I was very surprised to hear Jeff Van Gundy had resigned as the head coach of the Knicks. Off to a slow start, Van Gundy carries the weight of his team on his shoulders, but the Knicks had regrouped well since Marcus Camby's return.

I have a high regard for Van Gundy's coaching ability -- he's one of the top coaches in the NBA. He takes losing very hard and wears his emotions on his sleeve -- you never have to question what he's thinking or where he's coming from. He wants his team to play a particular style and with a lot of intensity. He may not have thought that was happening with this group.

An excellent coach, he could return to the NBA when he's ready. There are a lot of teams who would like his services.

If you're looking for a perfect talent for an NBA team, the Knicks don't have it and haven't had it for a number of years. But Van Gundy has patched them together and made the very best of what he had to work with.

The players hold Van Gundy in high regard. In fact, I've never heard one of his players criticize him -- they've always spoken very highly of him.

I'm not sure there isn't more to this than just the day-to-day toll that affects every coach. Jeff is a perfectionist and I don't think he'd resign unless there was some additional pressure. He may have felt he wasn't getting the support or cooperation from management.

An excellent coach, he could return to the NBA when he's ready. There are a lot of teams who would like his services. I don't know it would be this year but, should he chose to return in the future, I'm sure he could.

In the past, Jeff has talked about leaving the NBA and getting back to college coaching -- possibly a Division II school. He loves coaching and is a great teacher. I'm sure he'll get back to coaching at some level in the not too distant future.

As for the Knicks, it looks like Don Chaney will be the guy to step in and possibly take over for the rest of the season. We'll see what happens from there.