Pelicans Head Coach Stan Van Gundy On Brandon Ingram

We’ve been really intrigued that the New Orleans Pelicans signed Stan Van Gundy and what he’s had to say about his new team, mostly immensely promising second-year player Zion Williamson.

Here though he talks a lot about fellow former Blue Devil Brandon Ingram, who really came on last year: “You’ve got two of the most unique young guys in the entire league, (including) Brandon Ingram, who’s the most improved player in the league,” Van Gundy told NBA.com. “He’s one of those really tall, long guys who plays like a point guard, who can get to anywhere on the floor and score the ball. I don’t even know the comparison for Zion Williamson. He’s unique in the way he plays, but this is a guy coming off an injury for most of the year that was able to be extremely productive and efficient. There’s just not people like that. There’s a lot to build around there.”

He’s got a lot of good insights here not least of all about Ingram’s point guard skills and the team’s unselfishness.

New Orleans can easily put four guys on the floor with serious guard skills - Ingram, Williamson, Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday. If they wanted to go small ball, they could put Williamson in the post and put one more former Blue Devil, Frank Jackson, on the court and essentially have five functioning point guards on the floor at the same time.

What he doesn't touch on is Ingram’s defensive potential. Van Gundy’s boss, David Griffith, compared Ingram to Inspector Gadget and at times his defense has been otherworldly.