Geneva basketball has a new man in a suit game day but he is not a new face to the program.
A 2014 Geneva Business / Sports Management graduate, Jordan Harbison, returns to Geneva’s court but this time in a different role than his previous as the Golden Tornadoes’ high scorer.
After graduating, Jordan found a job in Pittsburgh at a basketball skills development organization called the Scoring Factory.
“We train a lot of college kids from Europe at the Scoring Factory during the summer time to get them ready for their season,” explained Jordan.
“The guy that runs it, Pete Strobl, played basketball overseas for nine years after playing Division I. Pete wanted me to get some international experience so when we train those from Europe I would understand their style of play more.”
Thanks to Pete Strobl and the Scoring Factory Jordan traveled to Europe late October before the 2015-16 basketball season.
While in Europe, Jordan visited two cities in Austria, a city in Switzerland and three cities in France; all of which included the opportunity to learn from professional teams.
“It was a lot of fun. I made a lot of different connections and learned a ton.”
“The European style is much more read and react with ‘X’s’ and ‘O’s’. They use the pick and roll a lot, back cuts and picks. It is all based on reading the play.”
“The American style is faster and quicker trying to beat the opponents with your athleticism.”
Currently, Jordan is working at the Scoring Factory in the morning and as an active assistant coach for the Golden Tornadoes in the afternoons and evenings.
“At Geneva I am helping out where I can. I have always wanted to coach. This is my first year being on that side of the game here at Geneva.”
Jordan explained playing the game is only one of the many changes in transitioning from being a starter to being a member of the coaching staff.
“I see the floor differently. Before I was focused on just my position and what I had to do – my personal responsibilities. Now, I look at the game overall and see everybody. Seeing things the other team is doing that we can attack and things we can be better at. It is a ton to look at. It is easy to see now why we need so many coaches.”
On non-game days the coaching staff continues to be hard at work.
“The behind the scenes preparation as a coach compared to reading a scouting report as a player is very different. Now, I watch the film, break it down, see their strengths and what they do, put it on paper, and going over those things in practice with the team. It is a lot more work than I thought that goes into making it easy for the players.”
The Golden Tornadoes have an exciting schedule set in 2015-16 opening their conference play on Wednesday, December 2 at Thiel and hosting the Saint Vincent Bearcats on Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
View the complete 2015-16 schedule online at http://www.geneva.edu/athletics/mens/basketball/mbball_schedule
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