Owning Mediocrity

On Thursday, the Orlando Magic hired Coach Stan Van Gundy. Within two weeks, Van Gundy is Orlando’s third mentor. On May 24, Brian Hill was fired. On June 1, Billy Donovan was hired. Alas, Donovan reneged and rejoined the Florida Gators.

During his Miami Heat tenure, Van Gundy compiled a 112-73 record. Humbly, he labeled his hiring a surprise . "The first reaction obviously was surprise when (Magic general manager Otis Smith) called over the weekend -- I was a little bit shocked," Van Gundy said. "And then from there, just so many ups and downs on whether I thought it was going to work out or not work out. It seemed to be changing almost hourly, and we were truly on an emotional roller coaster for quite a while."

Van Gundy is an adequate coach. However, he is not Donovan. Why is this important? Since 1996-1997, the Magic have logged a 422-448 ledger. They needed excitement. They needed expectations. Instead, they have Van Gundy.