Eddie Jordan: a Nets great both on the floor and the sidelines.
As a player, Jordan was by all measures a steady and consistent guard for the Nets. He played two full seasons with the team and part of two others. In his two full seasons, Jordan played all 82 games both times and posted modest averages of 12.4ppg (in 78-79) and 13.3ppg (79-80).
Jordan was quiet, modest, consistent and humble. Those traits also defined him as a coach.
During the most successful run in franchise history — 2001-2003 — Eddie Jordan worked directly under Byron Scott as the Nets lead assistant coach. Scott certainly had a lot of strengths as a head coach, but being a master tactician with the X’s and O’s he was not. Those were the gaps that Eddie Jordan filled for the Nets in those seasons.
Generally known as an “offensive” coach, Jordan heavily utilizes the Princeton offense. As the lead assistant for the Nets, the influences of his offensive philosophy were readily apparent.
The Nets of early 2000’s integrated elements of the Princeton offense into their scheme and what you saw was a beautiful style of ball movement, cutting, passing and spacing.
In the years Eddie Jordan served as an assistant coach, the Nets won the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference in consecutive years. Coach Jordan was able to parlay his success with New Jersey into a head coaching position with the Washington Wizards. In just two seasons, Jordan led the Wizards to their first playoff berth in almost 10 years.
Below is a video of Eddie Jordan coaching Eric Snow, Ernie Johnson and two other guys on the finer points of the offense he used for his coaching career, the Princeton offense.
