IT WAS THE summer of 2000, and to New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, it felt about 104 degrees in the shade. He decided to move summer league workouts from his Westchester base to Fairfield University, home to an air-conditioned gym. He also decided to let assistant Tom Thibodeau run the young Knicks through two practices in one day, never a great idea.
As Van Gundy recalls it, the first practice was scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon, with part two from 4 to 6 p.m. "By the time Thibs left them off in the first practice, it was 3:15," Van Gundy says.