Are Stan And Jeff Van Gundy Complete Egomanicacs?

[KWSN-Men]

Let's examine this. With the recent Shaq feud with Stan Van Gundy, Shaq's former coach with the Miami Heat, it got me to thinking. Why would Shaq really be that pissed at Stan Van Gundy? And then I realized that, maybe Stan, like his brother Jeff, is a complete egomaniac and tyrant of a coach?

Look at Jeff Van Gundy's track record:

Marcus Camby - he refused to play him simply to spite his boss and get him fired.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062009/sp ... htm?page=2

It's also important to remember Jeff was flexing muscle at the time. He was fresh from undermining Ernie Grunfeld out of his president/GM job and reaching the Finals on the lengthy defensive forte of Marcus Camby (and Latrell Sprewell), whom he refused to play early and often to spite his later deposed boss (and himself) to avenge trading Charles Oakley.

Fabricio Oberto - ran him out of training camp and the NBA simply because he didn't want any foreign players and his GM went against his wishes

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stor ... 5f1bf.html

http://www.pacersdigest.com/apache2-def ... 14886.html

Oberto first tried to make it to the NBA with the Knicks during the summer of 1999, spending much of his 10 days in New York on the receiving end of rants from then-coach Jeff Van Gundy. Oberto was stunned when the Knicks told him they wouldn't be bringing him to Boston with their summer-league team, and he looks back on it as the worst days of his professional career.

"I realized then, I think I was set up," said Oberto, whose Knicks tryout kept him from playing on Argentina's national team in the 1999 Olympic qualifier. "They didn't tell me until the last day, and I felt really bad about that. They didn't tell me I needed to play a couple more years. If they had said that, I could have accepted their point."

Dejected, he signed with Tau Ceramica in Spain.

Frédéric Weis - made him leave Knicks camp in tears and heart broken because the native French speaker could not understand NBA jargon in English

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062009/sp ... htm?page=2

OK, so here are the Knicks preparing for the summer league and Weis shows up. Though unsigned, he'd agreed to work out, but it was implicit he could play but a couple games on account of French national team obligations.

"Those first workouts were indicative of what was in store for Fred," said a forward observer. "He had little English skills, especially when you hear most Americans speak 'English.' He was capable of speaking and understanding, but it was at best, faulty.

"Jeff began drills by propping Frederic first in line, explaining how the drill has to be done, using NY slang and NBA basketball jargon," the source continues.

"Fred is instantly lost, comprehending maybe half of what's being said. The drills go very badly. Jeff loses patience after two minutes and starts hurling insults, his usual freakin' sissy routine. From then on it was expletive this and expletive that as Weis got lost in every aspect of what Jeff was trying to implement tactically."

That abuse carried over to the summer league, where Weis played lost and Jeff handled him like he had leprosy. The final straw was when Weis offered to play the first half of the third game; he had a flight to catch (to France) and the time factor only allowed him to play that much, shower and get to the airport.

"Jeff sent him off with a tongue-lashing and a 'no need to play' the first half because 'the Knicks don't need you,' " recounted the source.

Back in the hotel, while packing his bags, Weis, teary-eyed, swore he'd never have anything to do with the Knicks and Jeff after such mistreatment.

"He's a good kid and could've been an asset," the source concluded. "Instead, Jeff took the 'French Toast' New York Post full-page shot at him. I was ashamed I didn't say something to that arrogant little [bleep]. Everybody who was there should be ashamed."

Mirsad Türkcan - this quote from Jeff to the Euroleague's all-time leading rebounder says it all

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... A96F958260

"I was talking to Mirsad Turkcan," Van Gundy, the Knicks' coach, said.

"He said to me, 'You got no 3.'

"I said, 'What?'

"He said, 'You got no 3.' " (Referring to the Knicks' having no legitimate starting small forward.)

"What about Larry Johnson?" Van Gundy asked Turkcan.

"He 4," Turkcan replied in halting English.

"What about Latrell Sprewell?" Van Gundy asked.

"He 2."

Turkcan then pointed to himself and announced, "Me 3."

Van Gundy said, "You 3, me fired."

