A Review of Jeffrey Jordan

As many people know, Jeffrey Jordan is the oldest son of basketball legend Michael Jordan. Jeffrey is a freshman at Illinois and joined the basketball team as a walk-on. He wasn’t highly recruited coming out of high school and only received mild interest from colleges. Valparaiso and Loyola University offered him basketball scholarships, with Davidson, Bowling Green, Northwestern, Penn State, George Washington, and Illinois giving him strong consideration. Jeffrey has always been a good academic student, often making the honor roll, and so Illinois offered him an academic scholarship. At first Jeffrey said he didn’t want to be a walk-on anywhere, and play behind starters for three or four years. But later he decided he wanted to stay close to home, and be on a high-level college team, so he took Illinois academic offer, with the opportunity to walk onto the basketball team and work hard for playing time. Jeffrey said "Being a walk-on motivates me, I always feel like I have something to prove when I come out here. To my coaches, the fans, and my teammates".

Jeffrey has also said being like his father motivates him, but from the standpoint of knowing how hard his dad worked after he was cut from the varsity team in high school, and always putting in full effort to improve his skills at whatever he was doing. Jeffrey said "Instead of being known as my dad’s son, which is probably always going to be there, I want to be known for my basketball skills". He also said "It’s definitely a lot of pressure that comes with the name Jordan, and everyone comparing us, but hopefully people really understand that we are two different people, with different skills, so I’ll never be exactly like my dad".

Jeffrey is 6’1", 185 pounds and majoring in psychology. On the court Jeffrey is a good scorer, a very good defender, a solid rebounder, and has good court vision. He is a fundamentally sound player, with a solid all-around game. For his size he is a physically strong guard. He has a solid-mid range jump shot. He has a very quick first step going right, although he is left-handed. He is a pass-first guard, who likes to get his teammates involved. He is a good decision-maker. He likes to drive to the basket and tries to draw fouls, and he is a good finisher at the basket with either hand. Jeffrey is definitely blessed with his father’s athleticism, especially his vertical leaping abilities. He still has to get the skill level and knowledge to become a full-time point guard.

His coach Bruce Weber said "The process is coming along well, and he just needs to make the strides there and continue to work on his skill development, like most young players". So far this season Jeffrey has played in 6 games, playing a total of 35 minutes, averaging 5.8 minutes a game. He is 0-7 shooting from the field, 0-1 in three-point shooting, and 3-6 at the free throw line. Jeffrey has 2 rebounds and is averaging 0.3 ppg. Currently Jeffrey is listed as the number 6 guard on the team.

As of right now, I think Jeffrey could be an Antonio Daniels- type player in the NBA, and if he develops a good three point shot, he could be a more athletic version of Derek Fisher. I always enjoy watching Jeffrey play, and you can see the passion he has for the game of basketball and wanting to succeed in it on his own terms. I look forward to watching him as he pursues his goals in basketball, as well as becoming his own man.