Thoughts On Stan Van Gundy's Press Conference

I watched the Stan Van Gundy press conference and came away impressed...much more impressed than the Billy Donovan one. Let's take a look at it step by step, shall we?

-Otis atones for his lackluster intro at the Billy Donovan conference by starting out "We interviewed two coaches and we hired both of them!" You can tell that he says this when he picks up girls two at a time at bars.

-Stan is much more articulate than you'd think. He is well spoken and good humored. -A total departure from how awkward he looks in every photo he takes.

-Stan recovers nicely from reporters asking about him being the second choice in Orlando and Pat Riley basically being a dick. After these questions it becomes rather apparent just how incredibly arduous the road leading up to this point has been.

-It's great to hear SVG preach about defense. It's obvious that though he wants an uptempo style, he isn't a puppet of the organization and knows what wins games.

-Hearing that he wants to tailor the offense to the players and get the best players on the floor roughly translates into: I am not Brian Hill. That guy sucked.

-I love that SVG mentions getting rid of Steve Francis as a great Otis move. Pulling no punches! Somewhere Steve just threw his remote at the television and Cuttino Mobley offered to soothe his nerves with a romantic bubble bath.

-Stan going out on a limb saying why his PRO coaching experience is so important. He even has a list ready! This translates into: Billy Donovan, I will kill you and eat your children.

-Stan keeps naming the interviewers by name, showing his memory capacity and friendliness. Sounds like the media will have a new darling. Speaking of darlings, Kinkos is being name dropped every two seconds (the place that the Magic sent his paperwork to). I think we should have them as the next Magic sponsor. At the very least it's a good name for a mascot.

-Sounds like Stan Van Gundy is really close with his wife. As a guy who is engaged, this is nice to hear. Now I get to look forward to growing a moustache and packing on weight! Yes!

-Oh MAN! The question comes as to what Stan was actually doing in his previous position with the Heat and it becomes completely obvious that he was sitting on his butt and just watching basketball as checks rolled in. My mental image of SVG asleep on a recliner in a stained undershirt with pizza crusts all over him lives on!

-Stan gets asked the hard question about whether he would 'take a break' on the Magic like he did with the Heat and he smartly says that he needed a break after 24 years and MIGHT need a break in another 24. Quick on his toes, this one.

-Otis again mentions Jameer Nelson right after Dwight Howard when mentioning the talent on the team. Sounds like he really believes Jameer can break out under the right coach. I hope he is right because Jameer was lost in games a LOT last year.

-Stan ends the press conference with a fantastic answer. They ask if he minds being the plan B and he says that in every job he had he was following someone great so he has always been the plan B. The job he does on the floor is what matters and it is no doubt he has had success in that respect.

Overall a fantastic press conference which was much more coherent, humor-driven, and intelligent than that of the gangster Billy Donovan's. Great things are ahead.