Riley coaches Heat; Van Gundy quits

MIAMI – Pat Riley is again the coach of the Miami Heat, replacing Stan Van Gundy following his resignation Monday for family reasons.

Riley, whom Van Gundy succeeded on the bench shortly before the 2003-04 season, will make his debut tonight when Miami opens a four-game road trip in Chicago.

“I will get back into this quickly,” said Riley, the team president. He said he hasn’t even looked at a playbook for two years.

Riley coached the team from 1995-03 after winning four titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and a stint with the New York Knicks.

Players were not available for immediate comment

Van Gundy said he resigned voluntarily. “I made this decision for one reason and one reason only: I love my family,” he said.

He said because of travel, games and practices, he would have seen his children at home only 49 days out of 170 this season.

Riley’s eyes welled with tears as Van Gundy announced the reasons for his decision. Van Gundy said Riley has tried for weeks to persuade him to stay.

“It came down to a choice, and for me, the choice was clear,” Van Gundy said. He said he will remain in the organization, and insisted he had no desire to coach elsewhere.

Van Gundy’s job status was the subject of speculation in South Florida for months, starting when Riley – his mentor – said shortly after the Heat’s 2005 playoff run ended that he may take a larger role in the team’s day-to-day operations.

That comment set off speculation Riley was planning to dismiss Van Gundy and take over a team with two of the NBA’s biggest stars, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, in his quest for the Heat’s first title.

The team is in first place, but with only an 11-10 record. It has been without O’Neal for 18 games with a badly sprained right ankle.

Van Gundy has a 112-73 regular-season record. Riley has won 1,110 games in 21 seasons as a coach.