For all of you "OLD" Spurs Fans

[Tacker]

Was Vinny Del Negro a decent player? Do you guys think he will do good as a coach? Which NBA Player of today would you compare him to.

[SAtown]

His career ended in 2001, not 1985.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:lol

[shelshor]

The battle to get Noah to a hair stylist ought to be better than the Skiles/Wallace spat over headbands

[Biggems]

Vinnie was a solid player in the 90s.....however, his eye candy of a wife was a greater contribution to the Spurs in the mid 90s than he was. Everytime they panned to her in the stands it made my eyes quite happy. Vinnie, with that hair and beard, always looked like he should dressed in leather and hanging out at the Blue Oyster Bar....

He couldn't shoot a set shot very well.....but he was deadly with a running jumper or any off balance shot. He would always bank that running jumper from like 10-15 ft. He was an ok defender, well at least he tried to defend.

If I had to grade his performance while he was a Spur, I would give him a B-.

[remingtonbo2001]

A poor man's Manu, minus the competitive drive (Manu's best quality).

[Twisted_Dawg]

"Old Spurs fan" and Vinnie????

Don't think so.

Now if you want to ask about Rich Jones, Swen Nater, Gene Banks, et al...have at it.

[Tacker]

Vinnie was a solid player in the 90s.....however, his eye candy of a wife was a greater contribution to the Spurs in the mid 90s than he was. Everytime they panned to her in the stands it made my eyes quite happy. Vinnie, with that hair and beard, always looked like he should dressed in leather and hanging out at the Blue Oyster Bar....

He couldn't shoot a set shot very well.....but he was deadly with a running jumper or any off balance shot. He would always bank that running jumper from like 10-15 ft. He was an ok defender, well at least he tried to defend.

If I had to grade his performance while he was a Spur, I would give him a B-.

Thanks alot

[Kori Ellis]

The original poster is like 13 years old. So Stephen Jackson is an old school Spurs player to him.

[Tacker]

His career ended in 2001, not 1985.

And???? Michael Jordan retired in 2003 does that mean he played the same as when he was a bull in the young 90s???

[Tacker]

The original poster is like 13 years old. So Stephen Jackson is an old school Spurs player to him.

Correction.... 19 years old.

[exstatic]

Vinnie has already epic-failed by going to the Bob Hill card.

[baseline bum]

Vinny Del Negro was worthless. He was cheap-ass Red McComb's replacement when he decided not to pay to bring Rod Strickland back. Del Negro was soft, never any good in the playoffs, and the weakest Spurs starter since Alfrederick Hughes. Replacing Del Negro's soft ass with Mario Elie is one of the main things that put the Spurs over the top to win the title in '99. Fuck that soft piece of shit. Del Negro < Steve Smith.

[spurster]

We are not old, we are experienced.

[Extra Stout]

Vinny Del Negro was a slightly-above-average outside shooter, and could get to the rim on occasion. He was famous for his "hair fake."

He was probably the worst defender of any starting player in basketball at that time. The vision of Clyde Drexler scoring like it was practice in the 1995 WCF is burned into my brain. Throughout the mid-to-late 1990's, critics cited Del Negro as being too weak a starter for any team with title aspirations. They were correct.

He was also a world-class crybaby. Ray Allen is Admiral Freaking Cook in comparison. There is a reason he found the Phoenix Suns organization so attractive. He loved to cry to the media all the time. Bob Hill was his bedroom friend. Vinny never could take Pop's style of coaching, and bad-mouthed him to the Spurs' beat writer at the time, Kevin O'Keefe, who hated Popovich and David Robinson.

In 1999 Pop dumped Del Negro for Mario Elie. O'Keefe was as crushed as Steve Francis was when Cuttino Mobley was traded, and ripped Pop up and down in the paper as basically the second coming of Hitler. The E-N had enough and fired him.

The Spurs never looked back.

Del Negro went where all douchebags go -- Phoenix. He fit in perfectly there. Now he's going to go destroy the Chicago Bulls.

[remingtonbo2001]

Vinny Del Negro was worthless. He was cheap-ass Red McComb's replacement when he decided not to pay to bring Rod Strickland back. Del Negro was soft, never any good in the playoffs, and the weakest Spurs starter since Alfrederick Hughes. Replacing Del Negro's soft ass with Mario Elie is one of the main things that put the Spurs over the top to win the title in '99. Fuck that soft piece of shit. Del Negro < Steve Smith.

Cold.

[remingtonbo2001]

Vinny Del Negro was a slightly-above-average outside shooter, and could get to the rim on occasion. He was famous for his "hair fake."

