FRENCH DELIGHT

Mickael Pietrus looks forward
to a great year with the
Orlando Magic.

Mickael Pietrus sounds like he was talking about his father. Actually, the French national is speaking about his NBA coach, Stan Van Gundy of the Orlando Magic. He was delighted that Van Gundy visited him personally in his home country during the summer, according to NBA.com. When Pietrus first heard about SVG’s Paris visit, he admits there are lot of things that played in his mind and he was worried. He even feared a trade might be forthcoming. But all doubts disappeared when it became clear that Van Gundy’s visit is like a father coming in to see his son. Pietrus has played seven years in the league with career norms of 8.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg and .359 3-point shooting mark in 439 games with the Golden State Warriors and the Magic. 

“It meant so much to me. I’m not going to lie to you, I was very surprised that he came. What I liked about it was that when coach came to Paris it wasn’t like we were talking about why I wasn’t playing more or why I was only getting a few shots. It was about coach coming to see me like a member of my family. I showed him how people love me in France. I took him on a tour of France. We ate a little French cake.

“We talked about basketball and the upcoming season. I’ve never had a problem with coach, to me he’s a great coach and he’s a part of my family. We’ve always had a great relationship, but we needed a deeper relationship.”