Vinny Del Negro loving 1st coaching experience

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Ten months have passed since the Bulls shocked the NBA community by hiring Vinny Del Negro after a 52-day coaching search that included Tuesday's opponent, Mike D'Antoni.

Del Negro hasn't paused much for introspection since.

But with five games remaining in his first season coaching at any level and a playoff berth likely, Del Negro finally moved past the glib answers—more gray hair, not as much sleep—and offered substantive ones.

"I love it," Del Negro said. "It's everything I expected, even more so probably. I love the competition. I love the challenge. I love seeing the development of the young players. All of that is very fulfilling, more so than in management.

"In management, you can get away from it a little bit. This is there every day and you think about it almost every minute. But that's my personality. I enjoy the work and the challenge, which is consuming and exhausting. But if you can't handle it, you shouldn't have signed up for it."

Del Negro refused to grade his performance, said he'd be happier for his players if the Bulls made the playoffs and understands second-guessing is part of the job. He just won't do any.

"There are too many decisions and too much thrown at you not to go back and say, 'I wish I had done that preparation better or tried that play set there,' " Del Negro said. "But I'm not a second-guesser. I'm going to prepare as best I can with my staff, get our players in position to succeed and then learn from that.

"I have a long way to go. It just doesn't happen in a month or two months or six months. I'm a better coach now than I was last week or last month or two months ago. And I expect to be a better coach moving forward.

"I think if you ask any coach no matter if they've been in one year, two years, 10 years, 20 years, they're always learning things—how to manage people, the state of the game, practice schedules, how to handle injuries, all the technical game things."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-07-bulls-delnegro-chicagoapr07,0,5572073.story

 

[Newskoolbulls]

Say all you want to say about Vinny and make all the jokes however when its all said in done he will have taken a Bulls team with a rookie pg into the playoffs not to mention having the teams 70 mil man missing, a mini little feud with Ben, Kirk out for nearly three months, and a mid-season trade. Good job Vinny.

 

[TyrusRose2425]

Too bad most fans aren't loving it :laugh:

I do give him props for giving Tyrus, Noah, and Rose minutes and for finally benching Gray.

 

[Newskoolbulls]

Also lets not forget a mini-tirade by owner JR. Its been ruff season on Vinny but he is growing into a nice coach. We are hard on him but compared to Jimmy Boylan, Vinny is our Phil Jackson.

 

[Manic Devourer]

TyrusRose2425 wrote:

Too bad most fans aren't loving it :laugh:

I do give him props for giving Tyrus, Noah, and Rose minutes and for finally benching Gray.

Well that is the problem.

Tyrus and Noah only started getting larger and more consistent minutes once Drew Gooden went down.

Vinny started to bench Rose in the fourth quarter, and that was put to a stop once Paxson spoke with him.

Benching Gray should have been a given from the beginning of the season.

So i mean, all 3 points that you raised as positives aren't exactly things that Vinny did on his own will.

 

[wjb1492]

The one thing I really would like to know to feel like I could evaluate Vinny better is how much the schemes are simplified for the players and what, if anything, he hasn't been able to implement due to personnel.

He's done some things well and made some mistakes, but I'm a big believer in learning through experience. I mean, I teach right now, and it was absolutely night and day between my first semester and my second time teaching the same class. He'll have an off-season to evaluate what worked and what didn't, and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll build on what has worked and toss or seriously modify what hasn't. Plus, with the young guys, I think there's something to be said for continuity - it may have been necessary, but I don't think having 3 different head coaches has benefited Tyrus, or Joakim to some extent.

But if there's nothing else scheme-wise in the bag? If this is the offense and defense we can expect to see? If he's not planning to add a bunch of new stuff now that the players (and by that I mean young guys, since nothing leads me to believe that they guys who handled Skiles' schemes couldn't have picked new stuff up) have had a chance to nail down some of the basics? That part would concern me going forward.

I guess the one other thing, but somewhat related, is what part of the kids' struggles, particularly Derrick on defense is on the coaches and what part on the players. I know there's not a ton of time for improving during the season, and I'm not worried about Derrick yet. But a while back when there was that story (I think in the Herald?) about Vinny using the example of a 10-speed bike to try to explain changing speeds on the pick-and-roll, but Kirk diagramming the play on the white board for him, it made me wonder. The concept of changing speed doesn't seem like such a tough concept you'd need to jump to metaphors, so I took it more as Vinny possibly making things more complicated when they need to be.

 

[Dpauley23]

For him starting Gooden, I wonder if he was getting pressure from management to pad his stats. From what I've heard Gooden has been on the block the whole season

 

[??? ??????]

I guess you have to say this about Del Negro, and that is, he isn't a complete train wreck like Jim Boylan.

I still think if he doesn't get the Bulls to .500, or win a playoff series that he should be fired, because a losing season with this much talent is unacceptable. But he has shown improvement.

The one thing about Del Negro is that his rotations have been pretty good. I liked that he gave Gordon the starting spot and stuck with him for pretty much the entire season. Kirk Hinrich is finally in the role he should be in. Thomas/Noah are playing pretty solidly.

