Posted by martin:

I think a lot of folks had gotten tired of Van Gundy's offensive style (or maybe the lack of offensive creativity) and were probably tired of his constant pessimism. But the guy could coach defense and motivate his players more often than not; his record speaks for itself.

And remember, of the first 19 games that he coached this year, 14 were without Camby.

Posted by TRU:

Let's not make a martyr out of the guy. There is no denying his coaching ability, but I'll take a bad coach over a quitter six days a week-- and twice on Sunday. Considering the way many Knicks fans, myself included, felt about VanGundy, you would have thought he would have done us the honor of finishing out the season instead of behaving in the same unprofessional manner for which he villified his stars... I may be reopening old wounds, but Chaney seems to believe in this team in ways that Van obviously did not-- sometimes he seems to be the only person who has anything promising to say about the team's potential.

I agree with you, Van Gundy abandoned ship when he should have at least finished off the season.

Posted by TRU:

Let's not make a martyr out of the guy. There is no denying his coaching ability, but I'll take a bad coach over a quitter six days a week-- and twice on Sunday. Considering the way many Knicks fans, myself included, felt about VanGundy, you would have thought he would have done us the honor of finishing out the season instead of behaving in the same unprofessional manner for which he villified his stars... I may be reopening old wounds, but Chaney seems to believe in this team in ways that Van obviously did not-- sometimes he seems to be the only person who has anything promising to say about the team's potential.

I guess there is something to say about quitting on your team, but look at the other side: by leaving VG gives his assistants a shot at coaching in the NBA. He also gives the team plenty of time to find a replacement. I think that is better than staying a whole year knowing that you don't want to be there and not performing your best.

Posted by TRU:

Since when did we give a damn about assitant coaches? Van Gundy, as an adult, as a man made rich by the franchise by which he was employed, as a New Yorker had a responsibility to finish the job for which he was contracted-- end of discussion. He tendered his resignation less than one quarter of the way into the season-- betraying the fact that he must have considered not returning to coach the 2001-2002 at all. The team's situation was obvious to any observer during the off season, and yet he took up the challenge well aware that the lottery loomed. Indeed, he should have played out the 82, or never have began the season in the first place. How often do we see mid season coaching resignations in ANY major sport? It is a seldom occurance because most respect their commitments more than Van did.