Maddox to teammates: Get ready to work Van Gundy's style impresses summer Rockets By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/1992782 There is much Tito Maddox can say when he returns to Houston and is asked by his teammates to describe the Rockets' new coaching staff. Maddox has only one season of NBA experience, and most of that was spent on the injured list. But after lots of summer-league hours spent on the practice court with new coach Jeff Van Gundy and his staff, Maddox could consider himself a relative expert on the changes the Rockets will experience for themselves. He likely will talk about the new staff's emphasis on pressure defense and attention to detail. The changes in the Rockets' offense and specifics regarding offensive schemes also might come up. And there no doubt will be reports about just how long the practices lasted -- every bit of two intense hours -- before moving on to the break before the next long practice. But Maddox seemed to like the short answer best. "First of all," Maddox said of his first impression of Van Gundy, "he won't take no mess from nobody." It shouldn't be a surprise that Van Gundy and his staff would not be terribly forgiving with a summer-league roster than includes only one player , Bostjan Nachbar, under contract for next season. But what Maddox was implying was that past experience will not be taken into consideration when Yao Ming, Steve Francis and the rest of the Rockets are put through the paces that have worn out Maddox, Nachbar and the rest of the summer team. "That's the biggest difference," guard Juaquin Hawkins said. "It's needed, though. Hard practices make the games easier. It might be demanding on our bodies, but the games should be easier to get things done." Though the demands have not inspired complaints, players on summer teams cannot afford to complain. At the same time, however, there seems to be an understanding that the extra work could work. "He will be a great coach for this program," Maddox said. "We have a young team. Everybody is willing to learn. "He works us so hard. That's to our advantage. It gets us in shape, and training camp is just around the corner. I think training camp is going to be worse. Hopefully, I'll be there. If I am, I'll be ready." Rockets vice president and trainer Keith Jones said the adjustment might not be that difficult because the expectations will be clear. "It's spelled out," Jones said. "There's no gray area. They do things a certain way. It's easy. You won't have to guess what they're asking for, what they're talking about. They're not going to have to ask questions. It's going to be easy to read." In the summer practices, players have found an intense concentration on details. Tom Thibodeau has coached the team during games, with Van Gundy sitting a few seats from the bench at the press table. But Van Gundy's reaction might offer a glimpse at his priorities. As poorly as the Rockets have shot the ball, he has buried his head in his hands when they failed to secure defensive rebounds or gave up layups or made particularly unnecessary fouls. He has cheered solid passes or well-placed screens. "It's similar, but more intense and more demanding and more mental," Hawkins said. "Mentally, you have to be prepared. The biggest thing is we come together quickly and have to execute the plays and work our butts off. Actually, it's the basics of things that are needed to win games, like getting back in transition defense, closing out on your man, getting the ball quicker. All those things are needed to win ballgames. "He emphasizes defense, playing together, unselfishness." That emphasis on discipline and detail is not limited to the practices or even the players. The staff is expected to produce long, specific reports on everything from the draft to free agents to the media demands on Yao. "The word is maybe meticulous. Meticulous in their preparation for meetings. Meticulous in attention to details," Jones said. "Things are a lot more formal in the way they do things. "Rudy (Tomjanovich) got his stuff done a certain way. Jeff gets it done differently. That's not to say one's better. It's just a different approach, very detailed-oriented, specific. "Jeff's assistant coaches mirror Jeff and the way he likes to do things. They're detail-oriented in stats and tape. They pull out details they think will be the difference in normal basketball and championship basketball." --

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