3x All-Star Recalls ‘Ballroom Shootaround’ to Highlight the Extent of Heat’s Former HC’s Eccentricity

In order to prepare a team for battle, a Head Coach needs to do things a little differently than the other coaches at times. However, former Miami Heat Head Coach Stan Van Gundy’s approach to prepare his team for games was often eccentric and ridiculous. Players sometimes didn’t even understand what they’re going to achieve with these methods. On a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, Gilbert Arenas detailed his experience playing under Van Gundy.

In his decade long NBA career, Arenas played for the Orlando Magic for one season in 2010-11. At the time, Van Gundy was the one coaching the Magic. Arenas then went on to detail a horror story of the veteran coach’s regimen.

According to the standard procedure, the team that’s on the road used to get the 10’o clock slot for shootarounds and then they would have to empty the court at 11 for the home team. This was a problem for Van Gundy because he didn’t want to call off the training after just one hour. So, to tackle that problem, the veteran coach always demanded the time slot at 11 so he can stay with his team for as long as he wanted.

However, one time when the opposition didn’t allow the Magic to get the 11 o’clock slot, Van Gundy took his team to a ball room for the shootaround. There wasn’t a basket in the room, but he still put tapes on the floor to highlight the three-point line. Arenas said, “We had to put tape on our ankles, and get the elbow pads on…and then we’re in there passing…’Chuck him when you come through the line and push him up’…The f*ck is wrong with this dude.”

The 3-time All-Star remembered that when Van Gundy saw the players being cautious about a potential injury as the court is different, the latter lost his mind in the ball room and demanded that the players should cut like they’re playing a game, without caring about the ball room carpet.

Gilbert Arenas highlights Stan Van Gundy’s affectionate side

Even though his approach was a bit odd, and he was even willing to risk injuring his players in the shootaround, there was a softer side to Van Gundy’s personality as well. But it came with a condition and only those who he liked got to enjoy it. Arenas said, “If he likes you as a player, he fu*ks with you. No cap.” The NBA veteran mentioned that Hedo Turkoglu had a great relationship with his coach, and he enjoyed some of the benefits of it.

Arenas said that Turkoglu was really gifted, as he could shoot, pass, he understood the game and he was big. That’s why Van Gundy trusted him more than some of the other players on the team. The 42-year-old said that the coach pretty much let him do whatever he wanted to do just because he came through for his team when they needed him.