Interview with Houston Rockets Coach : Rudy Tomjanovich

Rudy Tomjanovich played collegiately at the University of Michigan where he holds a rebounding record and averaged over 30 points a game in his last year. The 6’ 7’ forward was drafted with the second overall pick in the NBA draft. He played eleven seasons and was a five-time All-Star, but is probably best known as a coach of the Houston Rockets winning back-to-back titles in 1994 and 95.

Joel Blank: The man, the myth, the legend, the man that is long overdue going to the Hall of Fame very soon has decided to block out some time for us. He is sitting in boxer shorts and a tank top, no doubt somewhere in Florida. Coach, always great to catch up with you. No better time than coming up on the heels of this massive moment with you finally getting into the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame. Congratulations and your thoughts as we get closer to that day.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Joel, it’s always a pleasure for me to be with you and on your show, but if it’s OK, I don’t have the boxers on.
Joel Blank: Hey, coach, whatever makes you comfortable, it’s retirement years.
Rudy Tomjanovich: That’s right. That’s right. Well, I didn’t know I’m back working again, so.
Joel Blank: That’s right. The Timberwolves.
Rudy Tomjanovich: That’s right.
Joel Blank: Everyone in Houston from the organization itself and all the players, Bull and Mario and so many of the guys lobbying for you. When you finally got that call and knew that that day was coming.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yeah, you know, waiting for this to happen was very interesting because I didn’t really think about it until, you know, that time of the year when I would start getting calls about how I felt and things like that. But all the people who spoke up for me. I cannot thank them enough for making me feel so good. And, you know, my players. But then the brotherhood of coaches, Coach Mike D’Antoni, Scotty Brooks, and Jeff Van Gundy, as you know, spoke up for years. And I have a lot of gratitude for those guys.
Joel Blank: Now, Rudy, back in the day we were a family. You let Worrell and myself and guys sit in with the team on the meetings. And I remember you grilling me about Clyde because I had worked with him before you made that trade and said to me I’m thinking about making a move that’s going to affect my team.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Well, absolutely. Chemistry is so important, and if you wind up bringing in somebody that you’d never know if guys have a past with somebody that usually you do, but, you know, anything can happen with a big trade like that. You got to talk to your main guy. And of course, Clyde was just a perfect fit.
Joel Blank: Because you now have time to reflect and we did it back when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the titles are there certain things that happened that stick into your mind and say, if that doesn’t happen, maybe we don’t win that one or we have as much success?
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yeah, there were things like that, you know. You know, I thought a very pivotal situation was the first game in Orlando. During the regular season, they had owned us. They pretty well took care of us easily. And then they were doing it again. And we hung in there. We hung in there. And if Kenny doesn’t make that shot, put us in overtime, you know, we might not be talking about, you know, back to back. And we love the kiss of death shot from the corner with Mario. But that shot that Kenny made was just as big. And a lot of people don’t talk about it now.
Nick Sharara: I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but long-time broadcaster of the Houston Rockets Bill Worrell will call his final game this season. Your thoughts on Bill Worrell and B, should Vernon Maxwell take his spot?
Rudy Tomjanovich: Could what could what
Nick Sharara: Could Vernon Maxwell take his spot as the broadcaster?
Rudy Tomjanovich: Could take his spot? Yeah. Oh, cool. I thought you said kick his butt.
Joel Blank: We already know the answer to that coach.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yes. Bill’s a tough hombre. I’m telling you, I love Bill. He’s had a great career. I’m looking forward to seeing you and I’ve seen him a couple of times when he comes to Austin. I’m looking for the future to having a lot of fun with old blue eyes.
Joel Blank: That’s what you call him. You had nicknames for all of us.
Nick Sharara: Coach, do you have an angry moment from the Dream that you’re willing to share with us that perhaps nobody else knows about?
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yeah, not that I can think of, I mean, he was very competitive. He did not like to be out of the game in the fourth quarter. And, you know, I had to rest some because we are going to him so much. So he was always anxious to get back in there, you know, and I hear him and he’d be talking to the assistant coaches, you know, “come on. Come on.”
Joel Blank: Now, with Ramadan wrapping up, the other thing that I always say that’s ironic that people don’t realize is the fact that Hakeem he wouldn’t take water, he wouldn’t take quench gum, he wouldn’t do anything to help him through. And he’s putting 40 minutes in and he’s putting 30 and 15 on good teams. And we were just in complete awe of what he was able to do.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I have to admit, I took him for granted in that kind of situation. What he did was truly amazing. And, you know, I’m feeling even luckier when I think about all the obstacles he had to go through to get this stuff done.
Joel Blank: So, Coach you grew up in the University of Michigan and all of that, but now you are going to be a legendary son of the city of Houston, Describe the love affair between you and the city of Houston which is pretty amazing.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Yeah, it truly is, and I didn’t know what the state of Texas was about before I got here because I was one of those Yankees, you know, saying y’all and how’s your mom and them down here? And it was different. But it took a week for me to find out how warm the people in Texas and Houston are. It’s my home. I’ll always be connected there. But I really want to thank the fans for being there for us. You know, we went through Choke City and we still had fans pulling for us. And when we pulled to the airport and there were thousands which surprised the hell out of everybody, it was a feeling I cannot, I don’t have the words and we just couldn’t let those fans down. And when I’m up there, you know, receiving this honor, they are with me, it was a complete community and, you know, just a fantastic experience for me to go through the whole Houston experience.
Joel Blank: Well, thank you, buddy. And we’ll have to do this more often. Hit ‘em straight. Take care of the dogs and the family. And again, you’ve done us all proud.
Rudy Tomjanovich: Always my pleasure.