Jared Jordan

Jared Jordan’s statistical accomplishments at Marist were well known, but nobody was quite sure what he would be able to accomplish in the draft camp setting or at the next level. There were questions about his shooting and athleticism, with the MAAC giving little in the way of competition or exposure.

But the ability to run a team is certainly developed above the shoulders, and tends to translate over better than other tools. Jordan might be undersized and a step slow, but this week he proved once and for all just what a special point guard he was at Marist and will be as a professional. The first two games were run almost to perfection – Jordan handled more athletic defenders with relative ease, created basket after basket with crisp full court passing and dazzling looks from within offensive sets.

While Jordan’s shooting percentages weren’t ideal at the NCAA level, that could have had a lot to do with his leading role. In this setting, he did a phenomenal job of picking his spots to look for his own. He didn’t light it up from the outside, but showed off improved form on his jumper and was deadly in the midrange. Almost never did he force the action, but was able to burn defenses that dared him to score quite easily. At the end of the day, he was as impressive as any point guard in the camp.

So does this camp get Jordan drafted, or a guaranteed contract next fall? It is hard to say for sure. He probably doesn’t have the physical attributes to be more than a backup, but this kind of court vision can make up for a lot. It isn’t a lock by any means (no projected 2nd rounder ever is), but we wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear Jared Jordan’s name on draft night.

Everyone’s favorite draft prospect here in Orlando (at least amongst the media and staff members) had another solid outing in his final performance at the pre-draft camp, leading his team to its third straight win. Despite lacking an incredible first step, Jordan got into the paint again and again, utilizing terrific ball-handling skills, hesitation moves and crafty spins to force defensive rotations and find the open man instantaneously as soon as they freed up. He also did a nice job running the pick and roll, and pushed the ball up the floor when given the opportunity to do so. He’s an old-school player who doesn’t score a ton of points (really lacking a steady 3-point shot, a consistent pull-up mid-range jumper and a more reliable floater he can go to) but he did put some score some points late in the game when his team really needed a bucket. On one occasion he spun intelligently into the paint and leaned back for a very clutch Steve Nash-esqe fallaway jumper to put his team up by one.

Defensively, Jordan struggled a bit with the explosiveness of Dominic James, not really having the lateral quickness to stay in front of him. Most of the scouts we spoke with still didn’t come away convinced from the excellent showing Jordan had here at the pre-draft camp, citing his poor physical attributes (size, strength, athleticism) and the liability he might present as a defender, perimeter shooter and shot-creator late in the game or shot-clock. Still, it only takes one team to like you, and Jordan gave all 30 of them plenty of food for thought in his excellent week here.

Jordan continues to impress here in Orlando, outplaying more highly regarded points guards such as Bobby Brown and Sean Singletary in this afternoon’s matchup. Jordan’s team is now 2-0, and it would be safe to say that his play at the point guard position has been a major reason for this. Today Jordan racked up a sparkling 7 assists against 0 turnovers, with just about every single pass he made productive in some form. Whether it was find cutters in the halfcourt or handing out crisp, accurate open court passes on the move, Jordan’s mark was on this game whenever he was on the court.

While Jordan hasn’t been a dominant scorer in this camp, he has found a way to contribute his own offense through an improved spot up jumper and a handful of crafty forays to the basket. Jordan’s athleticism is never going to be a strength, but he knows how to pick his spots to look for his own.

There will always be limitations to Jordan’s game, but his presence here in Orlando has been undeniable. It remains to be seen if he will be able to overcome his natural limitations, but if there is a player capable of it, Jared Jordan would be the one.

Jared Jordan had a decent game here to lead his team to victory, sowing off some of his great skills, but also showing some of his limitations as a playmaker. Jordan ran his team well, keeping everyone involved and doing an excellent job dishing out a variety of assists in transition, but in the halfcourt he struggled with his playmaking except for on pick-and-roll plays, as he doesn’t have a very quick first step, and he’s not much of a threat to create off penetration.

Jordan made some of the best passes of the day in the transition game, throwing an assist ahead to his teammate on a strong chest pass and making an excellent bounce pass on the move through three defenders to a cutting teammate. In the halfcourt, Jordan did a very good job making reads and making passes on pick-and-rolls, getting a few assists in that manner. Jordan also made one extremely precise one-handed bounce pass right off a crossover dribble while on the move on one occasion, showing how versatile he can be in terms of passing the ball. Jordan did an excellent job managing the game for his team, directing players to open spaces on the floor and maintaining good floor balance for his team, something rarely seen from a point guard in this setting. Jordan’s ball-handling is very impressive in that he’s great with either hand and really controls and protects the ball well, even though he’s not a big threat to get a step on his defender.

Jordan did get into the lane at times in this game, mostly off high screen situations, but also by using some craftiness and his versatility in dribbling the basketball. He uses hesitation dribbles well, and also has a compact crossover that couples well with the hesitations. His best scoring sequence of the game was on a left-handed drive where he stopped, pivoted, and spun off his man to gain separation, hitting a five-foot jumper over the hand in his face. Jordan also hit one spot-up shot from 18 feet and missed another. He scored his only other basket on a lay-up off a cut to the hoop, something he frequently did when the ball was not in his hand.

Jordan is lacking in athleticism and quickness, so he isn’t able to consistently create offense in the halfcourt, relying on high screens and pick-and-rolls to do much of his creating for teammates. His dribbling ability is good, and he possesses some nice crafty moves, but he should continue working on that to take his dribble-drive game to the next level. He’s been working on his outside shooting, but he needs to continue to improve on his range and effectiveness shooting from the outside as well, as becoming a deadly outside shooter will be critical to his potential success in the NBA, given his athletic limitations. He has trouble staying step-for-step with his man on defense, not possessing the lateral quickness to stay in front for a long time.

