T H E DA I LY TA R G U M
T IPOFF
NOVEMBER 10, 2010
T3
PAUL CHUNG
First-year head men’s basketball coach Mike Rice and the coaching staff he assembled, which includes (left to right) Jimmy Martelli, David Cox and Van Macon, recruited the nation’s sixth-ranked class for 2011 before even coaching a game as part of their rebuilding project on the Scarlet Knights’ sideline.
EQUAL
SHARES
Rice, new coaching staff make immediate impact on recruiting trail, pulling in group of seven prospects to contribute to rebuilding effort BY STEVEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR
Before Mike Rice ran a single practice with the Rutgers men’s basketball team, he spoke of the intensity and urgency with which his program would operate. Before he took over that program, the newly unveiled head coach sat at a podium and spoke of the relationships that would allow him to build it. Before Athletic Director Tim Pernetti unveiled him, the pair met at a hotel and Rice spoke in more detail about those relationships — about AAU and high school coaches he knew in the area, about assistants he would like to bring with him to Rutgers. The 41-year-old used those relationships to sell himself to Rutgers, and then he sold his new Rutgers to the coaches and players with which he had those relationships. With his patented intensity and urgency, Rice spoke to basketball figureheads throughout the metropolitan area to let them know exactly what he was about to do: “Recruit, recruit and do some more recruiting,” Rice said. “The downfall of some of the metropolitan teams or Rutgers has been they haven’t pulled in enough of the talent that is so prevalent in the metropolitan area or within a five-hour drive from [Washington] D.C. to Boston. That’s the first lifeline of a good program: to recruit good players.” But it began with a coaching staff — one which Rice believes is among the best in the Big East.
Assistant coach Jimmy in that regard. And yes, it’s going Mar telli, who followed Rice to take all of those young men from Robert Morris where he who choose to come in to play recruited along the East Coast, important roles in order for this was the first piece. Assistant team to be successful.” coach Van Macon joined the Those seven commitments are fold with strong ties to New headlined by a group of five York City basketball. And David ranked in Rivals’ Top 150 Cox became associate head prospects. There are two centers, coach with a Big East coaching two shooting guards and two résumé and links to the point guards. Washington D.C. area. And there is Kadeem Jack. The staff filled out the Scarlet The nation’s No. 33-ranked Knights’ depleted roster for this prospect headlines the group, season, then turned its attention but he also fits perfectly into to the Class of 2011, which had Rice’s mentality that returning seven scholarRutgers to releships to offer. vancy will take Rutgers has “This is truly going to more than one. had a coach con“I don’t think take a village in every sidered a star it would be right aspect. ... We all recruiter before for me to just — Fred Hill Jr. that type develop relationships assume And it has had of leadership star recruits role,” said the 6with recruits and before — Mike foot-8 for ward it takes a village.” Rosario and who will redshirt G r e g o r y at Rutgers in the DAVID COX Echenique. spring. “I’ll go in Associate Head Coach But it has not and work hard had an NCAA and try to set an Tournament appearance since example for everyone else, so if it 1991 or a winning season since happens, it happens. You don’t 2006. It has not had a sold out just speak and be a leader — you Louis Brown Athletic Center. It lead by example. I’m sure all of has not had excitement. It has not the other guys coming in will be had success. doing the same things, also. It did have an implosion in the There isn’t just one leader.” spring, when Pernetti turned to Jack can speak to his fellow Rice and his staff to rebuild. commitments’ attitudes because “This is truly going to take a he knows them personally. Rice is village in every aspect,” Cox said. building Rutgers on relationships, “Recruiting-wise, it takes all of us. and it extends to everyone. A lot of times in the paper, we are Jack spent part of August in identified specifically as being Turkey with a New York all-star responsible for this young man team. His teammates were guard choosing the school, and that has Mike Taylor and 16th-ranked cennot been the case in any situation. ter Derrick Randall. “We all develop relationships After Paterson Catholic with recruits and it takes a village closed, Randall transferred to
South Kent (Conn.), but first he played with best friend and the nation’s No. 23-ranked point guard, Myles Mack. Mack knows fellow point guard Jerome Seagears, the nation’s No. 99 prospect who marks the jump to the Washington D.C. area, where he knows and plays against the nation’s No. 14-ranked center, Greg Lewis, and guard Malick Kone. They are all Rutgers commitments. “I believe that our recruiting class is going to do things that are way better than any Rutgers basketball team ever did,” the 6-foot-9 Randall said. “We have Myles Mack, Kadeem Jack, me, Mike Taylor, Jerome Seagears, Greg Lewis, Malick Kone — we’re all great players. If we work hard and play together, then it’s going to be special.” The commitments and coaching staff speak of doing this rebuilding project together because they understand the burden is too much for one man to bear. There was an attempt at that before, and then Rice took the helm with nothing but the remaining rubble, his past relationships and a willingness to use them. “My job is to create that buzz, create that energy about our program and get the individual student-athlete thinking about what he can do to turn this program around, being on the ground floor,” Rice said. Before he even coached a game for Rutgers, Rice succeeded at his job, if only because the ground floor is awfully crowded.
COACHING STAFF
MIKE RICE HEAD COACH
DAVID COX ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
VAN MACON ASSISTANT COACH
JIMMY MARTELLI ASSISTANT COACH