Stan Van Gundy Hired To Coach Duke South

When JJ Redick had his Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on his podcast recently, they talked about his first NBA coach with the Orlando Heat.

When Redick was a rookie, he probably didn’t like Stan Van Gundy very much because Van Gundy was really hard on him.

After his rookie season though he worked. Then he worked and worked some more and finally emerged as a legitimated and valued NBA player. He said he was on the verge of washing out and was grateful for what Van Gundy did for him.

Will Zion Williamson have the same experience?

We’ll know soon because Van Gundy has been hired as New Orlean’s new coach, where not only will he take charge of Williamson’s development but also be reunited with Redick.

It’ll be interesting to see how he deals with Williamson. The young star has never complained or, as far as we can recall, said a negative word in public about anyone. And his production, when healthy, has been outstanding, at least on offense. This is going to be an interesting and fun thing to watch when the next NBA season starts up.

• Walker: In Stan Van Gundy, Pelicans land ‘hard-working,’ ‘brilliant basketball mind’ as head coach
• 5 things to know about Stan Van Gundy: See new Pelicans coach’s take on roster, coaching style, more
• With NBA draft a month away, analysts see Pelicans trying to add more shooting around Zion