On Saturday afternoon, after sitting in the stands watching an offseason practice at what would be his new home court, Eddie Jordan retreated up to what is now officially his office. He barely spoke 50 words after viewing his Rutgers team for the first time and now wanted to get to know them. Even though he is a native son of Old Queens, he was still a stranger to his players, so he told them to come up in pairs.

Two by two, the six remaining members of the Scarlet Knights walked two flights of stairs to spend quality time with Jordan in his office.

Myles Mack and Wally Judge went first. Then, Logan Kelley and Greg Lewis. Finally, Derrick Randall and Kadeem Jack.

"He knew everything about us," Kelley, a freshman walk-on this past season, said. "He knew our high schools, how many points I averaged in high school. He knew I was the chatterbox on the team. He knew Myles was our leading returning scorer. He knew Wally’s hook was his skill. He knew everything about us and that meant a lot, because it meant that he was interested. That he truly does care."

It was those introductory meetings between the new coach and the six players he could count on that finally diffused 19 days of tension and uncertainty.

Kelley and the rest of his teammates had a front-row seat Tuesday afternoon at the rickety old College Avenue Gym — "The Barn" as it’s known in the university community — as Jordan was officially introduced as the next head coach at Rutgers. They sat there as he talked about being a "caretaker" for the program and saying that: "We have to regain our pride and dignity to our university."

They clapped for those things, not because it was a reprieve from three weeks of scandal, but because Jordan had already won them over.

It was the first task on what will be a long list for the 58-year-old former Scarlet Knights star, as he enters a five-year deal worth $6.25 million.

But there is no gentle easing into his new gig.

Jordan arrives at his alma mater after two decades in the NBA at the most critical point in the program’s history. In the wake of the Mike Rice scandal — where videotaped abuses at practices cost the head coach, assistant Jimmy Martelli and athletic director Tim Pernetti their jobs — the Scarlet Knights were at a crossroads. Five players from this past season’s team had transferred or announced their intent to do so, including leading scorer Eli Carter. He had to sell his new team quickly and then keep working.

"I thought just that start was good for our relationship," Jordan said of those player meetings over the weekend. "It was a good place for us to start. Maybe, it could work for us."

As soon as his introductory press conference was over, there was no night of schmoozing and glad-handing donors. Jordan was in a car to New York City to recruit. He will spend his first official weekend as the new head coach at AAU tournaments in Philadelphia and Hampton, Va. He knows he has a group of defections — Mike Poole announced yesterday he will transfer to Iona, while Carter had in-home visits with Pittsburgh and Florida — but hopes to fill roster spots quickly.

One problem he likely doesn’t have to worry about is the future of any of the six players on his roster, most notably, Mack and Jack, both of whom said yesterday afternoon they would be staying at Rutgers.

"He’s been great," Mack said. "He’s already told us a few things about our games that we have to work on, so everything is coming out great."

Mack and the others said that they have been working on some of the defected players, who have not yet signed transfer papers to other schools, to return to Rutgers. Jordan listened to their concerns when they spoke about the importance of keeping current assistants David Cox and Van Macon on staff. While Jordan said that Cox and Macon — whose contracts run through the end of June — will continue to be evaluated, he cited the importance of the players’ relationship with both men, who were brought to Rutgers when Rice was hired.

"The kids clapped when I said I was keeping those two," Jordan said. "That’s important. That’s really important."

It’s a balancing act. Jordan will be trying to restore the image of a program that hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since he left for the pros and sell players on playing for a program that has been marred by public scandal — all against the backdrop of entering the Big Ten in 2014.

In announcing the hire, Rutgers President Robert Barchi said that Jordan is "the right leader at a pivotal moment for our men’s basketball program."

Jordan is trying to accomplish a number of things before he even coaches his first game with the Scarlet Knights. Recruiting, rebuilding, reorganizing. All of it on his plate. But two by two over the weekend, he was able to check one of the first tasks off his list: Getting his players to believe in a man they had only heard about, but never had met.

"A lot of guys decided to leave," Jack said. "And then you’re not sure what’s going on with your situation. But with him, it was easy to make a decision on whether or not I was going to stay or leave. Because with a guy like that, that made my decision to stay a lot easier."



BY THE NUMBERS

A quick inspection of the contract signed by Eddie Jordan that made him the head coach of Rutgers men's basketball:

Annual guaranteed compensation

2013-14: $1.05 million

2014-15: $1.1 million

2015-16: $1.15 million

2016-17: $1.45 million

2017-18: $1.5 million

The contract also includes several bonuses. Some of the notable provisions:

Retention incentive: $100,000, if still head coach on June 30, 2016

Final Four appearance: $100,000

NCAA Tournament bid: $25,000

Conference coach of the year: $20,000

Team GPA of 3.0 or better: $15,000

Team GPA of 2.7 or better: $10,000

Team multi-year APR* of 950 or better: $10,000

20 regular-season wins: $10,000

NIT appearance: $10,000

Average paid home attendance greater than 5,500: $5,000

Contributions toward RAC: $5,000 per $1 million in donations

Each victory over Seton Hall: $5,000

* Determined by NCAA