Vassilis Spanoulis - This is the best one yet, by far. Promised him playing time to get him to sign a smaller contract and then benched him permanently saying that no such promise was ever made. Made fun of him in a Houston paper over claiming he was "The T-Mac of Greece", a comment which Spanoulis never even made.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... ake_n.html

Spanoulis's primary gripe was that he opted out of the final two years of his contract with Panathinaikos, turning down more money - more than $1 million annually in salary - to leave his hometown fans and pursue his dream to play in the NBA.

"Billy on a mobile" a mocking impersonation of the Greek speaker, made by IMPERSONATING HIM..........

here's the audio clip:

http://podcast.sportsradio610.com/kilt2/100664.mp3

Now Van Gundy................

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spo ... 90534.html

Van Gundy nods his head.

"(Spanoulis) says, 'I was McGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here," Van Gundy said.

"I feel badly for him. He feels he was misled."

His BS is exposed by himself stating he is a talented player, while also stating he had a good work ethic and mental makeup, which he later denied:

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Notes_V ... 24-34.html

Van Gundy said Spanoulis has the sort of work ethic and energy level that will keep him in the NBA for a long time, even if his rookie season turns out to be more of a learning experience.

Van Gundy said, "I just believe this guy has the right mental makeup to be a good NBA player."

The Rockets GM on the issue:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/ ... 24/01/2007

“We like the player we signed,” Rockets’ General Manager Caroll Dawson was quoted as telling the Houston Chronicle.

"We want this kid here.”

Yao Ming's opinion:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spo ... 74775.html

ROCKETS NOTES: Spanoulis draws Nash comparison

By FRAN BLINEBURY AND JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Are the Rockets ready for Steve Nasharopoulos of Athens?

As you would expect, progress is coming in small steps for Vassilis Spanoulis. The star of the Greek national team had 10 points, eight assists and four turnovers in 22 minutes against Milwaukee.

"Every day for me is a new lesson," Spanoulis said. "I learn new things every day about the NBA, because it's totally different than playing in Europe. Every day I'm learning my teammates a little better, and that makes things better for me."

Spanoulis' tallest teammate is quite impressed.

"He is great," said Yao Ming. "He can see the court. He always makes the right decision. He makes passes to the right people, and passes are right on target.

"Give him time, and I think he will maybe be like Steve Nash one day."

A Houston sports writer's opinion:

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2007/01/care ... and_a.html

For all his frustration -- perhaps you've heard -- I have been struck in recent weeks at how cordial Billy Spanoulis has been.

"Every day, he comes in, offers a big smile, asks how I'm doing. It's just small talk, common courtesy. But you know how it is when you see someone every day. Pretty soon you nod, maybe grunt. It all becomes perfunctory. Professional athletes learn that to say hello is to invite inquiries.

This guy is endlessly courteous."


Now we have Shaq obviously letting it be known that he doesn't think Stan Van Gundy is really at all what people seem to think he's like. It really makes me wonder how these guys keep getting these coaching jobs, with being such ruthless and arrogant jerks like this.

[bullzman23]

Fabricio Oberto is bad. I don't blame JVG for not liking him.

[Rasho Brezec]

You forgot the best one, OP. JVG's response to Mirsad Turkcan:

"I was talking to Mirsad Turkcan," Van Gundy, the Knicks' coach, said.

"He said to me, 'You got no 3.'

"I said, 'What?'

"He said, 'You got no 3.' " (Referring to the Knicks' having no legitimate starting small forward.)

"What about Larry Johnson?" Van Gundy asked Turkcan.

"He 4," Turkcan replied in halting English.

"What about Latrell Sprewell?" Van Gundy asked.

"He 2."

Turkcan then pointed to himself and announced, "Me 3."

Van Gundy said, "You 3, me fired."

I can't wait till sunday when the Suns are playing Spurs on ABC. JVG will probably rip Shaq a new one.

[KWSN-Men]

You forgot the best one, OP. JVG's response to Mirsad Turkcan:

"I was talking to Mirsad Turkcan," Van Gundy, the Knicks' coach, said.

"He said to me, 'You got no 3.'

"I said, 'What?'

"He said, 'You got no 3.' " (Referring to the Knicks' having no legitimate starting small forward.)

"What about Larry Johnson?" Van Gundy asked Turkcan.

"He 4," Turkcan replied in halting English.

"What about Latrell Sprewell?" Van Gundy asked.

"He 2."

Turkcan then pointed to himself and announced, "Me 3."

