Report: Riley to return as Heat coach

Basketball News

By Paul Levine Jul 16, 2005, 7:01 GMT

Los Angeles - While hurricanes continue to blow gusty winds around parts of Florida, strong rumors swirled Friday in other parts of the state that Miami Heat president Pat Riley will return to coach the club. ESPN analyst and Heat announcer Jack Ramsay intensified the rumours, saying he expects Riley to replace Stan Van Gundy behind the bench next season. "Pat Riley has indicated to Stan Van Gundy, according to reports that I've received, that he indeed will return to the bench," Ramsay said on ESPN Thursday. "I'm not sure where that leaves Van Gundy. But I'm pretty certain Pat Riley is going to get back into coaching again." Heat officials refused to comment on the matter, but if it's true it's news to Van Gundy, who has two years remaining on his contract. "I haven't heard anything," Van Gundy told the Miami Herald in its Friday edition. On Wednesday, the 60-year-old Riley again strongly denied reports he wanted to coach again. Insiders, however, claim the minority owner of the Heat has a desire to get back on the sidelines. If Riley returns, Van Gundy is expected to pursue a head coaching job elsewhere, perhaps filling vacancies with New York or Seattle. If that fails, maybe his younger brother Jeff could use him as an assistant with the Houston Rockets. "The only thing I worry about is why string it out," Jeff Van Gundy told New York sports radio station WFAN this week. "I think Stan has earned the right being there 10 years just to get an answer. Everybody has to make tough decisions. "There are jobs out there right now that could still be filled, so if they're going to make a decision, I would just love it to be sooner so he could hook on with another team, because I think he'd be very much in demand if they do make that change down there," he added. He said he was hopeful things would work out for his brother in Miami "because he really wants to be there", but said, "I don't think it's really in his control at all. He did what he could do. Now, it's up to Pat." In 21 NBA coaching seasons, Riley has won 1,110 regular-season games and 155 in the playoffs. He won four NBA titles in nine seasons with the Lakers in the 1980s before moving to the Knicks for four more years. Riley led the Heat to a 354-270 record in eight seasons beginning in 1995 until he unexpectedly resigned just days before the 2003-2004 season. Van Gundy was quickly promoted from assistant and guided the team to a 101-63 regular-season mark record, and 17-11 in the playoffs. This season, the Heat won the East, but was eliminated in seven games by the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals. © dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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