He was probably the worst defender of any starting player in basketball at that time. The vision of Clyde Drexler scoring like it was practice in the 1995 WCF is burned into my brain. Throughout the mid-to-late 1990's, critics cited Del Negro as being too weak a starter for any team with title aspirations. They were correct.

He was also a world-class crybaby. Ray Allen is Admiral Freaking Cook in comparison. There is a reason he found the Phoenix Suns organization so attractive. He loved to cry to the media all the time. Bob Hill was his bedroom friend. Vinny never could take Pop's style of coaching, and bad-mouthed him to the Spurs' beat writer at the time, Kevin O'Keefe, who hated Popovich and David Robinson.

In 1999 Pop dumped Del Negro for Mario Elie. O'Keefe was as crushed as Steve Francis was when Cuttino Mobley was traded, and ripped Pop up and down in the paper as basically the second coming of Hitler. The E-N had enough and fired him.

The Spurs never looked back.

Del Negro went where all douchebags go -- Phoenix. He fit in perfectly there. Now he's going to go destroy the Chicago Bulls.

:lol

[Dre_7]

Correction.... 19 years old.

And you dont remember Vinnie? I am only 23 and I remember him.

But then again, I am a Spurs fan, so it is probably easier to remember guys that played for your favorite team when you were a kid than a player who played for a different team.

[Fiestadog]

poor-man's Manu indeed, but without the range and above the rim skills.

[Extra Stout]

poor-man's Manu indeed, but without the range and above the rim skills.
There is no comparison between Manu and Del Negro. That's like comparing Tim Duncan and J.R. Reid.

[Brutalis]

He was superb at passing the ball to Robinson. Dunno about anything else.

[baseline bum]

Cold.

I take it back; Alfrederick the Great never started a game. Vinny was only the second worst Spurs starter, behind Charles Smith. People will look at stats and overrate him on that, but those only came because the Spurs had no one else and were stuck playing his soft ass 30+ minutes a night.

[Mister Sinister]

And you dont remember Vinnie? I am only 23 and I remember him.

But then again, I am a Spurs fan, so it is probably easier to remember guys that played for your favorite team when you were a kid than a player who played for a different team.

No, F that noise, that's no excuse. I knew who VDN was before I became a Spurs fan. :lol Thank you, NBA Jam.

[wildbill2u]

The original poster is like 13 years old. So Stephen Jackson is an old school Spurs player to him.

:downspin::lol:downspin::lol:rollin

I love this site because there are so many different kinds of fans.

[SenorSpur]

Vinny Del Negro was worthless. He was cheap-ass Red McComb's replacement when he decided not to pay to bring Rod Strickland back. Del Negro was soft, never any good in the playoffs, and the weakest Spurs starter since Alfrederick Hughes. Replacing Del Negro's soft ass with Mario Elie is one of the main things that put the Spurs over the top to win the title in '99. Fuck that soft piece of shit. Del Negro < Steve Smith.

A much better summation. The problem with McCombs strategy was Del Negro was touted to be the next incoming point guard. Hell he was nowhere near being a point guard. In fact, he wasn't even a very good shooting guard.

As I've stated in another thread, Vinny was the kind of player who could perhaps get you 20 points versus the Clippers or Grizzlies. But if you pitted him against average to above average competition (Rockets, Fakers, Bulls), he would wilt like a flower in desert heat. He had a lot to do with why the Spurs were branded as "soft" back in the mid-90's. He was not only a worthless candy-ass, but he had no mental toughness whatsoever. By far, he was and will beTHE spur that I hated the most.

There's a story about how Del Negro, once during a game versus the Bulls, was so enamored going up against Jordan's Bulls, that he was overheard at the free throw line during the game, soliciting him to play in his offseason golf tournament. In fact, Vinny often seemed more interested in lowering his golf score than improving at his main profession.

As far as what kind of a coach he will make, I don't know. His ascension to this level is more of a testimony to his knack for developing relationships than for his understanding the game. I do find it rather amusing that a guy who was never tough-minded, aggressive, or even a fierce competitor, would be in a position where he's required to impart these same traits into young players.

[SenorSpur]

A poor man's Manu, minus the competitive drive (Manu's best quality).

Bullshit! That's an insult to Manu. That would like calling Chucky Brown a poor man's Bruce Bowen. In case you're wondering who Chucky Brown is... enough said.

[baseline bum]

Del Negro is more like Beno Sr.

[LakerHater]

Oh man, I w=used to love Vinny! He was 1 of my favorite players back then! He had a sweet jumper( within 18')! He can pull up on a dime and shoot with accuracy, H he was also an excellent passer!
The 1 thing that really pissed me off about him was in the '95 playoffs, he was a no show against the Lakers, and didn't show in the 1st two WCF games against the Rockets! He did show in games 3 & 4 but, it was to late! Rockets won in 6!!
Overall I'd giv'em a B+!!! http://db.funformobile.com/images/smiles/ok.gif (javascript:emoticon('form_text',':ok:'))

[Tacker]

And you dont remember Vinnie? I am only 23 and I remember him.

