Has Eddie Jordan had enough time to recruit?

[PhilaPhans]

We're at the 2-year anniversary of Eddie's hiring.

The first few months of recruiting was just trying to save the roster, but since then, he's managed a class or two of his own.

Now that Mack and Jack and others have moved on, would you fully consider this Eddie's team now? Do the recruiting excuses end now (other than the facilities thing, of course, which would affect any coach)?

 

[bac2therac]

you always don't count the first class because there is no time, there are some coaches that can come in right away and land recruits that month but those are the top go getters. Eddie has had two FULL years, you usually get your best classes and recruiting buzz in your first two years. I think the honeymoon period is basically over. This is his team and he has to start showing progress on the court that something is being built. Perhaps by year 5 he can reach 500 but basically those are the goals at this point IF he is going to ride out his contract.....10 wins this year...13-14 the following year and 16 his 5th year. IMO this is the best case scenario. Truthfully I don't think he makes it past next season

 

[Scarlet Shack]

IMO...

this is part of the reason WHY I think he gets a "partial pass" for his first two years

He takes over in May. The spring of 2013 signing period is shot...and really, really behind the 8 ball on the class of 2014 kids...he grabbed whatever he could grab to keep from having 5 walksons on the roster....


This is still a big ten program...and he has done in his two classes signing 9 players...and 7 are 3 star or higher (one is a 4 star)

What we need to see is a continuance of getting 3-star type players...with ONE 4 star in each class

Do that and that roster in year 5 will have experience and talent and you can see progress...

On the court...next year isn't going to be easy with 3 sophs and 6 frosh dominating the playing time...but got to find me 12 wins next year...and GET THE ATTITUDE right...and that team could move up the ranks a bit with additional solid recruiting

I think THIS is possible...
Year 3: 12-21 (8-5 OOC, 3-15 Big ten...but more competitive, a win in the early big ten tourney)
Year 4: 16-17 9-4 OOC, 6-12 big ten....and 1-1 in the tourney)
Year 5: winning record

To see this
1.) must keep adding players in class of 2016 and 2017 that are 3 star types...
2.) must get attitude and lockerroom right
3.) must keep transfers of the 9 frosh and soph to those who are weeded out and wont make a contributions. There will be 2 or 3...and that is natural and okay. But can't have contributors leaving

 

[JMD77]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

you always don't count the first class because there is no time, there are some coaches that can come in right away and land recruits that month but those are the top go getters. Eddie has had two FULL years, you usually get your best classes and recruiting buzz in your first two years. I think the honeymoon period is basically over. This is his team and he has to start showing progress on the court that something is being built. Perhaps by year 5 he can reach 500 but basically those are the goals at this point IF he is going to ride out his contract.....10 wins this year...13-14 the following year and 16 his 5th year. IMO this is the best case scenario. Truthfully I don't think he makes it past next season

Technically you could say 2 'FULL" years, but I don't know if you recall, he did take over a roster that had about 4 players that were willing to stay after the Rice fiasco. Most coaches don't inherit such a depleted roster.
Nor do other coaches inherit a program that has the triple curse of a losing tradition, poor facilities and pathetic institutional support.

Even Rice's honeymoon recruiting produced a very mixed - over-rated class. Kone, Randall, Lewis - even Jack and Mack had big flaws.

Having said that I also believe that EJ has done an overall poor job of coaching and recruiting. The reasons why are primarily having spent the last 20 years coaching pros - so he has no relationships for recruiting and he has to adjust the coaching to fit the college athlete.

I want to see if we have anyone in the next class who can hit the 3 and improve the offense - something wse have rarely had.

 

[PatrickRU92]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

you always don't count the first class because there is no time, there are some coaches that can come in right away and land recruits that month but those are the top go getters.

How was he supposed to recruit when was hired very late (in April I think) with the massive negative press we were getting hanging over our head?

sorry the first 365 days gets a COMPLETE AND TOTAL pass with me. It doesn't count at all.

that being said he has had plenty of time for 2015.

 

[essexknight]

EJ has to be given a fair chance to succeed. He inherited a mess from Mike Rice who in turn inherited a mess from FHJ. The program has been in a downward spiral for years. It is hard to reverse that in 1-2 years.

