Lindsey Hunter had staying power as an NBA player, sticking around the league largely as a reserve point guard for 17 seasons as a product of Jackson State. Now he’s looking to prove he can stay in the league as more than just interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns, a promotion that didn’t go over well with some in the Suns’ organization.

Hunter, however, appears to be receiving growing respect after a rough start that included Suns players favoring Majerle, according to a past report in the Arizona Republic. Center Marcin Gortat says practices are more intense now.

“We are cutting all of the b.s. we had [offensively],” Gortat said. “When coach is talking and people are talking, we are definitely cutting that [out]. We are getting better at that right now. But there are still a lot of things we got to work on.”

Said Dudley: “It’s more disciplined, a tighter ship.”

Hunter has taken the lead on the defense while Kokoskov is in charge of the offense. With no training camp or much practice, Dudley said Hunter can’t put his stamp on the team and break bad habits.

“No situation will ever be ideal,” Hunter said. “But what are you going to do? You go in with your hardhat on and go to work.”

via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports