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Pistons’ Stan Van Gundy On Dwight Howard and Andre Drummond’s Similarities

By Brett David Roberts

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Dec 28, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Pistons won 103-80. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Stan Van Gundy isn’t bitter, because he’s too classy for that, and counts himself a lucky coach to be in charge of two of the league’s great young centers.

It was not the length of Stan Van Gundy’s answer. It was the class, the style, and the knowing grin Stan gives when he realizes he has said exactly what he feels.

Simply put: What are the similarities between Dwight Howard and Andre Drummond?

“They’re both huge, very talented, and I’m lucky to have coached them both,” Van Gundy told Orlando Magic Daily.

It is time to quickly turn back the clock and remember Dwight’s last year here. This was a year in which Howard reportedly said Van Gundy should be fired.

When confronted with the issue at a post game press conference in 2012, Van Gundy simply said, “That’s news to me, I don’t know anything about it.”

And he probably, most truly, did not.

And if he did, it would not have affected his coaching. Why? Because Stan has been a consummate professional his entire coaching career. He is respected, loved and even revered around NBA circles as a defensive mastermind, and his roster management will take full display as he molds a rebuilding Detroit Pistons team.

It is a team Drummond is sure to play a huge role in. The former Connecticut Husky has not necessarily surprised, but he has lived up to his original billing after falling in the draft due to a lackluster freshman season at UConn.

Drummond now is a mammoth, still quick and lithe.  His pogo-stick like legs make snatching rebounds almost too easy.

Stan Van Gundy hopes to copy his success with Dwight Howard in Detroit with Andre Drummond.

Sound familiar? That No. 12 fella in Orlando seemed to be quite similar.

That is not to say Drummond is on a crash collision course with multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards, nor is he on a fast track to the NBA Finals. But he is talented, on a very poor Pistons team.

The Pistons did not look bad Tuesday night though. Drummond abused Orlando, whose star center Nikola Vucevic just did not have it left in his legs. The Magic did not, save Victor Oladipo, and his bounce and youth may be there at all times. Who knows?

But aside from the white-hot shooting of Jodie Meeks, this game was about getting a look at a player on the rise. Drummond most certainly will be a top center in the Association for many years to come. While we do not know if he will run Stan out of town like Howard did (or even if he can since Van Gundy is director of basketball operations now, essentially his own boss), it will not be Van Gundy’s fault if that kind of thing ever happens again.

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    • What Stan said is that he was “lucky” to have coached them both. His half-cocked grin after saying so revealed he really meant it, and the knowing look said just as much. This is a coach whose pride runs deeper than petty disagreements between he and players. He led the Magic to its second Finals appearance in club history, and that will not be forgotten.

    Drummond had his 10th rebound of the game by midway through the second quarter when Jacque Vaughn called for timeout. By the end of the third quarter, he had 22 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass.

    The rail thin Dewayne Dedmon was powerless to stop Drummond, but most 5-men will be. He is a man-child whose ascent will continue to occur rapidly.

    Like Howard, the free throw troubles are there, and at one point Kyle O’Quinn expressed dismay over NOT being whistled for a hack. That is speaking volumes about the desire to see him brick foul shots.

    The Pistons pulled ahead 46-37 by the time Drummond recorded that 10th rebound and forced Jacque Vaughn to call a timeout.  His three quarters of work wereenough work for one night as the Pistons cruised to the victory against a weary and deflated Orlando Magic squad.

    And while this really is not about Drummond, it has everything to do with Howard and Van Gundy for Magic fans looking at Van Gundy’s new charge.

    Dwight will be forgotten by many, to some degree. He will have his place in history as the second greatest center in Magic history, but a bitter and cold ending erases a lot of the memories and a lot of the sentimentality.

    But Stan will likely hold down that “best coach in franchise history” title for quite some time to come.

    Good luck in Detroit.