The Fan Voice: "SVG, Rockin' the Mic!"

By Live or Die Magic | November 20th, 2008

I have to say, I have begun to thoroughly enjoy watching Stan Van Gundy give a press conference, especially those that occur after a victory (these have occurred quite frequently of late). Here’s the thing that I notice about his press conferences, and the thing that makes me enjoy them: he genuinely seems to get a thrill out of talking about his team. This is most evident in the fact that most of the beat writers and local media members ask him short, 10-15 word questions, and Van Gundy responds with 300 word answers. I point this out as a positive. It doesn’t take much to get him talking about his team and his players’ performances. He is often candid and has no problem pointing out the positive and the negative attributes of a particular game or a particular player.

Like any NBA coach, he can get frustrated with the process and the responsibility of having to speak with the press, and this is obviously more likely to occur after a loss, but on the whole, Van Gundy is engaging, seldom evasive, and he is patient. The guy seems to really be having fun so far this season. Perhaps this is the crucial difference between his press conferences and the most recent Magic head coach’s press conferences. Brian Hill never seemed to enjoy his press conferences. He only answered the question asked (vs. SVG’s refreshing habit of expounding on a question), and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible. But, in Brian Hill’s defense, he may not have been having as much fun coaching the Magic as Van Gundy seems to be having. The quality of the team’s performances have an impact, for certain, but the coach himself is a large component as well.

An added benefit of Van Gundy enjoying his press conferences is that he is usually in a jovial mood and starts cracking jokes. For all the knocks that Stan Van Gundy took for appearing bored, half-asleep, or catatonic during the introductions of the season opener, the man has a terrific sense of humor.

You know how we like to spend our time talking about sports, basketball, and the Magic, either on these boards or with our friends? Think about how enjoyable it is to discuss a topic for which you have passion with others that share that passion! This begins to describe the impression I get from Van Gundy during these press conferences. I believe that Van Gundy has developed a respect for the level of basketball knowledge that the Magic beat writers have (most of them anyway). So, he seems to genuinely enjoy discussing his favorite basketball team with them.

I do realize that Stan is only a three game losing streak away from not enjoying his press conferences as much. But the fact remains that his candor, his willingness to lightheartedly joke about himself, his players, and the opponent, as well as his comfort level with the team and the media personnel, has led to us fans being able to enjoy and even benefit from our head coach’s time in the spotlight.


This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.

SVG doesn't know joy, only pain.

I like that he isn't a politically correct coach. I can't stand people that pretend to be something they are not. He is entertaining and I like that he is getting this team to play D, something I haven't seen here in a long time.

I think for SVG its way more about the basketball than it is anything which sounds odd but its not always the case. He is not looking for a "challenge" (Billy D) or ego (Pat Riley) he just wants to coach basketball.

When he is dropping F bombs after a loss and smiling after a win you can tell his emotions completely coincide with this team. That is the kind of emotion that players, fans, and media can buy into.

quote:

An added benefit of Van Gundy enjoying his press conferences is that he is usually in a jovial mood and starts cracking jokes. For all the knocks that Stan Van Gundy took for appearing bored, half-asleep, or catatonic during the introductions of the season opener, the man has a terrific sense of humor.

That was the greatest SVG moment I can think of...

For those of you that missed ie, during the opening game introductions, when Stan was introduced, the camera panned to him, and he pretended to be asleep in his chair.

quote:

Originally posted by Live or Die Magic:
Like any NBA coach, he can get frustrated with the process and the responsibility of having to speak with the press, and this is obviously more likely to occur after a loss, but on the whole, Van Gundy is engaging, seldom evasive, and he is patient.

Intersting B-side of our coach and great read LoDM.

After screaming loud on practices and games, how he could be patient with the press???

:=)

Without question, the post-game press conferences are worth staying up for.

Nice blog, LOD.

I always watch the Stan press conference after the game. I like to compare my impressions with the game and often times he will say something that I otherwise would have missed. Sometimes I will watch the game again and sure enough he is always correct. The man is very astute when it comes to basketball.

I also love the fact that he doesn't pull any punches. If a player isn't performing well he is quick to point it out. However, he is also very willing to offer up praise when a player has done a good job. As a player, you have to respect a guy like that.

I can see Stan being the coach of this franchise for a very long time.

I prefer Stan's facial expressions and wild body movements during the game over his press conferences. It's refreshing to have an anti-pc coach, but his crazyness on the sideline is just fantastic.

Stan The Man says what we would like to say and do on the forums...

THE MAN BELIEVES...

and in my book That's alright.

I truely can't remember liking a Magic coach this much. The guy has no problems calling out players or himself for that matter.

Did anyone see Dwight do his Stan impression on tv last week. Only players that were comfortable with there coach would dare, just shows me Stan has a good repoire with the team even though he yells a lot during the games.