MILWAUKEE — While always a gym rat, Stan Van Gundy prides himself on being more rounded than your run-of-the-mill basketball fiend.

So when he saw a familiar face at the Orlando Magic's shootaround Wednesday morning, it wasn't surprising the first words out of his mouth had nothing to do with that night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

"So what do you think about the Gagne signing?" he said of the Milwaukee Brewers' deal with closer Eric Gagne. "One year, right? I think that's great. That's the way to do it with relievers because you just never know about them."

What Van Gundy knows these days is to count his blessings.

The one-time University of Wisconsin coach, out of the NBA game for 1� seasons, found himself back on the bench last summer when the Magic's deal with Florida coach Billy Donovan fell through.

Not too shabby that a second choice ends up as the coach of a team that, despite falling to the Bucks 100-86 Wednesday night at the Bradley Center, has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-7.

"That's really getting ahead of the game," Van Gundy said of how when people talk about the best teams in the Eastern Conference, they talk about the Boston Celtics and the Magic. "I know it sounds like a coach's doom and gloom, but what we have is 20 games — a quarter of a season — and that's good. But the real test is in the long run.

"Early on, I don't think people targeted us and were really zeroed in on our game and how to play us. Now they have. It will be very interesting over the last 60 games to see what level we can get to."

Van Gundy had some evidence to back up his words.

The Magic left the Bradley Center with their first three-game losing streak of the season, with the first two of those losses — to Indiana and Atlanta — coming at home.

"You're playing well and all of a sudden you're not. Everybody goes through it," Van Gundy said. "Hopefully, you get out of it pretty soon."

Van Gundy certainly isn't naive when it comes to the ups and downs in the life of a basketball coach.

He spent two-plus seasons as the coach of the Miami Heat before stepping down after 21 games of the 2005-06 season for what he said was the desire to spend more time with his family.

The Heat went on to win the NBA title that year. Van Gundy knew a coach's lifespan could be short from his experience as the coach of the Badgers in 1994-95.

An emergency choice to replace Stu Jackson when Jackson fled for the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies in the summer of '94, Van Gundy was fired after a 13-14 season.

"You get an opportunity at a young age as a head coach in the Big Ten and you lose your job nine, 10 months later, you think that opportunities like that are not going to come around again," he said. "I knew I was going to coach again, but you don't think it's going to be quite that good again. It was a down time."

Van Gundy landed on his feet, taking an assistant's job with the Heat shortly after his firing.

He landed on his feet again last summer when he was tempted by an offer from Sacramento before Donovan pulled out of his deal with the Magic.

The chance in Orlando was a less disruptive move for his family and let them stay in Florida, where his parents and in-laws live.

"I think it would be hard for a NBA coach to go back to college," Van Gundy said. "You're dealing with players who are smarter, tougher, play harder, work harder (in the NBA).

"And ... I don't have to worry about what kind of grades my guys are getting or going to booster club meetings. Plus, the pay at this level is pretty good."

Everything is pretty good at the NBA level.

"It worked out well for (the Badgers)," Van Gundy said, "and it worked out well for me. So in the long run, it was good for everybody."