Jeff Van Gundy

Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his tenure on the Knicks, he led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals, where they ultimately lost to the San Antonio Spurs. He currently serves as a senior consultant in the Boston Celtics front office. Early life Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and grew up in the town of Martinez, California. He is the son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College. Jeff's elder brother, Stan, later became head coach of the NBA's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and the New Orleans Pelicans, and is the former head coach and director of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons. As a high-school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport Central to the Class AA finals. He continued his basketball playing career at Nazareth University, where he earned All-American honors, while leading the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1984. He remains the Nazareth career leader in free throw percentage, at 86.8%. Van Gundy attended Yale University, where he was a classmate with Jodie Foster, before transferring to Menlo College, and ultimately graduating from New York's Nazareth University, in 1985.