But...Vinny's schemes are crap. His defense is horrible. Maybe he improves on that next year, but the lack of sound defensive sets is the reason, imo, why this team is underachieving. This team should be a 46 or so win team with all the talent they have on here.

 

[collisrost]

I think Vinny's a rookie coach and we have to think of him as such. When a player's a rookie fans always look at his play with stars in their eyes and think about "what he'll be like in a couple of seasons" but when it comes to a coach it's all about the present. It is a little unfair to hold Vinny to the same standards as the Phil Jacksons and Jerry Sloans of the league.

That being said, I haven't seen anything that makes me think Vinny's going to be a great coach. But he certainly has the potential to be a perfectly serviceable coach, especially on a team building up to championship contention in a couple of years.

I think the thing to look for more than anything is whether the players are picking up bad habits under him that will hinder their rise to greatness or if he's instilling fundamentals which will help them succeed in the future. Letting Tyrus shoot, giving Rose plenty of experience with the pick and roll and occasionally even giving him the last shot in a close game, pushing the tempo, all these bode well for the future.

I'm not ecstatic that Vinny's our coach, but he's alright.

 

[Ralphb07]

This article sums up what I've been saying on the RealGM board in the past. You can't sit here and say Vinny isn't a better coach now then he was in November because he is. The way I see it is he's done a good enough job to return next season and we'll have to see what he does next year to determine if he returns for a 3rd.


If he doesn't improve next year I still see the hire as a good one because he would of done the most important thing develop the young guys. The bigger thing will be making sure we get a sure thing after Vinny if VDN doesn't work out

 

[Wade Wilson]

Ralphb07 wrote:

You can't sit here and say Vinny isn't a better coach now then he was in November because he is.

I don't really know if I agree with that. I'd attribute most of the improvements the Bulls have made to the trade and subsequent upgrade in talent level. Miller is far and away a better, smarter player than Gray/Gooden, and Salmons has been light years ahead of what we've gotten at the spot the majority of the year. We haven't seen improved defensive sets from the team; if anything, I'd say we've probably taken a step back from earlier in the year. We also still can't execute in the half court, or on set plays out of timeouts.

I'd also say that I have no interest in developing a coach, especially since we have to develop Rose and to a lesser extent also Thomas and Noah.

 

[cool007]

I have a mix feelings about him and I still want him gone.

The only good thing I got from him was him playing a lot of minutes to Rose/Tyrus/Noah for their development (but then maybe it wasn't even his decision and maybe it came from Pax?).

 

[chi_hawks_23]

Idk how much vinny has improved to be honest with you. We were within a game of .500 through about 25-30 games this season, without hinrich and not having brad miller or john salmons as huge upgrades. Seems that getting kirk back, shipping out hughes/noc/gooden and getting miller and salmons has led to our improved play recently.

Id still take Jeff Van Gundy in a heartbeat right now.

 

[dougthonus]

Ralphb07 wrote:

This article sums up what I've been saying on the RealGM board in the past. You can't sit here and say Vinny isn't a better coach now then he was in November because he is. The way I see it is he's done a good enough job to return next season and we'll have to see what he does next year to determine if he returns for a 3rd.

Well I think if you an improve on Vinny in the off season then you do it, but I'm not sure we will necessarily find a guy we're sure is better.

If he doesn't improve next year I still see the hire as a good one because he would of done the most important thing develop the young guys. The bigger thing will be making sure we get a sure thing after Vinny if VDN doesn't work out

The problem with that theory is that Vinny only played the young guys because of lack of choices. We've played the second half of the season with an 8 man roster more or less. Noah is still only averaging 23 minutes per game on the year and Tyrus is only averaging 27.

Given that we've had to play Noc, Gooden, Miller, and Tim Thomas as our only other real big men options I would think that those two who are critical to develop could have gotten a lot more burn.

I guess you could argue Noc had to get run to be traded, but then Gooden was out a huge chunk of time too, and Timmy can barely play.

 

[Ralphb07]

Wade Wilson wrote:

Ralphb07 wrote:

You can't sit here and say Vinny isn't a better coach now then he was in November because he is.

I don't really know if I agree with that. I'd attribute most of the improvements the Bulls have made to the trade and subsequent upgrade in talent level. Miller is far and away a better, smarter player than Gray/Gooden, and Salmons has been light years ahead of what we've gotten at the spot the majority of the year. We haven't seen improved defensive sets from the team; if anything, I'd say we've probably taken a step back from earlier in the year. We also still can't execute in the half court, or on set plays out of timeouts.

I'd also say that I have no interest in developing a coach, especially since we have to develop Rose and to a lesser extent also Thomas and Noah.

Everyone knows the talent is better now but when looking @ Vinny if you're going to base the recent winning on the trade then you gotta base all the losing before the trade on the players and not Vinny.

