By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.2, March 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0902/qaruland.htm
For more than 10 years, Jeff Ruland was known as one of basketball’s most hard-nosed competitors. As Jim Valvano’s highest-profile recruit at Iona College, the two-time all-American led the Gaels to their first two NCAA postseason berths in 1978 and 1979. And during his eight seasons in the NBA, the 6’11” all-star earned the moniker “McNasty” for his tough play at power forward for Washington, Philadelphia, and Detroit.
But these days, a somewhat gentler and wiser Ruland is trying to make an impact from the other side of the clipboard. After one season as an assistant coach with the Sixers in 1993-94, Ruland returned to his alma mater as an assistant under then-Head Coach Tim Welsh. In 1998, Ruland took over the reins as Iona’s head coach. And after posting a 16-14 mark in 1998-99, Ruland piloted the Gaels back to the NCAA tournament in 2000, ending the season with a 21-10 record.
In the following interview, Ruland talks about his coaching mentors, working with today’s student-athletes, and what it meant to return to Iona.
CM: You’re now in your third season as head coach—is it getting easier for you?
Ruland: There’s no question that as time goes by, I’m getting better. One of the philosophies my mother instilled in me is the older you get, the smarter you’re supposed to become. So as a coach—and in my everyday life—I’m trying to be a better person and a better coach.
The year before you took over for Tim Welsh, Iona had a very successful 27-6 season. Was that a hard act to follow?
We did have an unbelievable year in ‘97. When I took over in ‘98, we had a pretty good team coming back, but we lost our starting backcourt, so we struggled without an experienced point guard or senior leadership. Since then, we’ve gone out and recruited some new players and turned it around. This season, we’re trying to be the first team since LaSalle [‘88-‘90] to repeat as conference champs.
You were an assistant for four years before you became a head coach. Did that offer you enough preparation?
I was an assistant with the Sixers for a year, and I covered everything from scouting and film editing to working with Sixers center Shawn Bradley. I also got to learn from Philadelphia’s Fred Carter, who was an assistant in the league for about 15 years, and Tony DiLeo, who’s now the Sixers’ Director of Player Personnel. Then I spent three years at Iona under Tim Welsh, and, along with fellow assistants Craig Holcomb and Steve DeMeo, we kind of resurrected the program. I learned a lot in those three years, and I was more than ready to become a head coach.
Do you have specific coaching mentors?
I’ve taken a little bit from everyone I’ve played for and worked with. I use drills from my high school coach that are good for teaching fundamentals. I learned a lot from Gene Shue, who coached more than 1,000 games in the NBA for the Bullets and Sixers, from [former Sixers Head Coach] Jim Lynam, from Fred Carter, from Tim Welsh and his dad [former Potsdam State and Iona Head Coach Jerry Welsh], and Pat Kennedy, who came to Iona as an assistant during my sophomore year.
How about your college coach, Jim Valvano?
Jimmy, God rest his soul, was a terrific motivator, but he became a much better X-and-0 coach after he left Iona. I learned a lot of good stuff from Jimmy in terms of how to motivate athletes and get players to play. He probably was a little bit better as a game coach than he was at preparation, but obviously he got a lot better at both at N.C. State.
How has college basketball changed since you were a player at Iona?
I was one of the top players in the country as a high school player, a two-time college all-American, and a two-time NBA all-star. But when a coach said something, I locked in on it and I followed through.
Nowadays, everyone thinks they know everything. I go into homes representing a pretty successful mid-major program, but I sense this attitude—every mom and dad thinks their kid is going to be the next Karl Malone. That’s just not the case.
Iona is pretty close to New York City—is that your main recruiting area?
We do recruit a bit nationally, but of the 13 players on our roster right now, 11 are from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Our proximity to New York City is a big selling point during recruiting. All our players work summer jobs down on Wall Street, and we’re in a beautiful area—Westchester County is one of the most affluent counties in the country, yet you can jump on a train and be in the city in 20 minutes.
How meaningful was it to return to your alma mater as a coach?
It’s a special place for me. I could’ve gone anywhere in the country as a player—my other final choices were Indiana and Kentucky—and I chose Iona because of Coach Valvano. Plus, it was close to home on Long Island, and I loved the people here. That hasn’t changed much. It’s a special place where I met my wife, and, hopefully, one day my daughters will go here, too.
As a player who left school early to turn pro, how do you convince your athletes of the importance of their academics?
I explain that all the basketball accolades are great and I worked very hard to get them, but apart from my family, the thing I’m most proud of is my degree—in 1991 I came back and did 70 credits in a year and a half to complete it.
I tell them how I played with broken hands and broken feet, and when I was only 28 the doctors told me I couldn’t play anymore. Luckily, I was able to save some money and was fortunate enough to have a second chance to get my degree. Most guys don’t. And that’s why we stress education first at Iona. If you have your degree, you give yourself options, and the more options you have, the more successful in life you’re going to be.
And they know we expect attendance at every class. We have study hall four nights a week, and I proctor one of those sessions. In fact, the day I got the head coaching position at Iona, I proctored study hall. So, I really push the importance of their education.
Do you find that your reputation as a player precedes you when it comes to recruiting and coaching?
We probably have a Top 50 recruiting class coming in, and that’s pretty good for a small school. So my reputation might be a factor there. But the bottom line is that my players know I care about them, and that I’m not going to lie to them. I’ve accomplished just about everything a player would want to, so I know how to get it done.
I feel life is too short to string kids along, so I tell them how it is. If they can’t handle that, they probably won’t like playing for me. But if they do come to Iona, I’m going to make them a better player and better person, and they’re going to get their degree.
You had one of the more memorable nicknames as far as pro athletes go—do you like your players to play a physical game like you did?
I like them to play with confidence. But it’s a physical game—you don’t have any pads on. If you want to avoid contact, go play badminton or do gymnastics. In basketball, you have to be aggressive.
How do you feel about the NCAA’s recent direction to cut back the summer recruiting period?
Their heart is in the right place, but they’re not going about it in the right way. With the current three-week period, a coaching staff like ours can outwork some others. But if they eliminate summer recruiting, the schools that have more television exposure are going to have a leg up over others.
Iona won’t be affected as much as other mid-major programs might be, because we’re still just 20 minutes away from one of the most fertile grounds of basketball in the country—the Catholic High School League in New York City. So we’ll survive, but other mid-majors will lose that chance to outwork other programs in the summer. I believe there has to be a different answer.
Do you aspire to coach at a bigger college program or in the NBA?
My first choice would be to stay here, although I might think about going to the pros. But I can never say never. You have to keep your options open.
What are your future goals as a coach?
Just to get better at my profession. Every day’s a new challenge with these guys—you’re talking about 18 to 21 year olds, so it’s a roller coaster. But there’s not a day that I don’t get up and really enjoy what I’m doing. I think I’m making a difference, and that’s what it’s all about.