The things I want to see have less to do with wins and losses and more to do with program building. I want to see better defense. I want to see player development (guys like Foreman, Williams, Diallo, etc.. get better). I want to see player retention (less transfers out like Etou). I would also like to see progress with recruiting and more Top 150 type players (not necessarily recruits from NJ and not necessarily Top 10-20 guys).

This post was edited on 4/10 10:28 AM by essexknight

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Essex

EXACTLY

That's our receipe for the near term.

I gave Eddie a pass for last two years..but next year there is no fallout from the previous regime affecting the kids on the court. None. The program building needs to shw signs next year

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

2015 class will finish up very well and better than expected. Key class for Eddie Jordan is not 2015, which is supplemented by Diallo who is redashirting, but the 2016 class. The 3rd class is where you go up or level off. Given where the program is and how many bodies needed to be replaced, RU was not going to be in any better position coming out of the Rice scenario....the worse part of the Rice scenario that people are ignoring is that what Shack has been pointing out for well over a year now, Rice's last 2 classes were empty and placed the program in a spot where the actual damage was done for the 12 to 18 months prior to the tape being publicized.

To recap again, folks at other local schools and the region were commenting and discussing the RU program for a long time before Murdock went shopping for a buyer....the players that were potential landing kids like Villanova's Josh Hart were kids that are potential starters if on the roster now and probably add a win or two to the last two season's worth of wins vs losses.

There are kids as talented as Josh Hart coming in (Sanders) OR more versatile than some of the pieces leaving the program, whether its playing mutliple positions or on sheer athleticism (kids like Kone were robbed of their legs because of knee or leg injuries that could have made things a little better.

Stay tuned....people may not think much of Laurent or potentially Freeman or Ellison, but in a normal situation, the potential is there that if you land Freeman and Ellison with Laurent, Sanders, Diallo etc., that the talent haul is more balanced and deeper than Rice's first class......Rice's class had three bonafide stars that could potentially score in Mack, Eli Carter and eventually Jack, but Jack took two full years to develop. If Sanders can score then you are really hoping that any of the remaining kids can make up the difference.

Give this incoming class a full season before evaluations, which means a full 2015-16 season to determine whether improvement can be made. It's never been about wins and losses, that's really dictated by how you schedule in the OOC and how strong your conference is from year to year. The questions remain can these athletes play better defense and get up and down the court and score a little more in transition than the first two RU teams.

If RU can score more and defend better (which most staffs with these athletes should be able to draw on), then RU's pressure actually falls on the staff performance, not talent or recruiting.

 

[knights1212]

I also give Eddie a pass for 2013. He was signed in either late April or early May. Basically no top recruits were even left to try to sign. He grabbed Brown, Campbell etc. so we would have enough bodies and not to have many walk ons playing major minutes. He also got Etou which was kind of amazing at that late stage. He also got Kone to reconsider and stay as many were bailing like Carter, Randall & Seagears. Seagears than asked to come back in August and Eddie cut him a break only to get stabbed in the back the next spring. Eddie has been trying but it is difficult to overcome all of the obstacles in front of him. I think this year we must show some improvement and I hope Eddie can show that. Many of us old timers are dying to see that.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No way. This might be the 1st class where we can start to assess.

To add Jordan was robbed of the 6 month honeymoon that Mike Rice took advantage of. At RU you have to to recruit to a vision. Perception becomes reality in November when games are played.

 

[soundcrib]

EJ pulled Sanders out of a hat. Grateful. Who's the 4-star rabbit for 2016?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Originally posted by soundcrib:
EJ pulled Sanders out of a hat. Grateful. Who's the 4-star rabbit for 2016?

We will find out AFTER he gets here and has a career here. Right now he is a fictional character on paper.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Originally posted by Scarlet Shack:
Essex

EXACTLY

That's our receipe for the near term.

I gave Eddie a pass for last two years..but next year there is no fallout from the previous regime affecting the kids on the court. None. The program building needs to shw signs next year

Most of us are in agreement here. Unfortunately I think it is a big leap of faith to think things will change. Very convenient to blame players and the Rice situation...especially when most players are still in touch with Mike Rice and obviously not scarred.

 

[RU at the shore]

I'm with the sentiment that EJ is doing the best he can under bad, bad circumstances.

