Jeff Van Gundy Quotes

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Jeff Van Gundy

Profession : Coach

Birth : January 19, 1962

The public Yao was the private Yao: To his core, there was an unmistakable peace to him.

Jeff Van Gundy

As great of a player as Yao was, he was kind and patient with everybody. He wasn't trying to feed an image or cultivate a brand or manipulate a public persona.

Jeff Van Gundy

There is a goodness about Yao that is unique, that never left him through all the pain and injuries and disappointments that accompanied his unprecedented accomplishments and successes.

Jeff Van Gundy

Among the hardest-working players I've ever been associated, Yao stands at the very top of the list. Beyond that, though, here's what truly separated him from everyone else: His ability to enjoy other people's successes.

Jeff Van Gundy

Everyone wants to focus on what Ben Simmons can't do, which is shoot and try to rush him into being a range shooter. I think Simmons in Philadelphia has done a good job in focusing what he does great versus what he doesn't do as well.

Jeff Van Gundy

Why is UCLA and Georgia Tech in China to play a basketball game? Missing all that school, and then force-feeding their fans the idea of 'student-athletes.'

Jeff Van Gundy

Stop the nonsense about 'student-athlete.'

Jeff Van Gundy

In one era, it's hard enough to compare people. But comparing people of different eras... that's next to impossible.

Jeff Van Gundy

The beauty of growing up in a coaching family, particularly one that isn't at the very highest level, is that you get to be in the gym - that's where you grow up.

Jeff Van Gundy

I don't ever remember wanting to do anything but coach. My dad obviously influenced me. But it wasn't because he sat there and drilled coaching stuff into our heads. We were on the bench keeping the scorebook and traveling with the team on weekends. It was such a great upbringing.

Jeff Van Gundy

I miss coaching - certain elements of coaching.

Jeff Van Gundy

I was asked to do something and represent my country. That's a great honor. This isn't about what it could do for me but what I could do for U.S.A. Basketball.

Jeff Van Gundy

My father and mother have given me so much love, so much support, that it would trivialize their parenthood if I would reduce it just to basketball. But my dad does call me before and after every game. And when we lost a game we shouldn't have, he told me it wasn't my fault. And I appreciated that, because he was trying to pick me up.

Jeff Van Gundy

To be successful in anything, you have to have a passion for it, and that leads to being enthusiastic and demanding. I didn't have it for history. So I wouldn't have been a good teacher in that area. But I had it for basketball. And that's what coaching is at every level: it's about teaching.

Jeff Van Gundy

There have been people who said I was a Pat Riley clone. But I don't think that's true. While I did learn a lot from him, I could never be him. I mean, we even dress so differently.

Jeff Van Gundy

I don't like comparing people or teams.

Jeff Van Gundy

I think the beautiful part about Yao is that his main legacy won't be about the game. His legacy will be about helping people. His legacy will be taking on important world causes to better his world.

Jeff Van Gundy

My intensity is my greatest strength. It's also my greatest weakness.

Jeff Van Gundy

I'm not a positive guy.

Jeff Van Gundy

My one suggestion going forward is, any felony committed against a woman should be a full-season suspension.

Jeff Van Gundy