Ben Preiss
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18 year-old Jeffrey Jordan is a walk-on player for the University of Illinois basketball team on an academic scholarship. That is as low key as he can be considering he is the son of the greatest player to have played the game. At 6’2”, he is four inches shorter than his legendary dad. Jeffrey knows he will have to prove himself to assure a spot on a Big Ten team that went 23-10 before losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. We can also look forward to Jeffrey’s little brother Marcus, who is two year’s younger but a bit bigger and is said to have more potential, coming up in the future. The brothers played together at the Loyola Academy, a 98-year-old Jesuit high school in Chicago’s north suburbs.  Michael Jordan applauded his son's decision to walk on at Illinois rather than accept a scholarship to a smaller college.
The basketball legend and his 18-year-old son, Jeffrey, appeared on the Today show Friday.
Jordan said his son decided he wanted the challenge of proving himself at the Big Ten school.
"I'm thinking that's what I would have done," Jordan said.
Talking on the Illinois campus, NBC's Matt Lauer asked if the son had ever beaten his father in a basketball game.
"Ask him how many times," Jordan said to Lauer, knowing the answer would be once, before admitting that he wasn't thrilled about it at the time.
Jordan, a 6-2 guard at Loyola Academy prep school in Wilmette, Ill., chose Illinois over Valparaiso in April. He was a three-year starter at Loyola Academy and two-year All Catholic League player.
His son joked he supports his dad attending games because it takes some pressure off him.
"When he's there it kind of helps me a little bit because I know people aren't watching me so much," he said.
(sportsillustrated.cnn)References: usatoday, sportsillustrated.cnn Filed In: |