I am concerned that we are too frosh heavy, especially when considering last year's redshirts (Goode, Diallo, Johnson)

I would ONLY be looking at Jucos and 5th year eligibles for the last 2 spots

 

[MADHAT1]

Originally posted by Greene Rice FIG:

Originally posted by Scarlet Shack:
Essex

EXACTLY

That's our receipe for the near term.

I gave Eddie a pass for last two years..but next year there is no fallout from the previous regime affecting the kids on the court. None. The program building needs to shw signs next year

Most of us are in agreement here. Unfortunately I think it is a big leap of faith to think things will change. Very convenient to blame players and the Rice situation...especially when most players are still in touch with Mike Rice and obviously not scarred.

Players did leave because they had the opportunity to do so without sitting a year.
Doesn't matter if some players are still in contact with MR, his actions caused players to leave, even if they liked him.
The Rice fiasco also made it harder to recruit talent because of what it did to RU's reputation and what makes it worse: is
RU MBB's reputation wasn't highly thought of before Mr. Dodge-ball was exposed by a man trying to blackmail the program becaus of Rice's and one of his assistants actions.

What was left of RU MBB after Rice was a program that had a depleted roster to fill and one that needs at least 3 years to
show any kind of progress on the road to success.
Why else do you think Danny Hurley demanded 7 years and when he didn't get it, walked away and went back to where he was at.

Rice probably is a good man that meant well, but he must be remembered for the chaos he made out of a poor program ,
that made RU very uncomfortable for some of his players and those considering what College program to go to.
Jordan has a lot to clean up , after the mess Rice left.

 

[JMD77]

Originally posted by MADHAT1:

Originally posted by Greene Rice FIG:

Originally posted by Scarlet Shack:
Essex

EXACTLY

That's our receipe for the near term.

I gave Eddie a pass for last two years..but next year there is no fallout from the previous regime affecting the kids on the court. None. The program building needs to shw signs next year

Most of us are in agreement here. Unfortunately I think it is a big leap of faith to think things will change. Very convenient to blame players and the Rice situation...especially when most players are still in touch with Mike Rice and obviously not scarred.

Players did leave because they had the opportunity to do so without sitting a year.
Doesn't matter if some players are still in contact with MR, his actions caused players to leave, even if they liked him.
The Rice fiasco also made it harder to recruit talent because of what it did to RU's reputation and what makes it worse: is
RU MBB's reputation wasn't highly thought of before Mr. Dodge-ball was exposed by a man trying to blackmail the program becaus of Rice's and one of his assistants actions.

What was left of RU MBB after Rice was a program that had a depleted roster to fill and one that needs at least 3 years to
show any kind of progress on the road to success.
Why else do you think Danny Hurley demanded 7 years and when he didn't get it, walked away and went back to where he was at.

Rice probably is a good man that meant well, but he must be remembered for the chaos he made out of a poor program ,
that made RU very uncomfortable for some of his players and those considering what College program to go to.
Jordan has a lot to clean up , after the mess Rice left.

+1.

 

[RUfinal4]

Unless we get some big donors to the hoops program, Eddie will coach until the end of his contract. We are 5 years away from B10 money and can't afford buy outs for millions of dollars. If in 2 years we are still a 12 win team maybe we look to a Danny Hurley then if the final year buyout for Eddie is not too high.

What is more likely is if Eddie can get 14-15 wins next year they will extend him at the same salary range until we get a full share of B10 money.

 

[RUJMM78]

Rutgers plays in a power conference where they probably will remain at the bottom of the league rankings.As such its hard to believe that recruiting will improve when the best that can be hoped for is 2-3 league wins.Perception matters along with negative recruiting that puts Jordan in a untenable position with nothing to sell.Kicking the can down the road isn't a strategy for success at Rutgers unless your only concerned about a bigger B1G paycheck .

 

[MADHAT1]

Originally posted by RU-JMM78:

Rutgers plays in a power conference where they probably will remain at the bottom of the league rankings.As such its hard to believe that recruiting will improve when the best that can be hoped for is 2-3 league wins.Perception matters along with negative recruiting that puts Jordan in a untenable position with nothing to sell.Kicking the can down the road isn't a strategy for success at Rutgers unless your only concerned about a bigger B1G paycheck .