But then again, I am a Spurs fan, so it is probably easier to remember guys that played for your favorite team when you were a kid than a player who played for a different team.

I just turned 19 and im assuming you are turning 24, thats 5 years difference, kids dont watch basketball at 5 yearsold enough to remember the players..... at 10 years they know most of the players....

[SenorSpur]

I just turned 19 and im assuming you are turning 24, thats 5 years difference, kids dont watch basketball at 5 yearsold enough to remember the players..... at 10 years they know most of the players....

Don't worry, you didn't miss much. If you're a true Spurs fan, and it sounds like you are, Vinny would have likely frustrated the crap out of you, as he did with many of us. Damn poot butt!

[gospursgojas]

I'm 24 and I remember the days when I would tell myself we can win a 'ship with Vinny. I said the same thing about Terry Cummings and Vernon Maxwell

[mrspurs]

put it this way....i didnt like it vinny had the ball in his hands....smart? yes...made to play basketball(more like fab) smart player in a choke artist body so no.....go spurs go

[Trainwreck2100]

This question would be better if asked to a Suns fan

[Appoggiatura]

There is no comparison between Manu and Del Negro. That's like comparing Tim Duncan and J.R. Reid.

+1

Vinny always had a knack for disappearing in the Playoffs. The '95 Rockets series and the '96 Jazz series always stood out. Almost forget that he was on the team Tim's rookie year. With guys like Tim, Manu and Tony, it seems like it was a lot longer than 10 years ago. Couldn't be more opposite.

[Oh, Gee!!]

He was a punk

[SenorSpur]

+1

Vinny always had a knack for disappearing in the Playoffs. The '95 Rockets series and the '96 Jazz series always stood out. Almost forget that he was on the team Tim's rookie year. With guys like Tim, Manu and Tony, it seems like it was a lot longer than 10 years ago. Couldn't be more opposite.

Those series stood out because Del Negro disappeared like a cockroach when the lights got turned on.

[pjjrfan]

Vinnie was not a point guard and that what he did his first few seasons here, then when Avery got her he went to the 2 guard and he was alright, but Vinnie was a shooter until the last few minutes of the game and then he would pass up great looks, and he wasn't the only one, Sean had that affliction also, it took SEan a few seasons to get the confidence he showed in the memorial day miracle. Vinny was at the center of the controversary that cost Kevin O'Keefe his job. O'Keefe wrote an article about how Pop had set Vinnie up to look like a money hungry free agent and according to O'keefe Pop set the whole thing up and when the paper asked him or ordered him to retract the story he didn't and got canned. Don't mess with Pop.

[jag]

I loved vinny...he was great if you hit him in transition from about 15 feet, but other than that...not so much. He had good range but he didn't shoot the 3 ball too much. He was pretty soft around the rim, i think i only ever saw him dunk once and it was the weakest shit i've ever seen.

He did, however, have great hair.

[SenorSpur]

I loved vinny...he was great if you hit him in transition from about 15 feet, but other than that...not so much. He had good range but he didn't shoot the 3 ball too much. He was pretty soft around the rim, i think i only ever saw him dunk once and it was the weakest shit i've ever seen.

He did, however, have great hair.

....yeah I know and he had a fine wife too. That shit don't win basketball games. I loathed the presence of this guy. Especially on the heels of losing Rod Strickland.

Once he fails in Chicago, the fans will probably run both him and Paxson outta Chicago.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

There is no comparison between Manu and Del Negro. That's like comparing Tim Duncan and J.R. Reid.

Thank you! I was waiting for someone to throw that garbage out. Bo - you compared Vinnie to Manu, what were you thinking??? There is no analogy. I'll put it this way - in the mid-90s, Vinnie was the guy who made you cringe a little when he took the court, like Finley at times this season.

I always thought JR Reid had such potential, but he turned out to be a headcase and a bust. :(

gospurs - don't be dissing Terry Cummings now... that guy could ball. But for Rod Strickland, we might have won a ring with TC!

[lefty]

Vinny was basically a white shooter with good ballhandling skills (meaning he took care of the ball, nothing more).

He was a good decision maker as a player

[Admiral]

Vinny Del Negro was worthless. He was cheap-ass Red McComb's replacement when he decided not to pay to bring Rod Strickland back. Del Negro was soft, never any good in the playoffs, and the weakest Spurs starter since Alfrederick Hughes. Replacing Del Negro's soft ass with Mario Elie is one of the main things that put the Spurs over the top to win the title in '99. Fuck that soft piece of shit. Del Negro < Steve Smith.