The defense hasn't bee good as far of giving up points but that because the pace we play. We are 13th in opp fg% and I think 17th or 20th in defensive rating. Yes both need to get better but we're not in the bottom like everyone makes it out to be. The one thing we're bad at is defensive rebounds which if that would improve the overall defense would be better. Then add that we're staring 3 really young players.

Vinny as of late has called some good plays out of timeouts. Not every shot will go in but that doesn't mean it's not a good play. People look too much in if the shot went in or not to call it a nice play which isn't the case.

You look at the injuires we've had and the major trades we've done and we still got a shot at .500 which is impressive. If I was to tell you that Deng would miss half the season and Kirk would miss a good part and we would trade half our roster at the dealine you wouldn't be happy with a 41-41 record?

 

[dougthonus]

You look at the injuires we've had and the major trades we've done and we still got a shot at .500 which is impressive. If I was to tell you that Deng would miss half the season and Kirk would miss a good part and we would trade half our roster at the dealine you wouldn't be happy with a 41-41 record?

It's a fair point, but you also are getting Derrick Rose playing above expectation levels and Gordon playing way above most people's expectation levels.

The trade where you moved half the roster brought in WAY better players than it sent out as well.

I think a great coach could have had 50 wins out of this roster. Granted, great coach may not have been on the table as a choice, but a good coach could have gotten 45.

I don't think coaching this team to 41-41 (if we manage to go 4-1 to close the season) will prove to be an impressive feat though many in the local media will disagree. This team was 2 years removed from a 49 win season. They have more talent now than they had then.

 

[Ralphb07]

Well I think if you an improve on Vinny in the off season then you do it, but I'm not sure we will necessarily find a guy we're sure is better.

I don't think slight improvement but I agree with this. It would need to be a Aldeman, Scott, Slaon,Jackson, Pop, JVG type of improvement though which I don't see happening

The problem with that theory is that Vinny only played the young guys because of lack of choices. We've played the second half of the season with an 8 man roster more or less. Noah is still only averaging 23 minutes per game on the year and Tyrus is only averaging 27.

Given that we've had to play Noc, Gooden, Miller, and Tim Thomas as our only other real big men options I would think that those two who are critical to develop could have gotten a lot more burn.

I guess you could argue Noc had to get run to be traded, but then Gooden was out a huge chunk of time too, and Timmy can barely play.

Even early on Tyrus and Noah were getting enough minutes to develop and Noah was out of shape big time. It doesn't matter how it happen but it happen and Vinny has stuck with it and will stick with it next year which is my point. You know going into next season Noah ans Tyrus will play and that's huge. Development is not a one year thing. Unless we get a sure thing no flawed coach we have no idea on how they will play them but with Vinny we know Noah, Tyrus will get major burn.

It's more than the minutes too. Vinny has let Tyrus continue to shoot which you've said was a big thing so Vinny has been developing them.

 

[chi_hawks_23]

dougthonus wrote:

This team was 2 years removed from a 49 win season. They have more talent now than they had then.

Bingo.

I think two things have happened since then. One, the East has gotten better. Two, our coaching has gotten much worse.

That's not to say that Skiles should have been kept....but it speaks to the wonderful job he did during that 06-07 season.

 

[Wade Wilson]

Ralphb07 wrote:

Wade Wilson wrote:

Ralphb07 wrote:

You can't sit here and say Vinny isn't a better coach now then he was in November because he is.

I don't really know if I agree with that. I'd attribute most of the improvements the Bulls have made to the trade and subsequent upgrade in talent level. Miller is far and away a better, smarter player than Gray/Gooden, and Salmons has been light years ahead of what we've gotten at the spot the majority of the year. We haven't seen improved defensive sets from the team; if anything, I'd say we've probably taken a step back from earlier in the year. We also still can't execute in the half court, or on set plays out of timeouts.

I'd also say that I have no interest in developing a coach, especially since we have to develop Rose and to a lesser extent also Thomas and Noah.

Everyone knows the talent is better now but when looking @ Vinny if you're going to base the recent winning on the trade then you gotta base all the losing before the trade on the players and not Vinny.

I do blame a lot of the losing on the players. Thomas, Noah, Gooden, and Gray absolutely killed us on D to start the season. Deng's ineffectiveness hurt us, Nocioni's poor play hurt us.

However, I don't let Vinny off the hook for the poor sets on both sides of the ball, poor clock management, etc. I'll give him credit for basically spreading the floor for the players and letting them utilize their talents, and for giving Tyrus room to grow. Ultimately, though, I don't see any strong sense of structure or philosophy from the team, and I don't feel comfortable assuming that Vinny is gonna be able change that unless there are is a big roster overhaul.

 

[??? ??????]

chi_hawks_23 wrote:

dougthonus wrote:

This team was 2 years removed from a 49 win season. They have more talent now than they had then.

Bingo.

I think two things have happened since then. One, the East has gotten better. Two, our coaching has gotten much worse.

That's not to say that Skiles should have been kept....but it speaks to the wonderful job he did during that 06-07 season.

Also, a third big one, no Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace was a good defensive anchor in 06-07. He just was too old for 07-08, and now his career is pretty much over.