By InsideHoops.com

InsideHoops.com and a few other media members interviewed Jeff Van Gundy the night of Patrick Ewing's jersey retirement ceremony in Madison Square Garden. The topic, of course, was Ewing.

Talk about Patrick Ewing's various guarantees over the years.

Jeff Van Gundy: I loved that he had beliefs. I loved that he was willing to put himself on the line... all of us, head coach included, didn't have to take the brunt of the attention. He was willing to step out there, and that's what great players do.

(About whether Patrick should have been more calculated in how he dealt with the media)

Jeff Van Gundy: That would be saying, "Patrick, be phony. Be phony. Try to curry favor with the media and who is going to shape your perception." One thing he is, he's very bright. He understood that if he had been different, he would have been viewed differently. He fully was aware of that, he was just unwilling to have anything get in the way of his preparation. And I think it shows his dedication to his team, and the results. I always admired that. So, no, I never made that suggestion. But he was fully aware of how it all worked. There was no lack of knowledge.

(About Ewing's number being retired)

Jeff Van Gundy: It just shows you that when you retire a number that quickly, it's obvious that he deserved it. But, he's always been just a little bit shy, and I think some people perceived that to be aloofness. It was more shyness and being guarded around people he didn't know. But I am happy that he's going to be here tonight, to feel the emotion that's going to be showed toward him. I think this is a bigger night in many ways than his induction to the hall of fame will be. I think when you get your number retired in the city you played in for so long, that is the greatest honor you can have as an athlete.

Were you in awe when you first became head coach?

Jeff Van Gundy: I still remember this, my first practice and training camp coming from college, Rutgers, Atlantic-10... to see the ball get thrown in the post, and that was when there were no flagrant fouls when I came in or anything like that. Oakley flagrantly-fouled on every possession, it was just how the game was. But to see the amount of physical abuse he took, and how he scored so easily. It was must amazing. The level, the jumping level, was astonishing. I thought the guys in the summer league, that summer, were great. I still remember telling Stu Jackson, "man, these guys are great." He goes, "none of these guys will make the team." And then you get to Ewing and those guys, it was eye-opening. That might have been his best year, too. My first year, not his. Stu Jackson's first year, he (Ewing) was a legit MVP candidate.

Talk about picking high school players vs. foreign players in the draft.

Jeff Van Gundy: It's all about projecting. And that's why you need very, very good people picking your talent. The people over in Europe have played more basketball, been professional longer, and have a different level of training and working on skills than we have. And that's why they're doing so well, and will continue to do well.

Is there a cultural risk, as far as playing basketball goes?

Jeff Van Gundy: No, I don't think so. The culture of basketball is all the same. They have a lot more adjustments, but they speak the language of basketball. That's the only language you really need to speak.

Talk about the New York fans occasionally booing Patrick when things weren't going well.

Jeff Van Gundy: He's in New York, that's how it is. I don't think that makes him any different than a lot of the star players that ever played here. Phil Simms, Reggie Jackson, all the great ones took their share of boos, and that's part of playing in New York.

So, Patrick in your opinion is definitely one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time...

Jeff Van Gundy: No, one of the top 20 best of all time. Certainly, the top 6 or 7 centers of all time. Really carried a franchise for so, so long. Just an amazing person to go along with that. We were very fortunate.


InsideHoops.com is the online leader in professional basketball coverage.