Del Negro << HITA. No doubt about it. He was certainly one of our weakest links on those early-mid 90's teams. He is yet another example of the poor management we had then. David and Sean deserved much better.

[SequSpur]

Vinny was good, you guys hate the white guy.

[ChuckD]

Vinny was good, you guys hate the white guy.

Why are you jocking him? Did he go to fucking West Campus, or something?

[Brutalis]

I love Tackers youtube videos of him doing crappy layups to Britney Spears.

ST Classic indeed.

[Slippy]

I loved vinny...he was great if you hit him in transition from about 15 feet, but other than that...not so much. He had good range but he didn't shoot the 3 ball too much. He was pretty soft around the rim, i think i only ever saw him dunk once and it was the weakest shit i've ever seen.

He did, however, have great hair.

Wouldn't call it great but the hair is probably as close as it gets to the Manu comparison.

In transition that's all i remember him being good for. When open had a nice mid-range jumper and ok passing ability. Not much of an athlete, didn't defend very well for the NBA standard required and an un-reliable 3-point shot. Playing along side DROB helped his game. This day and age, can't see him cutting it. He didn't deserve to be a starting SG, probably reserve at best

[Rynospursfan]

As far as current players to compare him to, Juan Dixon seems to jump to mind.

[KidCongo]

Hey Captain good looking is back!

oooop no hes not, this thread is a bit "old"

[ShoogarBear]

Vinny Del Negro was a slightly-above-average outside shooter, and could get to the rim on occasion. He was famous for his "hair fake."

He was probably the worst defender of any starting player in basketball at that time. The vision of Clyde Drexler scoring like it was practice in the 1995 WCF is burned into my brain. Throughout the mid-to-late 1990's, critics cited Del Negro as being too weak a starter for any team with title aspirations. They were correct.

He was also a world-class crybaby. Ray Allen is Admiral Freaking Cook in comparison. There is a reason he found the Phoenix Suns organization so attractive. He loved to cry to the media all the time. Bob Hill was his bedroom friend. Vinny never could take Pop's style of coaching, and bad-mouthed him to the Spurs' beat writer at the time, Kevin O'Keefe, who hated Popovich and David Robinson.

In 1999 Pop dumped Del Negro for Mario Elie. O'Keefe was as crushed as Steve Francis was when Cuttino Mobley was traded, and ripped Pop up and down in the paper as basically the second coming of Hitler. The E-N had enough and fired him.

The Spurs never looked back.

Del Negro went where all douchebags go -- Phoenix. He fit in perfectly there. Now he's going to go destroy the Chicago Bulls.

I know this is an old post, but that was awesome. :lol

[Manufan909]

Those series stood out because Del Negro disappeared like a cockroach when the lights got turned on.

I submit this post for the most badass post of the 08-09 offseason. Someone should start a thread, because there sure as hell isn't anything interesting happening.
:toast

[MrChug]

Correction.... 19 years old.

Well then that means you're just not a real Spurs fan jackass. I know 15 year olds who've seen Del Negro play.

[ambchang]

Del Negro is more like a less talented, Spurs-version Hedo Turkoglu (not the Orlando version), without the three point shooting, and driving ....

Forget it, let's just say he sucked.

[baseline bum]

Del Negro is more like a less talented, Spurs-version Hedo Turkoglu (not the Orlando version), without the three point shooting, and driving ....


... nor the rebounding nor defense.

[baseline bum]

... nor the passing nor the height.... actually, the only things I can think of that they share is the epic failure in the playoffs and the white skin.

[Dex]

Isn't Del Negro partial owner of the Suns now or something?

[baseline bum]

Coach of the Bulls.

[Dex]

Coach of the Bulls.

Whoa. :wow

WE LANDED ON THE MOON!

[Dex]

Del Negro played the final games of his NBA career in Phoenix. He served as the Suns' radio analyst for three years before working as director of player personnel and assistant GM the past two years.

Okay, I may not be current, but at least I'm not crazy.

[Spurs Brazil]

Del Negro sucks

[Obstructed_View]

Del Negro was a far better basketball player than Gregg Popovich. In other words, a player's ability has very little to do with whether or not he's going to be a good coach. That was a weird hire, IMO.

[ulosturedge]

He was a good player. He was soft though and he did have a tendency to disappear in playoff games. He was a streak shooter though. So sometimes he gave you 15-20 point games but sometimes he was no where to be found. Couldn't do much from the 3 point line but he had a great mid range jumper.

I don't know anything about the guys personality though. It doesn't suprise me that people say he was soft and a whiner though. I can vaguely remember having that impression about him and that was before I got that deep into basketball.