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Jay Williams.
Lance Thomas.
Two names that live in infamy with Rutgers fans. They were supposed to be the ones who finally came to the banks and changed the course of Rutgers basketball. With them would come a slew of highly rated talent that would make Piscataway a home for Big Time Basketball. But, of course, as it came down to the wire, a big name program (namely the hated Duke Blue Devils) came along and snatched up the player the Scarlet Knights coveted.
And now Eddie Jordan is trying to do what Mike Krzyzewski did with Johnny Dawkins so many years ago. He's trying to find the pied piper recruit. The one who'll change the course of the Raritan River.
Jordan has his eye on Isaiah Briscoe.
Briscoe is an awfully talented guard who plays for Roselle Catholic High School. He's averaging 21.8 points per game. He can shoot, he can pass. He's an offensive power house. And judging by two articles, one by Jerry Carino and another by Jeremy Schneider, Briscoe and Eddie Jordan appear serious about each other.
According to Schneider's article, Briscoe knows he'd fit in perfectly with Jordan's fast paced, tempo pushing offense. And Jordan knows he needs a face of the program going forward. Someone who will make the RAC a legitimate place to play basketball. A face that will make Chris Silva or Moustapha Diagne turn their heads. One who'll make Amaveer Singh or Rawle Alkins think seriously about suiting up in scarlet.
Of course, landing Briscoe isn't going to be easy. While it doesn't appear the Evil Empire Duke is lurking in the background, some storied programs such as St. John's, UConn and Arizona have offered. Jordan is in deep in this one, and he has to lure Briscoe in. Who knows what Briscoe is truly thinking, but his father's comments have to be encouraging Jordan to keep pushing.
Back in September, Jordan told Briscoe that he could be the first one to break the mold and stay home. And he wouldn't be in a conference that's barely holding itself together, or another that's trying to start over again. Does he want to stay home? He'd be playing in one of the two best conferences in the country if he stayed at Rutgers.
And he could be the one to get it going. To change the course of basketball history here. To start leading the path toward breaking the NCAA curse.
Jay Williams wouldn't.
Lance Thomas didn't.
Will Isaiah Briscoe?
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Watch Briscoe Play:
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Meanwhile, Rutgers is still trying to lure in recruits from the 2014 class. One of their most recent offers was made to Point Beach's Matt Farrell, a wiley point guard who's be blowing up lately.
Here's some video of his game:
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