Marcus Jordan is making his own name -- and becoming his own man -- at Central Fla.


February 28, 2010
BY MARK POTASH Staff Reporter
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Marcus Jordan is an easy target for student sections at Central Florida road games. Like at the University of Houston last month, when the Cougar crazies were giving him a particularly tough time about his famous name, his shoes and, of course, his dad. Every trip to the free-throw line meant another chorus of a taunting chant he must hear in his sleep:

''You're not Mi-chael [clap-clap, clap-clap-clap]!''


Jordan hits the free throw, then another, then two more a moment later to cap the best game of his college career: 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting in a 78-71 victory. He came in averaging 6.2 points per game.

The son who insists on wearing his famous father's shoes never will fill them. He doesn't have the size, the vertical leap, the explosive first step or the hang time. But he's still a Jordan. He loves a challenge.

''He has a little bit of a laser focus when we go into somebody else's gym,'' Knights assistant Mike Jaskulski said.

''I think it has something to do with the fans heckling me,'' said Jordan, a 19-year-old freshman from Whitney Young. ''I don't really pay attention to it. I don't let it change my game. But in a sense, it motivates me to shut 'em up.''

While Jordan is determined to create his own identity, he embraces his fate as the son of the most famous basketball player of all time. It meant something that his career-high game was 23 points. And while he avoided uniform No. 23, he picked No. 5, he said, because ''it's two plus three.''

And he takes pride in responding to a challenge in typical Jordan fashion. Marcus, who is averaging 8.2 points per game on .424 shooting, not only plays better on the road, but he plays better against better competition: Notre Dame (4-for-4, nine points), Connecticut (5-for-10, 13 points), Mississippi (4-for-7, 13 points), Marshall (7-for-9, 19 points), South Florida (4-for-7, 11 points) and Memphis (3-for-6, 10 points, seven assists).

''It's definitely in my blood,'' said Jordan, whose voice, tone and cadence are straight from his father. ''It's just the competitiveness that we as Jordans have. And I love it.''

As he adjusts to college life, Jordan's greatest asset is that he loves being Marcus Jordan. To have the name without the extraordinary talent might be a curse -- ''I wouldn't want to be you guys,'' Michael told his kids at his Hall of Fame induction -- but to Marcus it's a blessing. He came to grips with the fact that he wasn't going to be the next Michael Jordan long ago.

''My sophomore year [at Loyola],'' he said. ''I grew up a lot. That's when I started taking basketball 100 percent serious. I just wanted to prove to everybody that I'm Marcus Jordan, and I'm going to play my game.''

And now its second nature, though he credits his brother, Jeff, for showing him the way.

''I've had 19 years to deal with the [expectations] and the criticism of everybody else and me criticizing myself,'' he said. ''I understand I'm not going to be anything spectacular. I'm not going to be what everybody wants me to be. I can only be what I want to be. And that's good enough.''

Jordan, who starts in a backcourt with former Young teammate A.J. Rompza, looks shorter than his listed 6-3. But at 200 pounds, he is able to score inside and out and occasionally off the dribble. In his last 15 games -- 14 as a starter -- he is averaging 11 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals.

''He's not as gifted athletically as his father, but the things he does can turn into special attributes,'' Central Florida coach Kirk Speraw said. ''He's a very instinctive athlete. He understands the game. He reacts to the game well. As his skills get better, he'll become a pretty good player. Will he be all-league or score X-number of points? I don't know. But he's a very good team player who's very good for us.''

Jordan dreams about playing in the NBA but also about owning a nightclub. He's a serious student majoring in hospitality management -- Central Florida's program is ranked No. 2 in the country by U.S. News -- who aced sociology last semester and has a B-plus average. A proud Chicagoan -- the city's skyline and ''312'' area code are among the many tattoos on his sturdy forearms -- he misses his hometown, deep-dish pizza and even the cold weather.

At Central Florida, Jordan's mission is to be just another teammate. When he was late for a meeting early in the preseason, he served his punishment and hasn't been late again. When he wanted to attend his father's Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he asked Speraw for permission to get out of school early. He lives in a dorm that houses students and student-athletes, sharing a suite with two teammates. The biggest adjustment? Not enough room for the Air Jordans he has at home.

It's those beloved shoes that put Jordan on the spot in October, when his insistence on wearing Nike caused Adidas to dissolve a six-year contract with Central Florida worth $3 million in shoes and apparel. Jordan was the criticized from coast to coast on TV and in newspaper columns. The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard weighed in. Comedian Robin Williams, wearing a pair of black-and-orange Nikes, used it for a bit in his appearance at the school last fall.

University officials say the criticism was undeserved, that Adidas reneged on an agreement to allow Jordan to wear Nikes, a charge confirmed by the Orlando Sentinel. After the Jordans inquired about the Nike issue at the beginning of the recruiting process, the school contacted Adidas and was told it wouldn't be a problem. But executives at Adidas' corporate offices later said an exception wouldn't be allowed.

Central Florida honored its original promise to the Jordans and negotiated an agreement to end its Adidas deal in June. The school is negotiating a new shoe contract, with Nike the most obvious suitor.

Jordan took the criticism in stride.

''It didn't bother me because people didn't know the whole story,'' he said. ''My teammates were behind me the whole way. We had already talked about it, so I didn't play any attention to it.''

That doesn't surprise those who know him best.

''He's the easiest guy to get along with,'' Rompza said. ''He can talk to anyone at any time. If I miss two free throws and I'm down, he'll say, 'I'll get you a pair of shoes,' and makes me laugh. He knows how to lighten up the mood. People love to be around him because he's so funny and outgoing. He likes to have fun.''

While just another player on the court, he occasionally reminds people he's Marcus Jordan, son of Michael. In the rematch against Houston last week at Central Florida, Jordan scored 18 points and held NCAA scoring leader Aubrey Coleman (25.6 points per game) scoreless in the final 4:15 in a 68-65 victory.

''I get hyped up for all the games, but this game was more important to me because after the last win Aubrey Coleman said that the game was an embarrassment and stuff like that,'' Jordan said. ''It had me going, and I was talking a little bit of stuff, too.''

Quotes and trash-talking from opponents were classic sources of fuel for the almost-manic motivation that drove Michael Jordan from the heights to the heavens of basketball greatness. It won't get Marcus to the same place, but it's a pretty good sign he'll get the most out of the talent he's got. Not even Michael asked for anything more than that.






"I've had 19 years to deal with the (expectations) and the criticism of everybody else and me criticizing myself. I understand I'm not going to be anything spectacular," Marcus Jordan said of living in his father's shadow.

Marcus doesn't play like his father, and he doesn't look like him either. Except for folks in Chicago, most people probably don't even know he's Michael Jordan's son until they read articles like this.

WaterInYourBath said:

He has got the Jordan tongue