Jerome Jordan has played major minutes the past three years for the Memphis Tigers' biggest Conference-USA rival,Tulsa, but scouts are still skeptical to call him either a lottery pick or a bust.
Jordan had limited high school basketball experience which resulted in him not getting any attention from big schools. Tulsa decided to take a flier on the raw, mobile, seven footer and are now enjoying the benefits. He may have started playing basketball because he was tall and it got him into college, but he's now shown a dedication to the game that has seen him grow each year.
As a freshman, he rode the pine. The next year, however; he exploded and surprised opposing coaches by blocking 3.7 shots per game along with tallying 10.5 points and 7.9 boards. He became a known commodity last year and started receiving double teams and forcing the opposition into settling for jump shots. This was evident as his blocks dropped down to 2.5 per game even though the rest of his game continued to take off. He scored 13.8 ppg while increasing his rbs/g by .7. Despite having to carry more of the offensive load, he kept his turnovers where they were during his sophomore campaign and improved his FG% to 58%; up from 56%. This year, in his final year of eligibility, Jordan is the biggest star in Conference-USA and is looking to live up to preseason player of the year honors.
In this game against Arkansas-LR, scouts didn't get the chance to see him face another legit NBA center; but facing Mike Smith (6'7'' 266lbs), they did get to see how he handle NBA strength.
Jordan's biggest question at 7 ft 250 pounds (and a 7'6'' wingspan to boot)is his strength - especially in his lower body. Even in college, he is often seen getting handled by other big men - knocking him out of position for rebounds. His rebound rate still looks OK, but lets put his numbers in perspective with other, both successful and unsuccessful, small school big men that have been drafted into the NBA.
Jerome Jordan - 13/40 pace adjusted (last year)
Patrick O'Bryant - 12.3/40 pace adjusted (2005-06)
Yes Jordan rebounded better than O'Bryant, but thats misleading. O'Bryant is only three months older than Jordan so you have to figure if O'Bryant was still in college he would have better numbers. Its not fair to just dismiss Jordan though either because of this - not every player is going to have the combination of unluckiness and lack of drive that O'Bryant has had through his career. Another scary thing though is that they are listed at the exact same height and weight. Let's just move on to the opposite end of the spectrum...
Marcus Camby - 10.7/40 (not paced adjusted)
Different eras and roles, but Jordan still has a nice edge on the boards to him. Camby gives up weight to Jordan, but both play a similar finesse style (I don't think Jordan had much for, if any, more strength than Camby did back then. Either way, strength is not the reason either of them got rebounds).
Some may think this is way to generous, but I see Jordan's ceiling just slightly below Camby's career path. If Jordan were to succeed in the NBA, he would be the same type of player Camby was on offense (pick and pop/hustle points - not great finisher) while being a defensive presence. Living up to Camby's dominance on defense is highly unlikely, but Jordan still can be a "plus" defender. Both aren't the most athletic centers, but move well and have great timing to block shots. Jordan has shown a high defensive IQ - and early on this year has found a way to alter shots without fouling (a big problem in the past).
Anyway, we now bring you back to the game at hand.
On the offensive end, Jordan had nobody tall enough to contest his shots, but he was consistently double-teamed. It was a weak attempt to stop him. For one, the guard coming from the top always seemed uncertain about whether he should double or not so the double was never very aggressive (if you are going to double, be aggressive - otherwise you are just sitting in no mans land covering nobody). Besides that, Jordan did an excellent job of handling it. Most scouts are (legitimately) worried about him being too passive, but Jordan wasn't satisfied with just passing out of the double team to the open man. Instead he showed poise and patience - using an array of moves (hook with right hand, spin move, fadaway) to get his shot off.
When he wasn't operating in the post, he showed his range, hitting 2 of 3 long jumpers just inside the arc. Unfortunately, Tulsa doesn't use him much in the pick and roll, which is something that he must learn in order to be successful in the NBA. Jordan scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half(his teammates combined for only ten points in the half) while Tulsa was still establishing their lead (they eventually won by 14 points, 59-45) before taking a backseat to his fellow Golden Hurricane teammates. He hit all seven of his free throws and is shooting 74% from the line the past two years.
Defensively, he had a promising showing, anchoring a Tulsa defense that only allowed 45 points (21 of which were made from beyond the arc). He continues to impress me with his increasing IQ on the defensive end. He plays the pick and roll well (to a point where Little Rock stopped testing Jordan's ability to defend it), rotates (although he appears to be late sometimes but still manages to alter the shot), and makes opponents think twice before putting a shot up within his vicinity. He's no Dikembe Mutumbo but he does have NBA potential as a quality defender. Just like with the rest of his game, strength is the main factor.
It will take a huge season for Jordan to change the views scouts already have in their heads, but he's still going to be a solid bet for the first round. Scouts have seen his skills and know what they are getting - a project center with decent tools who has shown improvement. The thoughts among talent evaluators probably believe that he can be a quality 20-25 minutes/per game player if he doesn't become complacent once he gets his money and winds up in a good situation (i.e. not with Nelly and the Warriors). If he doesn't get the right coaching or show the drive to succeed, nobody will be surprised to see him out of the league in three years. Personally, I can't see him being as bad as Patrick O'Bryant, but I wouldn't take him higher than in the 20s.
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