Rutgers Basketball: This is News That Will Get Buried

I know everyone is focused on the football game tonight, but if I don't get this up now, I never will.

Eddie Jordan spoke to both Jerry Carino and Keith Sargeant about the upcoming season, practice and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Jordan gave some juicy quotes, we can break down the important ones here.  That said, read the full pieces--they really give insight into what Jordan is thinking.

In Sargeant's piece, Jordan looks into what recruits he's looking for:

"I always say there's four things that make up a good player on a good team: No. 1 is talent. No. 2 is toughness. You've gotta be a tough kid, mentally, emotionally, physically. You can't break down and whine about calls, or I didn't get a shot, or this didn't go my way. No. 3 you've gotta love playing. In the NBA, I would say experience but in high school and college it's, 'Do you play all the time? Are you a gym rat, as they call it?' I don't like that term (because) we real gym rats where I great up. And No. 4, character. I look at their demeanor on the floor, their behavior. All that means a lot.

"That's what I look for: talent, toughness, experience or 'like playing' and character.''

Jordan is clearly trying to use his NBA experience to evaluate future players, ones who will be team players.  No more chemistry problems.

It's still a process. We've got to get better. We've got to get better players. We've gotta get more shooters. But right now this is who we've got.

More shooters.  This team is still not going to light it up from beyond the arc, but it's good to know what Jordan is looking for on the court.  There's more in the article, including and evaluation of Kadeem Jack's NBA chances, and what fans can look for to gauge improvement on the court if the wins aren't there.

Meanwhile, Carino's piece is equally as interesting.

When we have a two-guard set, your skill set tells you what you’re going to do more of. Bishop right now is going to be more 60-40 in initiating the offense. Myles is like Jason (Kidd)—he knows how to manipulate the offense to get his shot off. He knows how to get around the screens we set. That’s going to help him.

Bishop Daniels to play the lead guard more than Myles?  That goes against everything I'd been envisioning all off season and also seems to explain some of the recruiting targets this off season.  While Jordan landed Corey Sanders, he doesn't appear to be chasing many other point guards (besides Briscoe).  If Daniels can play lots of lead guard, it will add some depth to the position that wasn't expected to be there this season.

I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but he’s got some great skills. He’s every bit of 6-foot-8 but he moves like a 6-6 guy. He’s able to get to the rim and he finishes well. His jump shot needs to come along, but he has a great feel for the game.

If Foreman can be a piece of the puzzle, it will deepen this team and allow Kadeem Jack to get a break when he needs it.  There more weapons this team has the better.  Again, read the entire interview.  Carino and Jordan discuss Jordan's adjustment to the college game and the players' adjustment to his system as well.

Both interviews are great reads.

That said, Jordan will be down two players this season as Ryan Johnson and Ibrahima Diallo will be ruled partial qualifiers this season.  They will be able to practice with the team, but will have to sit out.  Essentially this will be redshirt years for the both of them.  Johnson and Diallo were two players who apparently will benefit from the redshirt year, but if there's an injury to a player this season, this decision will come back to haunt Rutgers.

Finally, Julie Hermann penned a letter highlighting some of the athletic department accomplishments this year.  Some are basketball related, including some upgrades to the RAC and boasting the basketball season tickets renewals sat at 86% from the previous season.

Rutgers starts practicing Sunday, October 5.

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