To say Melvin Hunt was surprised when he heard he would be the Nuggets’ interim head coach after the team fired Brian Shaw on Tuesday would be an understatement.
“When I got up this morning, the most important thing was for me to tell my mother-in-law ‘Happy birthday,’ ” he told reporters Tuesday night. “That was the biggest thing I had to for today, and here we are.”
But this is business. And this is what he signed up for.
And man, did he sign up for one heck of an audition.
PHOTOS:
Hunt takes over a team that has stumbled all season after opening with great expectations and a hoped return to the Western Conference playoffs. He takes over a team that has been the laughingstock of the NBA for much of the past few weeks, has seen its players seemingly quit on their coach and has spurned many of its loyal fans.
“It’s bittersweet,” Hunt said. “This is not the way you want it to happen, because there are a lot of people involved that are impacted by this. At the same time, in the pit of my stomach, there is a feeling of excitement because I love to compete and I’m ready for the challenges.”
Hunt arrived in Denver in 2005, hired by then-head coach George Karl a week before the start of training camp, after spending five seasons as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-11). Hunt had previously spent a season (2004-05) on the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench, working under Rudy Tomjanovich, and five seasons in various roles with the Houston Rockets (2004-11).
When Hunt landed in the Mile High City, he didn’t have much time to adjust to the team, or the altitude. But he didn’t seem to need it.
Hunt is the guy drenched in sweat after running through drills with players during practices. He’s the one who will challenge Danilo Gallinari to 3-point shootouts, who became Timofey Mozgov’s motivation (both stateside and in Russia) and earned the respect of Carmelo Anthony as soon as he stepped on the scene. Hunt has been the guy on the bench who understands his players, who easily connects with them on the court and off.
Now he’s the guy running the show, and he won’t hesitate to draw from the many coaches he has worked with over the years in developing his own style of coaching. Just don’t expect anything drastic in his six-week tryout.
“My high school coach called me today, and he used to always tell me: ‘Steal a page from a man’s book. Soon you’ll have your own book.’ I believe in that,” Hunt said. “I stole a couple pages from George (Karl); I stole a couple pages from Brian Shaw. Rudy T.
“It’s a hard job. So I’ve stolen a page from a lot of folks, so I’m going to draw upon it all. I’m going to draw from my players.”
Hunt made his head coaching debut Tuesday night when the Nuggets hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the first step toward proving he deserves to stay long-term in the job.
“I’m committed,” Hunt said. “That title is, eh — I’m here to help our guys win, bottom line.”
Melvin Hunt
Age: 44
Hometown: Tallulah, La.
College: Four-year letterman and three-year starter for Baylor (1987-91)
Nuggets experience: Assistant coach since 2010
Previous NBA coaching: One one season (2004-05) as Lakers assistant under Rudy Tomjanovich; five seasons (2005-10) as an assistant with the Cavaliers; five seasons (1999-2004) in various roles with the Rockets — first as a video coordinator and scout, then as an assistant coach and finally as a college and international scout.
