Jeff Van Gundy, who will be at courtside announcing all the games for ABC, would just be icing on the cake.