One of the more intriguing prospects from day one, Jordan really stood out in the scrimmage portion of today’s session. He displayed the ability to find the open man from anywhere on the floor, both in transition and in the half court offense, thanks to his fantastic court vision. He threw a great alleyoop lob to Stephane Lasme on one occasion, and did a solid job throughout on the pick and roll. The limitations of his game were just as apparent, however. Jordan will need to prove he can come over his disadvantages physically to really impress NBA scouts. At times he looked a step slow, needing a high ball screen at the top of the key to get the offense in motion.

In the last home game of his college career, a rare nationally broadcasted game, Jared Jordan put together one of his finest performances of the season in an overtime victory. A win over Siena helped his team clinch first place in the MAAC conference, and will go a long way in facilitating a very important goal as far as his individual draft stock is concerned, earning an NCAA tournament berth.

In that game, Jordan showed off most of the strengths and weaknesses we’ve observed through watching him play all season long. He has decent size for a point guard, and is generally a shifty guy who does a good job masking his athletic shortcomings by keeping defenders off-balance with his herky-jerky style of play. Despite looking out of control at times-- for example going air-borne with the ball in his hands before deciding exactly to do with it-- Jordan is almost always in full control of the game. He makes lightning quick decisions, and has an absolutely terrific sense for finding the open man. He has great poise as a true floor general should, usually making all the correct reads, and this calmness transcends over to his teammates as well, who do a good job of executing in the half-court. His team looks well coached and gets great spacing on the floor, sharing the ball with each other the way old-school basketball fans love to see out of a college team. At the heart of that mentality is their coach on the floor, Jared Jordan.

Jordan is a master at running the pick and roll, thanks to his outstanding timing, ball-handling and decision making skills. He does an excellent job making post-entry passes, either with a perfectly placed lob, a one-handed bullet, or a no-look bounce pass off the dribble right into the hands of a moving cutter for an easy layup. His court vision is exquisite as you might guess by his NCAA-leading 8.9 assists per game, and he does not turn the ball over as evidenced by his 2.65/1 assist to turnover ratio.

In terms of creating his own shot, Jordan has a nice array of hesitation moves he can go to to compliment his excellent ball-handling skills, but generally speaking, he does not show great potential as a slashing threat at the NBA level. His first step is average, and he lacks the extra gear needed to explode into the lane before defenses can rotate. Already in the MAAC conference he struggles finishing in the paint due to the way big men can recover on him, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that he’d get his shot blocked regularly if he were to try the same moves in the NBA.

What’s concerning is that-- unlike other marginally athletic NBA point guards--Jordan doesn’t have a great stroke from the perimeter to make up for his shortcomings in the slashing department. This makes you wonder just how effective he’ll be able running a team if he can’t keep defenses honest with either his shooting or shot-creating. Earlier in his career, Jordan was a very average shooter, hitting only 37 3-pointers in his first two seasons of college basketball, at a 30% clip. Last year, he upped his shooting numbers to 37.4%, but this season he again came down to earth by hitting 31% of his outside shots. Pulling up off the dribble is where he struggles the most, even with space, while he’s a lot better shooting with his feet set. Defensively, the picture doesn’t get much better, as he’s lacking plenty in the lateral quickness department, and really struggles staying in front of his man already at the mid-major level.

The MAAC tournament kicks off this weekend in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Jordan would help himself plenty if he’d be able to guide his team to a first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament where he can display his skills against better competition than he’s seen thus far this year. While always entertaining to watch, the MAAC is generally not considered one of the stronger mid-major conferences, particularly in terms of the defenses we’ve seen in games of his this year. A strong showing in a big time matchup against a highly regarded point guard in the tournament could do wonders for his stock. As things stand, he’ll probably have to prove himself in Portsmouth and likely the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando. No one can question the fact that he’s an absolutely outstanding basketball player, but there are quite a few question marks about his NBA potential that he will need to answer over the next four months first.

Getting a rare opportunity to showcase his skills on a national stage against some high-major teams, Jared Jordan did a pretty good job showing the Thanksgiving weekend crowd in Orlando why he finished the season as the best assist-man in the country last year and is on track to repeat once again this year.

Watching him play, you can’t help think that he’s an old-school throwback point guard. Jordan sees the floor wonderfully, executing his team’s half-court sets effectively and making simple passes look easy. He runs the pick and roll like a pro and is outstanding at feeding his big man with post entry passes. He lacks the explosiveness to create his own shot consistently at the collegiate level, often needing a screen to get by his man, but is very unpredictable off the dribble and does a good job keeping his man off balance with his excellent ball-handling, footwork and herky-jerky style of play. Once he gets to the basket, he is a bit limited as he lacks strength and does not explode off the ground vertically at all, but he’s a tough kid who will find open spaces as he can dribble and finish effectively with either hand.

So far this season his perimeter shot is not falling as well as you’d hope, and this is a part of his game he will absolutely have to get on track if he’s going to have any shot at all at playing in the NBA. He has good mechanics and a pretty quick release, but loses effectiveness when he’s crowded and forced to shoot off the dribble. Defensively, he is smart enough to know how to position himself and get in the passing lanes, but his lack of lateral quickness really limits his potential in this area. More than anything, Jordan is a heady player who seems to have mastered the fundamentals of the game, and he will get his chances to impress the scouts at Portsmouth and/or the NBA Pre-draft camp. It’s not hard to judge just how important he is to his own team, as he only left the floor for 4 out of a possible 120 minutes playing three games in four days.