Only way I can see recruiting to improve is the RU Administration show
support for the Basketball programs by building a practice facility first, then
talking about RAC improvements
Without RU building the practice facility, not
just saying they have a plan, top talent will not look at the RU MBB program as
a good fit and RU will be fighting so called lesser programs for
recruits.

Until the shovel hits the ground moving some dirt to make room for a State
of the Art practice facility, recruits will turn their heads away when Rutgers
talks about plans for one and look elsewhere .
Without a commitment and following up on it, Rutgers is making it hard for Jordan to successfully recruit a roster that
looks like it can Dance.

 

[bac2therac]

The Eddie is only pulling 14 win seasons in year 4 he is not getting extended...and thats the trouble that exists ahead ...year 3 is when coaches are extended and I see no scenerio where Julie gives Eddie one next year

 

[JPhoboken]

Originally posted by bac2therac:

you always don't count the first class because there is no time, there are some coaches that can come in right away and land recruits that month but those are the top go getters. Eddie has had two FULL years, you usually get your best classes and recruiting buzz in your first two years. I think the honeymoon period is basically over. This is his team and he has to start showing progress on the court that something is being built. Perhaps by year 5 he can reach 500 but basically those are the goals at this point IF he is going to ride out his contract.....10 wins this year...13-14 the following year and 16 his 5th year. IMO this is the best case scenario. [/B]Truthfully I don't think he makes it past next season

This in all likelihood is reality, but boy is this depressing for those of us who have waited so long to have a special year.

 

[bac2therac]

and lets say that happens...then what...Eddie will not be young...the record is 500 but yet the conference mark is still probably like 6-12...what happens then...was Eddie already extended or were they letting him run the contract out...do you renew him even at his age and marginal results.

or what happens if they win 10 again next year and recruiting still isn't picking up and perception around the program is lousy...does the cord get cut that year or does he get one more..if the team only marginally improves to maybe 14-17 with a 4-14 conference record is that good enough to extend...and how could you extend..remember the Fred Hill extension. Its going to be a tough call. I just have a feeling that next year will be the last of this experiment.

 

[MADHAT1]

Originally posted by JPhoboken:

Originally posted by bac2therac:

you always don't count the first class because there is no time, there are some coaches that can come in right away and land recruits that month but those are the top go getters. Eddie has had two FULL years, you usually get your best classes and recruiting buzz in your first two years. I think the honeymoon period is basically over. This is his team and he has to start showing progress on the court that something is being built. Perhaps by year 5 he can reach 500 but basically those are the goals at this point IF he is going to ride out his contract.....10 wins this year...13-14 the following year and 16 his 5th year. IMO this is the best case scenario. [/B]Truthfully I don't think he makes it past next season

This in all likelihood is reality, but boy is this depressing for those of us who have waited so long to have a special year.

Money might be the reason Eddie last all 5. Paying off even 1 year while paying for a replacement isn't going to happen in my opinion.
The only thing that might be in RU's favor is Jordan makes the basketball program look better to his potentoial repplacements than it looked to the potential candidates after Rice was told be gone.
There is a lot wrong with the RU MBB program that needs to be overcome in order for recruits and quality HC candidates
to consider RU as a good fit.
Eddie might , probably won't , have RU Dancing during his 5 year contract, but if he can help make RU more desirable
to recruits and coaches, he helped RU MBB more than set it back like the two before him.
Next season will show if he can do that by the way the team plays , even if it doesn't win like we want, but plays like a team with a future .
I look for RU to do better this season , because last season didn't have a PG,Jack didn't play like he was capable of on a constant bases. Etou didn't show the talent he had and wasn't a factor in a lot of the games he played, Mack played with heart, but wasn't the ballhandler that RU needed and was not a defensive player , even though he gave it his best effort,

I could be wrong ( usually am when predicting the next season) but I FEEL ru will do better than last season because the team has more depth and a ball-handler in Sanders that wasn't on last year's roster,
Also the players that left aren't irreplaceable, because of their play last year wasn't as great as some try to claim
RU can't afford to lose.
13-14 wins next year and I'll have RU winning 15 the year after. Expect to see Jordan leave after reaching the same or 16
in the 5th and last year of his contract.
Just hope not extending him ( and I don't want that if what I predict happensm, want better results ) won't hurt recruiting very much and expect Eddie to leave the program in much better shape then he inherited fro Rice.
Maybe leave a program that quality HC candidates would consider taking over from him.

