His first coaching job on the collegiate level was under Rick Pitino at Providence, and a young and impressionable Jeff Van Gundy certainly could have become enamored with the frenetic style of running and pressing that Pitino used to gain fame, acclaim and great success. Van Gundy easily might have adopted Pitino’s philosophy as his own and used it to pattern his own coaching game plan.
But five years later, Van Gundy remained an assistant on the Knicks staff when a coaching legend named Pat Riley came to town. Van Gundy spent four years watching Riley turn the Knicks into a brutally-effective team that relied on sledge-hammer defense and patterned offense. That is the style that Van Gundy continued when he took over as head coach of the Knicks when Don Nelson was fired during the 1995-96 season.
“Jeff worked for me, but he’s a Pat Riley disciple and that’s the way he’s going to play,” Pitino said last night, prior to the Knicks-Celtics game at the Garden. “They’re going to play hard-nosed, tough defense and they’re going to be in control on offense. That’s they’re style. Jeff’s a disciple of Pat’s, and it’s great coaching. I think Pat’s the premier guy in our game.”
Pitino is still trying to make his running and gunning style work in the NBA. He had sudden success with the Knicks in his two seasons, before constant bickering with then-general manager Al Bianchi over the style of play led to Pitino moving back to the college game, where his reputation soared when he resurrected the downtrodden Kentucky program. Mr. Fix-it then took his act to the Celtics, where in his third season Pitino has struggled to keep a young team pointed in the right direction. Following consecutive 36-46 finishes in his first two years back in Boston, Pitino’s Celtics came in last night laboring at 19-29.
The lockout has played havoc with many teams, and the Celtics surely have been greatly affected, considering Pitino’s strength is in teaching and practice, two ingredients which have largely been missing in this condensed season.
“I felt all I did was give the final exam,” Pitino said. “I’ve never been able to teach class.”
Van Gundy has offered up a similar lament, but with a victory last night, the Knicks could squeeze their way into the playoffs. That may not seem like much of an accomplishment for a team with a massive payroll and steep expectations, but getting into the postseason, and then a strong showing once they get there, could save Van Gundy his job.
“I think he’s one of the premier coaches in the league, not because he’s a friend of mine and not because he worked for me at one time,” Pitino said. “He’ll get snatched up right away. I wouldn’t want to play them in the first round.”
The incentive last night for the Celtics was obvious: Keep a division rival from clinching anything.
“This is our playoff game,” said Antoine Walker, Boston’s leading scorer at 18.8 points a game. “We’re trying to knock them out, that’s the fun of the NBA. If we can do it, it will be an accomplishment for us going into next season. I’d love to be in their shoes, needing to win one game to get in the playoffs.”
Like Pitino, Walker believes the Knicks will be no ordinary No. 8 seed if they can gain the final Eastern Conference berth.
“If they get in the playoffs, they’re a dangerous team,” Walker said. “‘Whoever wins the East, Miami, Indiana, I don’t think either of those teams want to play the Knicks in the first round.”