O'Koren moved to specialist role for EJ...Bhatia moves up to full-time assistant

[NewJerseyHawk]

According to Carino....not shocking, most never expected O'Koren's strength to be added as a recruiting ace.....adds Bhatia to the staff and access to get on the road to recruit and keeps O'Koren in a role where he's not asked to be a recruiter and focuses on where he fits best...Bhatia is a RU grad who was part of Dunne's staff at St. Peters.

 

[RU23]

Never thought about this possibility but makes sense I guess.

 

[TrueRU]

According to Carino....not shocking, most never expected O'Koren's strength to be added as a recruiting ace.....adds Bhatia to the staff and access to get on the road to recruit and keeps O'Koren in a role where he's not asked to be a recruiter and focuses on where he fits best...Bhatia is a RU grad who was part of Dunne's staff at St. Peters.

Is Bhatia a good recruiter? Will he help us on the recruiting trail? O'Koren will be helpful in coaching up the players as he wasn't doing much in recruiting.

 

[BKIn118]

Never thought about this possibility but makes sense I guess.

Not a huge surprise for me, as Dalip served in this capacity before OKoren and Shoes were hired as an interim.

DB has an excellent basketball mind and served the team well in the DOBO role. He has been involved in recruiting before, and I expect this to be an excellent move overall for the team. Great to see OKoren staying on board as well.

McMullen is class all the way...glad to see his hard work getting rewarded with the promotion.

 

[TrueRU]

Not a huge surprise for me, as Dalip served in this capacity before OKoren and Shoes were hired as an interim.

DB has an excellent basketball mind and served the team well in the DOBO role. He has been involved in recruiting before, and I expect this to be an excellent move overall for the team. Great to see OKoren staying on board as well.

McMullen is class all the way...glad to see his hard work getting rewarded with the promotion.

Is there a link somewhere for these coaching staff changes?

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Is there a link somewhere for these coaching staff changes?

Hoops Haven, pinned at the top of the page.

 

[Friend of 112]

Is there a link somewhere for these coaching staff changes?

LINK

 

[higgins3]

http://www.app.com/story/sports/col...basketball-dalip-bhatia-mike-okoren/29840491/

 

[higgins3]

I see Dalip as a pretty decent recruiter. He seems to have an outgoing attitude.

O' Koren had me in stitches after the wisconsin win video was posted.

Dalip is an RU grad, a smart kid who can make a pitch to a player about RU athletics quite well I think. This is just my hunch.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

Really like that it appears that Jordan is continuously evaluating & looking to keep the organization fresh & is willing to make changes as needed - not just putting an old trusted colleague in a position and leaving him there .

 

[higgins3]

Great point, Rumba.

 

[mikeyvpsu]

It's obvious Shoes is doing the heavy lifting with recruiting. As long as he's coordinating who we are recruiting and is the point person for the big fish, it doesn't matter who's in the other two seats, as long as they stay out of his way, IMHO. will be interesting when NJ releases salaries to see if they were adjusted, or if Eddie told Daleep he can have the promotion in title but he's keeping his salary. In the past I'd be worried about no "basketball guy" on the coaching staff other than Eddie, but with the gray area in what the support positions can and cannot do, that won't be as big of a problem. That's evidenced by the mention by Jerry of O'Koren's new role involving "strategy".

 

[higgins3]

It's obvious Shoes is doing the heavy lifting with recruiting. As long as he's coordinating who we are recruiting and is the point person for the big fish, it doesn't matter who's in the other two seats, as long as they stay out of his way, IMHO. will be interesting when NJ releases salaries to see if they were adjusted, or if Eddie told Daleep he can have the promotion in title but he's keeping his salary. In the past I'd be worried about no "basketball guy" on the coaching staff other than Eddie, but with the gray area in what the support positions can and cannot do, that won't be as big of a problem. That's evidenced by the mention by Jerry of O'Koren's new role involving "strategy".

I trust in Dalip to recruit. Seems like a smart kid who can send the right message. Recruiting is all about getting a kid to believe. I think it'll be a positive move.

 

[78CollegeAve]

Another positive step in a positive off-season.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

Great point, Rumba.

Thanks Higgins

After thinking about this some more, I really hope that EJ has had a chance to discuss with the team & use this as a teachable moment / life lesson moment
- I'm sure that he covered it in the practical sense of who does what on the team and how thing should move forward... but there might be a higher level lesson here.

... but what would be great is if EJ put it in a greater context for the players - basically saying "look, in your future lives you may be in charge of things - and you will need to make sure that the routine tasks are done properly and according to plan - but, as a part of being 'in charge' you also have a responsibility to constantly look at how things are being done - you have to ask yourself whether there might be a better way to do or organize things so that even better results can be achieved ... and that is what we are doing here"

Maybe EJ could throw in some of his recently gained Organizational Behavior Management knowledge - and / or bring in an ex RU player who is now in industry to add a few comments.
- when I hear interviews with really successful guys who played for really great coaches, I always get the sense that they feel that their coach taught them as much about life as they did about basketball.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What was longer...the search to get O'Koren or the amount of time O'Koren spent in the role.

 

[MADHAT1]

What was longer...the search to get O'Koren or the amount of time O'Koren spent in the role.

Don't matter how long ( in my opinion) , just get the right man for the job in the job.
Jordan wanted someone to help the big men develop and went after Mike, because he felt M O'K was the right man for the job.
But Mike's recruiting weakness brought Dalip into the picture to recruit and moved O'Koren into a role he's more suited for in Jordan's attempt to make RU MBB more competitive going after recruits and the team's play on the court.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Why wasn't Dalip hired in the role 16 months ago?

 

[SirScarlet]

Why wasn't Dalip hired in the role 16 months ago?

maybe he wasnt deemed ready 16 months ago?

 

[higgins3]

maybe he wasnt deemed ready 16 months ago?

No doubt. The move made is fine. We can't change the past. O koren is not as social as he has to be for a recruiter it seems but can still coach. Dalip is younger, more social. He can convey a better message to recruits.

 

[SirScarlet]

No doubt. The move made is fine. We can't change the past. O koren is not as social as he has to be for a recruiter it seems but can still coach. Dalip is younger, more social. He can convey a better message to recruits.

word

that's how I took it as well

 

[RUMBA-JK]

Get the sense that - at this point in his life - O'Koren just is not wired for the stuff you gotta do to really engage in high power / persuasive recruiting ... but he does end up being that cool guy who played in the NBA & at UNC under Dean Smith who the big men will find to be of great value.

 

[higgins3]

Get the sense that - at this point in his life - O'Koren just is not wired for the stuff you gotta do to really engage in high power / persuasive recruiting ... but he does end up being that cool guy who played in the NBA & at UNC under Dean Smith who the big men will find to be of great value.

Rumba, I think you have a good point. I still feel he is an asset on the coaching staff like you said. When it come to mentoring bigger guys, his strengths will show there. Good move here by EJ.

 

[PhilaPhans]

Does Bhatia have any reputation as a recruiter?