Getting to Know... Assistant Coach Nick Van Exel

NVE: “With Fizz, he coached me at Golden State. We had a pretty good relationship there. We’ve always kept in touch. Any time I would be in Atlanta, as a player, we spoke. Even as a coach, we spoke. Even when he went to Miami, we kept in contact and went out to eat a few times here and there. One thing I know about Coach Fizz is, he’s a winner. He’s been with Miami for a while, but he has a passion and a drive. I think he has a vision – a clear vision on what he wants to get done with these guys here. I like his vision.”

“J.B. [Bickerstaff], it’s my first time meeting him, but I literally talked to four coaches congratulating me, and they were like, ‘You couldn’t be with a group of two better guys,’ talking about Fizz and J.B. I’m really excited. J.B.’s been around the block a long time. His dad is a great figure in the NBA. So I’m just going to soak up all the knowledge I can.”

NVE: “Playing the point guard position, I had to know everybody’s positon. I had to know the two position, three, four and five – offensively and defensively. So I’m just a reflection of the coach out on the court. I was a big talker, a big communicator, so it kind of rolled right into coaching. Around 2003 is when I first really thought about coaching. When the Mavericks traded me to Golden State is when I started thinking about it, because our Golden State team had so many young players. It seemed like I was always just talking, trying to get these guys to understand how to play the game the right way.”

NVE: “Well, I’m a lot different as a coach. Like I tell people all the time, my basketball side is so much different than my off-the-court side. It’s not even close. I’m a lot more quiet and laid back as a coach, but I think the respect that the players give me because I played the game, it makes it easier for me to be more relaxed and be more calm. So I’m just a total opposite. The drive and the competiveness is, when you’re teaching a player something and they go out there and do what you were working on, that’s the gratification for me. That’s my thrill right now. When you’re sitting there busting a player in practice or in the summer time and you see them improving and getting better, that’s kind of my drive. That’s what gets me pumped up.”

NVE: “There are quite a few guys. I keep in contact with a lot of guys. Lester Conner has been big for me. He was an assistant for like, 17-19 years in the league. Of course, Coach Larry Drew first hired me in Atlanta. Tim Grgurich, I’ve always looked up to him and his work effort. Ironically, Del Harris – Del Harris has been great for me in my second career as far as coaching is concerned. I saw him the other day. He’s been very helpful and gives me a lot of pointers and things like that.”

NVE: “It’s humbling, but I’m a humble person so it didn’t bother me much. It’s just going back to like, when I used to be in junior college, taking the busses, waking up at three in the morning and catching a 4:30 a.m. flight and things like that. As far as coaching is concerned, it’s just being able to relate to the players. Being able to communicate. Getting their respect from them. I wasn’t a big yeller, so for me it was, ‘Can I get my point across, and can these guys go out and execute what I’m trying to get done?’ That was good for me. I thought I had a good group of guys. They listened. I still keep in contact with a lot of them. It was a challenge as far as the revolving door. The challenge for me last year was so many new players coming in. You’d get a core and then they may go overseas. We literally had to have a training camp in the middle of the season because we had so many new guys. That was a challenge for me as far as coaching is concerned. I doubt that it’ll ever happen again unless I’m in that situation. But to see new guys come, it could happen for trades in this league, it prepared me for a situation like that.”

NVE:“Man, listen to me, I’m going to try every barbecue spot I see, like literally, because I want to taste it all. Every place I go to, I’m going to get some rib tips. I’m a fried chicken man, so I’m going to try all the good foods.”

NVE: “I’m anxious, because I have a few friends, a few business friends, who are here locally. You know, we’ve already been talking about some things – some things they do as far as the community is concerned. Just look out and see which ones l like the most. For me personally, I was big into single mothers and helping them out, because my mom was a single mom. I was big into Parks and Recreation systems and things like that. If anything, it’s got something to do with kids and single parents and things like that. I’ll see where I can fit in there.”

NVE: “Can you believe I’m 44 years old and I’m still a video game junkie? I still play video games. I love Madden and this game called The Division right now on the PS4 – and golf. If I can get out and play some golf, come home and play with my 3-year-old and then she lets me play my PS4, I’m good. Very simple. I’m just Madden and The Division, those two. I just started playing The Division about a month ago. But if it’s not Madden, I’m not playing.”

NVE: “I’m nervous as hell, I’m not even going to lie to you. I was hitting my driver pretty good, and like the last two weeks, I actually lost my driver and don’t know what happened to it. I’m just hitting the ball all over the place. I’m thinking about teeing off with a 4-iron all day tomorrow (laughs). So yeah, I’m a little bit nervous. But it will be a fun event.”