Daily News Sports Writer
Brendan Malone nudges forward in his seat and begins barking at a whistle-happy referee. He quickly turns his attention to
setting up the defense and then pleads with the point guard to pick up the pace. "We've got to start running more," he says,
exasperated. "When you're having trouble scoring you have to get to the basket and try to create something." The dialogue
continues even though it is quite apparent that no one is listening, much less reacting. He needs a time out. "If I'm in that huddle
right now I'm telling the guys that we took their best punch," Malone adds. "We've got plenty of time. We'll make our run. Basketball is a game of runs."
Malone could easily find a less stressful form of entertainment for a Friday evening. But the
veteran Knicks assistant coach is in his element, sitting 10 rows up in Draddy Gymnasium at
Manhattan College during a recent game against Siena. Here, he is surrounded by two passions:
family and basketball. Brendan, his wife Maureen, two of their six children — Brendan Jr. and
Kelly — and a daughter-in-law Jocelyn are out in full force to support the Jaspers, as well as a
young assistant who bears a striking resemblance to his coaching father. "When I first told my
father I wanted to be a basketball coach he tried to talk me out of it," said Michael Malone. "He
said there is no job security, you move all over the place and it can be a cut-throat business. But I wanted to coach just like him."
Michael, 29, [SHP '88] listened but went ahead anyway. He is in his first season at Manhattan College, working as the top
assistant to Bobby Gonzalez after spending four years under the tutelage of Pete Gillen. Michael's two older brothers, Kevin and
Brendan, became a doctor and a stock broker respectively. Michael, though, believes he was preordained to follow in his father's
footsteps. "Everyone always told me I was just like my father," he said. "We look alike, we have the same interests and my
mother and sister even say we have the same mannerisms on the bench. My sister is worried because she thinks I'm going to be just like my dad."
When he accepted the job at Manhattan, Michael and Jocelyn moved into his parents home in Armonk. This way — whenever
their hectic schedules permit — father and son can watch film together, trade notes and share in each other's suffering and
triumphs. "It's a great luxury for me," Michael says. "He has a wealth of knowledge so why wouldn't I use that as a resource. He's been doing this for a long time."
Brendan Malone's coaching career started in the '60s in the CYO league. He landed at Power Memorial High School, the now
defunct institution that produced Lew Alcindor. Malone won two titles at Power and soon doors began to open. He was an
assistant at Fordham, Yale and Syracuse before getting the head job at Rhode Island in 1984. It was there that Malone
interviewed a high school coach who one day would hit it big himself.
Malone didn't hire Jeff Van Gundy that day but 13 years later Van Gundy, also the son of a coach, welcomed Malone to his staff.
"That tells you a lot about Jeff's character," said Michael. "A lot of guys would not have done that."
Brendan spent two seasons at Rhode Island before former Knicks coach Hubie Brown gave him his big break in 1986. Malone
eventually won two rings working under Chuck Daly in Detroit and became the first head coach of the expansion Toronto
Raptors in 1995. With Damon Stoudamire as his rookie point guard on a roster littered with castoffs, Malone won a respectable
21 games that inaugural season. Toronto even beat the Bulls and Michael Jordan before 36,000 at SkyDome. But there were
philosophical differences between Malone and team president Isiah Thomas. Thomas was more interested in a lottery pick than
winning and Malone, after one year as an NBA head coach, resigned. "That's when I first understood the highs and lows of the
job," said Michael. "I was there the day they beat the Bulls with Jordan. I was real proud of him. He worked so hard and was
eventually penalized for it. He did a great job but the Raptors were not interested in winning. I'm still friendly with Isiah and his
wife. They're terrific people but I think that situation could have been handled better." Brendan understandably does not want to
see his own son to face such indignities. "This has been my life," he said. "I never told Michael not to become a coach. What I
told him was that 'If you don't have the passion for it don't waste your time.' I'll be honest with you, I didn't know if he had the
passion. But everyone tells me he is a 24-hour, seven-day a week coach. He has the passion."
All he needed was a chance, like the one Stu Jackson gave Van Gundy and Brown gave his father. Michael had been working at
Oakland University in Michigan, even taking care of the gym at night for extra money.
The job had its privileges; the court was his and in the early evening he was running in pick-up games with former Detroit Lion
Barry Sanders. But Malone wanted more and was about to join the Michigan State Police when Gillen offered a graduate
assistant position at Providence. It also happened to be the same job Van Gundy had held. Malone was at Providence for three
years before moving with Gillen and Gonzalez to Virginia for one season. When Gonzalez was hired at Manhattan, he asked
Malone to be his lead assistant and he jumped at the opportunity to be back in New York near his family.
The time with his father is priceless. Two years ago, Brendan left the Knicks for one month to undergo treatment for prostate
cancer. "That was scary for everyone," says Michael. "That is why it is good to have family around."
The son would like to see his father slow down but he knows better than anyone that coaching is in his blood. Even when the
senior Malone finally decides to stop, he'll never really be retired from basketball.
Michael never fully understood his father's passion until one day during the Big East tournament two years ago he heard the
telephone ringing in the hallway at Madison Square Garden. It was halftime of a game between Providence and Notre Dame, and
a security guard stopped Michael and handed him the phone. "It was like the Batphone was ringing," he said. On the other end
was his father, who was on the road with the Knicks but watching the game from his hotel room. "He was telling me things that
might work for us in the second half," Michael added. "That's how sick he is. But he loves what he does. He's always coaching. I can understand that."
The feeling is mutual.
