Anyone who followed the men's basketball program at Union from 1998 through 2001 was very familiar with the name
C.J. Rodgers. A native of Chicago and a graduate of St. Rita's high school, Rodgers graduated as the Dutchmen's seventh leading scorer with 1,275 points, and as the team's leading career rebounder (769) since the 1980-81 season..
A four-year varsity letterwinner and three and a half year starter for the Garnet, C.J. was named the team's “Most Valuable Player” after his junior season of 2000-2001. He was selected to the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's All-Conference team each of his last three seasons, including a First Team selection following his junior campaign. Rodgers played in 101 of 109 games during his career and finished with a scoring average of 12.6 per game with a rebounding average of 7.6 per game. His best single-game performance was a 22-point, 20-rebound effort against Middlebury on January 16, 2001. He also contributed 62 blocked shots, 156 assists, 125 steals while playing a total of 2,627 minutes during his career.
An English major, Rodgers missed the first seven games of his senior season while completing a term abroad in Athens, Greece. The Dutchmen compiled a four-year record of 66-43 (a winning percentage of .606) with three post-season invitations, including the program's first NCAA berth since the 1982-83 campaign.
Rodgers was among three all-star players who graduated from Union's 2001-02 squad that tied the College record for wins in a season (21-8), won both the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's regular-season and tournament championships, and represented Union in the NCAA playoffs for just the second time in the College's long and proud basketball history.
To the right is assistant coach Todd Montana, head coach Bob Montana and senior captain Phil Henry.
This past winter the Dutchmen put together their fifth consecutive winning season (something that hasn't been accomplished in the last 23 years) at 17-12 while finishing second in the UCAA both during the regular season and in the championship tournament. The Dutchmen came within five points of upsetting homestanding Hamilton for the right to represent the UCAA in the NCAA tournament (losing 74-70). The Garnet, with only one senior on this year's team, advanced to the second round of the ECAC Upstate New York tournament before ending their season.
While Rodgers wasn't in uniform, he was a big part of the team's success. With his playing days behind him, C.J. Rodgers, Union's feared No. 32, became Coach Rodgers.
“CJ handled the transition well from player to coach,” said head coach Bob Monatana, who has guided the Dutchmen to 101 victories and into four postseason tournaments in his seven seasons at the helm. “CJ came to work everyday as a player, therefore it was easy for him to coach returning players since they had respect for him as a player and a leader of a very successful team.”
Rodgers says that the transition from player to coach was not that difficult. The biggest adjustment was when it came to the time off of the court, the time when he used to “hang out” with his teammates and friends.
“It was not too much of a change in roles on the court,” he said. “The guys really looked up to the three of us (himself, Jason Manning and Aaron Galletta) during our senior season, and respected what we tried to do as a team. The most difficult adjustment took place off the court, because that is where so much team chemistry takes place. It was very difficult not being able to see the guys in a different atmosphere like during my playing days when we all would hang out together.
“But the guys were very respectful toward me this year and knew that the only thing that changed was that I had to trade in a Union Uniform for a suit. Most importantly, those guys knew that I wanted them to be successful, and they felt comfortable with asking me my opinions and taking criticism.”
Surprisingly, especially considering all the success Rodgers had during his undergraduate years, C.J. did not play high school basketball. In fact, he was courted by college baseball coaches.
“I was never recruited to play a sport here at Union,” he explained. “To make a long story short, I didn't play varsity basketball in high school. I was a baseball guy, and I was getting calls to play baseball in college. But when Union accepted me, I figured I'd give it (basketball) a shot. I had played competitively all summer with some very good players. So I told myself that I'd work hard over the summer, get in good shape and go for it. I called Coach Montana, and he explained to me that he had a big recruiting class coming in, and that he couldn't promise me anything but he'd give me a fair shot. I thank Coach for giving me a shot, and worked out well for both of us.
“If someone told me when I first got here that I'd be an assistant coach for Coach Montana when I graduated, I would have looked at them like they were crazy. But I'm glad I did it.”
While Montana admits that the fact that C.J. played in Union's system for four years made his transition to coaching easier, Montana also credits the personality make-up of his former star as a reason for this year's success as an assistant coach.
“The fact that CJ played for me at Union certainly made his transition easier,” Montana began. “I did not have to teach him the offense or our defensive schemes and that allowed us to move ahead. He also knew the “nuances” of the offense, the little things to teach players; and he had a good feel for me and could reinforce why I thought certain things that were important. All these things certainly gave him a sense of confidence about the job at hand.
“But CJ's personality certainly added to his immediate success,” Montana continued. “The key words to describe him, first as a person and secondly as a coach, are: bright, motivated, loyal, disciplined, and combative with a very high basketball IQ. CJ is a wonderful person, someone who will have success as he moves on in his professional life. His success will be based on the key words I just mentioned. CJ was a good player, someone who had a tremendous effect on the basketball program at Union because of those key words. Like Nike's catch phrase, with CJ “there is no finish line.”
Rodgers has enjoyed so many experiences and has so many friends and memories those people made up over the past five years, it was hard for him to pinpoint the one story that reflected his time at Union. He did, however, reflect on his coach and mentor, Bob Montana.
“I've enjoyed watching the players grow, but most importantly I've enjoyed watching Coach grow. I can remember when I first came to Union, he was always screaming; I could've sworn I was playing for Bobby Knight, and not Bobby Montana. Now I'm not saying that he doesn't scream now, but he does it a lot less and with much more impact on the players.
“There are so many experiences I'll take away from playing and coaching at Union.”
Rodgers is currently applying to graduate schools for the fall term. He would like to start a career in sports broadcasting, perhaps doing play-by-play in basketball. I would definitely love to go back into coaching at some point, because I love interacting with people, but we'll just have to wait and see about that one.
“There is a possibility, but a very slim one,” says Rodgers when asked if was returning to Union's bench for the 2003-04 season. “I feel like now is the time for me to go ahead and get my masters. The longer I stay here at Union the harder it becomes for me to leave.
“I've been here for five years now, and I've enjoyed every waking moment.”
As a former player and as an assistant coach, C.J. sees a great deal of success in the Dutchmen's immediate future.
“They have all the tools, the make-up,” he says. “It is about time people started talking about UNION BASKETBALL. These guys are good. I've never seen a team as complete as these guys are, from the number one guy on the chart all the way down to the number 15 guy, there is very little difference. I tell those guys all the time, even this year, they should not settle for just winning the league every year, they should strive to be national champions.
“Anything is possible when you have one of the hardest working coaches on any level in the country and a great group of talented players and people.”
Says Montana, “CJ was a great competitor, and leader during his tenure as a player and I felt he was going to be a very difficult player to replace. As a coach and someone who had played here, I thought he could be develop those qualities in this year's team.
Based on the Dutchmen's accomplishments over the last five years, the presence of C.J. Rodgers will be part of Union's future for some time to come.