Van Gundy said, "You 3, me fired."

I can't wait till sunday when the Suns are playing Spurs on ABC. JVG will probably rip Shaq a new one.

You are right I totally forgot that one. I'll add it. The question is, does JVG have some sort of weird ethnocentric hatred of players from the Euroleague or something? But then how does that explain him refusing to play Marcus Camby simply out of spite to his boss?

[Rasho Brezec]

I don't think he has anything against players from Euroleague. He just likes discipline and can be a bit impatient sometimes. Oberto, Weis and Turkcan all sucked and he didn't have patience with them. Spanoulis was the most talented of them, but he's a selfish and arrogant ballhog and JVG didn't want any of that.

[Three34]

Spanoulis chugs arse.

[KWSN-Men]

No explanation for benching Camby out of spite and to get his boss fired?

[NBA Analyst+]

LOL @ this thread. what does any of this have to do with SVG?

[KWSN-Men]

LOL @ this thread. what does any of this have to do with SVG?

That's what I am asking. Is he also like his brother Jeff (who obviously has some issues) and is that the reason why Shaq seems to really not like him?

[Undrafted Rook]

Spanoulis' wasn't willing to take the abuse and just wait if he ever get's his chance, maybe he should have, but then again if he wasn't greek he propably wouldn't have had to. And now Rockets are paying for that.

What happened to Weis, Oberto and Turkcan was certainly wrong, and things like that pushed back the international player invasion. Luckily times have changed, teams take better care of their foreign rookies and coaches like JVG had to adjust their attitudes. But I wonder what would have happened if Yao Ming was a rookie Knick in 1997, would their relationship be similar to what it's now?

I think all NBA head coaches are egomaniacs to a point. But if you come in with a background like JVG who hadn't been a head coach apart from high school and had no playing experience you certainly have to be one.

[CB4MiamiHeat]

Shaq looks like the egomaniac...

[enigmatics]

Shaq looks like the egomaniac...

[MagicMadness]

Shaq has a tendency to diss former coaches and star teammates. It's just something he's always done, whether people like it or not.

I wouldn't really look too much into it. Plus, he made his comments after SVG had questioned him for flopping. It wasn't out of the blue or anything.

I wouldn't consider SVG to be a favorite to play for, but considering the fact that he always shuns praise, or at the very least defers it towards his team and away from him, I wouldn't consider him to be egotistical either. He even mentioned that if he happened to have been named All-Star game coach, he wouldn't want to do it. He's just one of those 'all business, less fun' types of guys when it comes to coaching. He must be doing something right though, considering a guy like Dwight Howard enjoys having him as his coach.

[jflipclip]

He makes tall foreign people cry.

Thats a cool superhero ability.

[NBA Analyst+]

LOL @ this thread. what does any of this have to do with SVG?

That's what I am asking. Is he also like his brother Jeff (who obviously has some issues) and is that the reason why Shaq seems to really not like him?

People are over thinking this bigtime. Shaq takes shots at his former coaches, teamates, training staff, fans, EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. If he doesnt play there he feels the need to trash them.

Hes a great talent but also an insecure, bitchy female

[Baller 24]

LOL @ this thread. what does any of this have to do with SVG?

That's what I am asking. Is he also like his brother Jeff (who obviously has some issues) and is that the reason why Shaq seems to really not like him?

People are over thinking this bigtime. Shaq takes shots at his former coaches, teamates, training staff, fans, EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. If he doesnt play there he feels the need to trash them.

Hes a great talent but also an insecure, bitchy female

Lol he'll do whatever he wants, and no one will say anything about it, he's the most dominating force in NBA History, absolutely no player looking through can contain him, nor have.

[Three34]

Lol he'll do whatever he wants, and no one will say anything about it

Apparently that's not the case.

[NO-KG-AI]

Sounds like he made a bunch of oversensitive euros cry. Spanoulis was a vagina.

[G-Heel]

Sounds like he made a bunch of oversensitive euros cry. Spanoulis was a vagina.

spot on.

[KWSN-Men]

Sounds like he made a bunch of oversensitive euros cry. Spanoulis was a vagina.

Again what about what he did to his former boss in the Knicks and to Camby? They are not "Euros". I may be wrong on this, but didn't he also refuse to let Bonzi wells join the Rockets right before the playoffs started?