By CHRIS PERKINS
FOXSportsFlorida.com Heat Writer
March 2, 2011
Coaching the most scrutinized basketball team on the planet hasn't changed Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Neither has coaching the Big Three, nor being roasted nationally throughout November. Somehow, Spoelstra has maintained his personable nature.
Here's a prime example: After every practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, Spoelstra answers questions from 10 to 20 media members. Injury questions. LeBron questions. Half-court offense questions. Losing close game questions. They're all in there.
But after most interview sessions, Spoelstra does something few NBA coaches do on a regular basis: He stays in the gym and chats it up with reporters. He did it each of his first two years as head coach, and he's still doing it now.
"It's a habit developed being an assistant coach under Pat (Riley) and Stan (Van Gundy) to be the last person in the gym, the last one off the floor," Spoelstra said with a smile. "It has nothing to do with you guys."
If Spoelstra was one to play political games, if he was manipulative, you'd understand him talking to reporters. He would be advancing an agenda. But that's not Spoelstra.
This is Spoelstra: standing in the gym, back against the wall, for another 15 or 20 minutes, just talking. Sometimes it's a small group of reporters, sometimes it's one on one. It could be a formal interview, or it could be idle banter. He's always been different from other NBA coaches in that respect.
Most head coaches walk off the practice floor after their media session, or at least walk away from reporters. They don't want to even give the impression of accessibility. But Spoelstra stays on the court. He deflects when pressed.
"I'm not doing it to talk to you guys," he said. "Right now, I'm watching LeBron work out and I just happen to be standing here."
That's partly true. Spoelstra does like to watch his players do their post-practice shooting from afar, without hovering over them. That's for the assistant coaches.
But Spoelstra could walk to another part of the court. He doesn't. It almost as though he enjoys the causal interaction with the media as much as he did as a rookie coach three seasons ago.
"I haven't noticed really much of a difference interacting with you guys, with the media," he said. "Really it's been about all the conjecture and speculation that we get back, that we hear about. . . . I think that's probably been the biggest difference.
"But in terms of time I'm not spending more time with the media than I have in other years, and I'm not spending more time thinking about it. I'm just hearing a lot more."
Obviously, Spoelstra heard the calls for his job, heard about the articles that said Riley needs to come back.
"November was so extreme," Spoelstra said. "And we talked about it in July. We talked about it with the players, met about it as a staff, met about it with Pat.
"Until you're actually in it, in the storm
