ESPN’s Van Gundy Inducted in the CCCMBCA Hall of Fame

Jeff Van Gundy was born in Hemet, CA, and raised on the game of basketball.

By the age of 15, Van Gundy was sitting courtside, first as a scorekeeper while his dad, Bill, served as an assistant for the Cabrillo College men’s basketball team. Overall, Van Gundy saw his father make coaching stops at Genesee Community College, Brockport State, St. Mary’s College, California State University, Hayward, and four California high schools.

Basketball became his game. A passion he has turned into a lifelong career.

Today, Van Gundy works for ESPN as an NBA analyst. During his 14-year ESPN career, he made broadcast history when he called his 14 NBA Finals, the highest total for a television analyst. In addition to his role on the NBA Finals, Van Gundy is a featured commentator for ESPN’s coverage of the conference finals, marquee NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC and several other high-profile regular-season and NBA playoffs games.

Not bad for 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 College, 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 percent.

Out of high school, though Van Gundy enrolled at Yale, but after failing to make the freshman team, he transferred to Menlo College, then a community college in California. Under future Hall of Fame coach Bud Presley, he set a school record by shooting 90 percent from the free throw line during the 1981-82 season, five years before Menlo College would become a four-year college.

“I love junior college basketball!!,” Van Gundy said. “I still get together with old teammates and talk about our practices at Menlo College. I had the chance to play for one of the greatest coaches ever in Bud Presley (CCCMBCA Hall of Fame class of 1984).

Thank you for this amazing honor!”

Prior to becoming a well-respected basketball analysis, Van Gundy followed in his father’s coaching footsteps.

He served as head coach of the Houston Rockets from 2003-2007 and in his first year with the team, led them to the NBA playoffs for the first time in five years. Prior to his Rockets stint, Van Gundy served as head coach of the New York Knicks, starting in March of 1996 before resigning during the 2001-02 season. He coached the Knicks during one of the most popular and successful periods in franchise history. He also served as an assistant coach for the team starting in 1989 following stints as an assistant coach at Rutgers, Providence College and McQuaid Jesuit High School.

In 2017, Van Gundy joined Gregg Popovich’s Team USA staff as the head coach of the senior United States men's national basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup tournament, and in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. Van Gundy went on to guide the US to the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, and also to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

In 1984, Van Gundy was inducted into the Nazareth College Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.