DAVID COX - RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

DAVID COX

 RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Asst. Coach

For the Rutgers men’s basketball team, its defense of Princeton revolves around one man. He spent three seasons coaching its offense at Georgetown as an assistant coach.

He learned from the man who recreated it under Hall of Fame Princeton coach Pete Carril. And he found a way to defend it.But then Scarlet Knights associate head coach David Cox joined Mike Rice’s staff at Rutgers last season, pitting him against the offense’s namesake.

“Dave, he’s our Princeton offense guru,” Rice said. “Our defensive game plan is Dave. We do well defending it. It’s just, can we score enough points?” The Knights managed only 65 points last year against the Hoyas and head coach John Thompson III, a Princeton disciple who spent nine years coaching at the Ivy League school. They scored 73 points in last year’s season-opener against Princeton, but managed only 8 points in overtime to take a loss and they scored only 53 points Nov. 23 against Richmond, where former Tiger Chris Mooney now coaches. “It’s very valuable. He always does a great job against Princeton-oriented teams,” said junior forward Austin Johnson. “He did a great job against Richmond, and I feel that his knowledge is great.” But with the offense, known for its backdoor cuts and intense precision, becoming more popular, so too does Cox’s expertise.“With him being in the Georgetown offense, it’s actually a blessing in disguise because he knows all the cuts, the tricks of the trade,” said freshman point guard Jerome Seagears. “He’s definitely the man when it comes to the Princeton offense.”Seagears knows Cox’s value more than most. The Silver Spring, Md., native spent his AAU days playing with the D.C. Assault, where Cox earned his first coaching gig.Cox used his connections and knowledge as springboards to future destinations like Pittsburgh, Georgetown and eventually Rutgers. “He just brings the overall knowledge to the team, being a coach for Georgetown for multiple years, bringing that Big East intensity,” Seagears said. “He tries to bring that same dimension over here and he’s doing a great job.”Cox’s Washington, D.C., pipeline helped land the Knights the 6-foot-1 Seagears, D.C. Assault alum Malick KoneBaltimore-area forward Greg Lewis and standout transfer Wally Judge.He knows the area between D.C. and Virginia acutely, playing college basketball at William & Mary and producing future NBA players alongside Assault head coach Curtis Malone. He is the good cop to Rice’s bad cop routine with the Knights. And his unique knowledge set is more marketable than ever.“It’s not as different anymore because Dartmouth runs Princeton. Richmond was Princeton,” Rice said. “To be honest with you, there’s a lot of people. They’re mainstream now.”

By Tyler Barto