NICK WASS / Associated Press
New 76ers coach Eddie Jordan, who has compiled a 230-288 record in two NBA coaching stints, brings his brand of basketball to Philadelphia. "He's really into the game," said former Princeton coach Pete Carril of Jordan (No. 30 in photo at left), who starred at Rutgers in the 1970s.
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Eddie Jordan's consuming passion
Different breed
When the Wizards fired Jordan, they also fired his lead assistant, Mike O'Koren. The pair, who will again work together with the 76ers, first met while playing for the Nets in 1980.
O'Koren said last season's Wizards, from which they were fired after starting the season 1-10, were "behind the 8-ball from the beginning" because of injuries, although Wizards management said the team still had winning talent.
"I was interested to see if everyone was right - not everyone -- but the powers that be who were saying, 'We should be better. We have two all-stars. We have savvy veterans. We should be .500, a playoff team.' " Jordan said of those months after the firing. "I said 'Maybe they're right. Did I get stale? Did I lose my edge? Was I coaching the wrong way?' "
The Wizards finished the season 19-63.
"You're going to beat yourself up, and he certainly does," O'Koren said. "That's part of the reason he got this job, because you know he's going to put in his time."
Jordan and O'Koren were fired Nov. 24, a few days before Thanksgiving.
"The holidays were a cushion for me. I was around the kids," Jordan said. "After New Year's, when everyone went back to school, that's when it got bad. I'd take my kids to the bus stop, hang out at home, hang out with them, then watch games at night."
Finally, Jordan said, the weather broke - at least a little. He would set standards for himself, rationalizing that it was OK to go hit the links. "If it's 50 and not windy, I'm allowed to play."
Soon that became, "If it's 45 and not rainy, I can play," which then slipped to, "If it's 40 and it's not snowing, I can play," finally plummeting to "If the course is open, I can play."
"On the East Coast," Jordan said laughing, "winter golf is brutal."
One day during this basketball-less winter, O'Koren and Jordan met for a cup of coffee at a local mall.
They ordered then sat down.
"Right away, Eddie goes, 'Did you watch the Wizards' game?' " O'Koren remembered. "Eddie was going a little crazier than I was. Those head coaches, they're a different breed."
Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.