 

[DocRU]

Agree with MADHAT1. RU has a true PG in Sanders and potentially more capable shooters in R Johnson, Goode, and Williams. Expect an improved Daniels with 1 more year of experience. Diallo is another big guy shot blocker we didn't have. Foreman can get better as well. And see if Lewis can be more consistent with that mid range jumper at the 4. Laurent and K Johnson add depth.
Now let's see if Eddie shows us some coaching. More players. More options. That's 11 scholarship players, counting Doorson, possibly 1 or 2 more. Year 3 I fully expect Eddie to have adjusted to the college game. And I expect him to get more than 10 wins out of this group.

 

[SkilletHead2]

I think we need to build a reputation of RU being a place that is being run legit and where you will be supported as a student athlete. There are kids who can play ball who are looking for that. We have to dig ourselves out of a pretty deep image ditch.

As long as Eddie is doing that and putting out a team that plays hard and is competitive, he'll be around for the five years. Now, to a degree, I don't think we've seen a team play hard, be competitive, and improve in years one and two. But if, in year three and beyond, RU is a team that people want to root for, that does the best with its talent, then EJ will be fine.

We won't have the resources to put together a complete package of great coach, good to great facilities (or on the way), and a solid reputation as a good place to be for a while yet. Until then, we work on what we can and set the stage for when the resources are flowing better. EJ is less likely to be our saviour in bball than he is to be the guy who sets the stage.

 

[_dave_]

Originally posted by MADHAT1:

Originally posted by RU-JMM78:

Rutgers plays in a power conference where they probably will remain at the bottom of the league rankings.As such its hard to believe that recruiting will improve when the best that can be hoped for is 2-3 league wins.Perception matters along with negative recruiting that puts Jordan in a untenable position with nothing to sell.Kicking the can down the road isn't a strategy for success at Rutgers unless your only concerned about a bigger B1G paycheck .

Only way I can see recruiting to improve is the RU Administration show
support for the Basketball programs by building a practice facility first, then
talking about RAC improvements
Without RU building the practice facility, not
just saying they have a plan, top talent will not look at the RU MBB program as
a good fit and RU will be fighting so called lesser programs for
recruits.

Until the shovel hits the ground moving some dirt to make room for a State
of the Art practice facility, recruits will turn their heads away when Rutgers
talks about plans for one and look elsewhere .
Without a commitment and following up on it, Rutgers is making it hard for Jordan to successfully recruit a roster that
looks like it can Dance.

According to Barchi's interview with The Targum we'll find out much more on June 2nd.

 

[ruman]

He needs many many more years.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[78CollegeAve]

Very depressing to read on twitter and zags about how Mullin and his staff are working 24/7 on kids like Naz Reid. Sure, blame it on the funding and the lack of practice facility. There's something to be said for contacts and damn hard work. If EJ wasn't a pig on his salary, he could have done a lot better than Cox and Macon to recruit. Who knows if Mullin can coach a CYO team, but make no mistake -- he is humping the NY and NJ scene like no one has for Rutgers since Dickie V.

 

[bac2therac]

people slammed Waters for not having the right staff, at this point the same is going on with Eddie. Its in desperate need of upgrades ala Freidgen

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Originally posted by 78CollegeAve:
Very depressing to read on twitter and zags about how Mullin and his staff are working 24/7 on kids like Naz Reid. Sure, blame it on the funding and the lack of practice facility. There's something to be said for contacts and damn hard work. If EJ wasn't a pig on his salary, he could have done a lot better than Cox and Macon to recruit. Who knows if Mullin can coach a CYO team, but make no mistake -- he is humping the NY and NJ scene like no one has for Rutgers since Dickie V.

Let me get this straight..... Jordan should take less salary so that Rutgers can pay more to assistants? Makes sense that the lowest paid coach in the B1G should give some back to pay assistants more? REALLY

And when did Cox and Macon become bad recruiters? When Jordan was hired or were they bad recruiters for Rice? Cox is no longer here but is he a bad recruiter for Hurley?

LOL at Mullin humping NJ like no other since Dickie V. That last line is funny.

I just re-read your post....I assume it's a joke