By Orlando Magic Coach Jacque Vaughn Refuses To Use The Word “Rebuilding”
October 8, 2012 – 5:45 am by Eric Schmoldt
The Orlando Magic no longer have star center Dwight Howard and they have a new general manager and a first-time head coach in Jacque Vaughn. It has most people believing the team has gone into rebuilding mode, but Vaughn isn’t “most people.” In fact, Vaughn has refused to use the R-word with his team and he refuses to use it in the following interview.
Jacque Vaughn joined WYGM in Orlando to discuss how he gets everyone acquainted quickly on a new Orlando team, the team’s style of play, if he has something to prove as a first-time coach, why he’s not discussing any sort of rebuilding mode, comparing this season to the shortened one last year and the new flopping rules.
How excited are you for the start of camp?:
“I’m excited. This is a great opportunity for me, a great challenge for me as well, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
With a new coach, new GM, new roster, how do you get everyone acquainted?:
“It’s a challenge. We’ve got new people. You kind of have to debug some of the old ways and introduce guys into the ways that’s going forward for us. For me, that’s really about forming relationships and letting guys know how I do business and what I’m about.”
Does it make it even more challenging that preseason games start so quickly?:
“Definitely. Our learning curve has to be pretty swift. It’s another challenge for us, but we’ll look at it as a challenge and do our best to continue to grow together as a team. … We’ll take advantage of our two-a-days, but you’re smart at the same time. You don’t want to push guys too much early in training camp. For me, it’ll be a delicate balance, but we’ll get a significant amount of things in.”
What kind of style of play do you see for this team?:
“It’ll look different. It’ll be an atmosphere where there will be a lot of cutting, a lot of screening, a lot of freedom of movement. We’ll try to play with a pace and our ability to run the score and take advantage of that.”
As a first-time head coach, do you feel like you have something to prove?:
“I really don’t. The more you get to know me, I’m consistent. I’m the same way every day. The people that know me know I’m not concerned about what other people think about me. I do my job every single day to the best of my ability and that’s what I’m going to ask my players to do as well.”
Do you agree with the “rebuilding mode” philosophy that this team’s going to have to get bad before it gets good?:
“The one thing that my players have not heard me say is that word that you just said. So, for me, those words won’t come out of my mouth. We will continue to get better every day. Our expectations, as an organization, haven’t changed. We want to be great, and that’s my ideal going forward.”
How much different is it for the players this year, coming of the condensed season last year due to the lockout?:
“I think, initially, the first imprint is the guys were able to get back into their routines and train properly in the offseason. I think we have a group of guys who are in condition going forward. That helps injury-wise, chemistry-wise. … Then, it’s a normal season. The 66 games was extremely hard on guys’ bodies, their mind. But the thing I did learn during the abbreviated season is simplicity. There’s a place for that in coaching. Even though it’s a normal season, there’s an area of simplicity, still, that I can take advantage of.”
Do the new flopping rules change anything now?:
“I’ll just say I’ll never encourage my guy to flop. Embellish is a different word, I think.” Did you ever flop during your career?: “I have taken extreme pride in taking a charge. So, there’s only one way to take a charge, you have to sell that charge. But I never flopped.”
Listen to Jacque Vaughn on WYGM in Orlando here
Tags: Jacque Vaughn, NBA, NBA flopping rules, NBA Lockout, Orlando Magic
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