Buford
June-19th-2003, 03:56 PM
Associated Press
Thursday, June 19, 2003; 4:35 PM
The Washington Wizards, who have not won a playoff game in 15 years, hired a coach Thursday from a team that has reached the NBA Finals two years in a row.
Eddie Jordan, an assistant with the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets, becomes the Wizards' seventh coach in six seasons.
Unlike Michael Jordan, who was dismissed by team owner Abe Pollin in a much-criticized move, Eddie Jordan has ties to the capital. The Washington native played basketball for Archbishop Carroll High School in town.
"I'm coming home to Washington and I am proud to be head coach of the Washington Wizards," Jordan said. "We have a lot of young talent on this roster and I look forward to working with these guys and developing this team into a contender."
The new coach replaces Doug Collins, hand-picked by Michael Jordan and fired last month after consecutive 37-45 seasons. The Wizards' last victory in a playoff game was in 1988.
Like the Wizards, the Nets spent years toiling in the bottom rung of the NBA before making the finals the past two seasons, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and the San Antonio Spurs this year. Jordan was often cited as the creative mind behind the Nets' offensive style, which featured point guard Jason Kidd.
Before joining the Nets, Eddie Jordan coached the Sacramento Kings for the final 15 games of the 1996-97 season and the entire 1997-98 season, compiling a 33-64 record.
The Wizards pursued him after failing to land higher-profile coaches Larry Brown and Jeff Van Gundy. Brown went to Detroit and Van Gundy to Houston.
Still to be hired is Michael Jordan's replacement. Pollin has said he would like a new president of basketball operations to be on board by next week's draft. General Manager Wes Unseld remains nominally in charge, but said he would take an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons after the draft.
© 2003 The Associated Press
Wizards Name Eddie Jordan Head Coach
Washington native signs multi-year deal
June 19, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin announced today that the team has named Eddie Jordan as head coach. Jordan has 11 years of NBA coaching experience, most recently as the lead assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets, who he helped guide to consecutive Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.
“We’re very excited to make this announcement,” said Pollin. “Eddie Jordan is the right man for this job. In my numerous interviews around the league in the search for candidates to run my basketball operations, when the subject of a potential head coach came up, one name was the consensus top choice among these executives –Eddie Jordan. While my plan was to hire a President or General Manager first, I revised that plan because I wanted to make sure that Eddie was our coach.”
This will be Jordan’s second head coaching opportunity. He was the head coach of the Sacramento Kings for the final 15 games of the 1996-97 season and the entire 1997-98 campaign, compiling a 33-64 record. Jordan joined the Nets staff on March 17, 1999 and just completed his fourth full season in New Jersey.
“I’m coming home to Washington and I am proud to be the head coach of the Washington Wizards,” Jordan said. “We have a lot of young talent on this roster and I look forward to working with these guys and developing this team into a contender.”
Jordan played in the NBA for seven seasons, and was a member of the 1982 Los Angeles Lakers World Championship team. He was originally drafted by Cleveland in 1977 and led the NBA in total steals during the 1978-79 season as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Jordan enjoyed a standout college career at Rutgers University where he led the Scarlet Knights to the 1976 NCAA Final Four. He returned to his alma mater following his playing career and served as an assistant coach in the college ranks for eight seasons before joining the Kings staff as an assistant in June of 1992.
Jordan becomes the 20th head coach in team history, replacing Doug Collins, who compiled a 74-90 record in two seasons.
A native Washingtonian, Jordan graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School in 1973. He and his wife Charisse have two children, Jackson and Skylar. Jordan also has two sons, Justin and Eddie Jr.
http://www.nba.com/media/wizards/jordan_030619a.jpg
Thursday, June 19, 2003; 4:35 PM
The Washington Wizards, who have not won a playoff game in 15 years, hired a coach Thursday from a team that has reached the NBA Finals two years in a row.
Eddie Jordan, an assistant with the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets, becomes the Wizards' seventh coach in six seasons.
Unlike Michael Jordan, who was dismissed by team owner Abe Pollin in a much-criticized move, Eddie Jordan has ties to the capital. The Washington native played basketball for Archbishop Carroll High School in town.
"I'm coming home to Washington and I am proud to be head coach of the Washington Wizards," Jordan said. "We have a lot of young talent on this roster and I look forward to working with these guys and developing this team into a contender."
The new coach replaces Doug Collins, hand-picked by Michael Jordan and fired last month after consecutive 37-45 seasons. The Wizards' last victory in a playoff game was in 1988.
Like the Wizards, the Nets spent years toiling in the bottom rung of the NBA before making the finals the past two seasons, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and the San Antonio Spurs this year. Jordan was often cited as the creative mind behind the Nets' offensive style, which featured point guard Jason Kidd.
Before joining the Nets, Eddie Jordan coached the Sacramento Kings for the final 15 games of the 1996-97 season and the entire 1997-98 season, compiling a 33-64 record.
The Wizards pursued him after failing to land higher-profile coaches Larry Brown and Jeff Van Gundy. Brown went to Detroit and Van Gundy to Houston.
Still to be hired is Michael Jordan's replacement. Pollin has said he would like a new president of basketball operations to be on board by next week's draft. General Manager Wes Unseld remains nominally in charge, but said he would take an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons after the draft.
© 2003 The Associated Press
Wizards Name Eddie Jordan Head Coach
Washington native signs multi-year deal
June 19, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin announced today that the team has named Eddie Jordan as head coach. Jordan has 11 years of NBA coaching experience, most recently as the lead assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets, who he helped guide to consecutive Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.
“We’re very excited to make this announcement,” said Pollin. “Eddie Jordan is the right man for this job. In my numerous interviews around the league in the search for candidates to run my basketball operations, when the subject of a potential head coach came up, one name was the consensus top choice among these executives –Eddie Jordan. While my plan was to hire a President or General Manager first, I revised that plan because I wanted to make sure that Eddie was our coach.”
This will be Jordan’s second head coaching opportunity. He was the head coach of the Sacramento Kings for the final 15 games of the 1996-97 season and the entire 1997-98 campaign, compiling a 33-64 record. Jordan joined the Nets staff on March 17, 1999 and just completed his fourth full season in New Jersey.
“I’m coming home to Washington and I am proud to be the head coach of the Washington Wizards,” Jordan said. “We have a lot of young talent on this roster and I look forward to working with these guys and developing this team into a contender.”
Jordan played in the NBA for seven seasons, and was a member of the 1982 Los Angeles Lakers World Championship team. He was originally drafted by Cleveland in 1977 and led the NBA in total steals during the 1978-79 season as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Jordan enjoyed a standout college career at Rutgers University where he led the Scarlet Knights to the 1976 NCAA Final Four. He returned to his alma mater following his playing career and served as an assistant coach in the college ranks for eight seasons before joining the Kings staff as an assistant in June of 1992.
Jordan becomes the 20th head coach in team history, replacing Doug Collins, who compiled a 74-90 record in two seasons.
A native Washingtonian, Jordan graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School in 1973. He and his wife Charisse have two children, Jackson and Skylar. Jordan also has two sons, Justin and Eddie Jr.
http://www.nba.com/media/wizards/jordan_030619a.jpg