Guys, I know that all of you are disappointed in the season, disappointed that the season is done, however I wanted to start talking about next year, and what you are getting in my Illinois Stars alum Aaron Jordan. Next year you guys are getting a Mother F*cker (Brad, I've obeyed your rules!). A guy that is going to give you 110% on both ends of the court, a guy that you can truly root for, a guy that bleeds orange and blue, and a guy that will never back down. I want to share with you some stories, and some thoughts, on why Illinois is getting a total Mother F*cker that you're going to LOVE.
Came Up As That Underdog...when Troy Johnson and I restarted the Illinois Stars after a few years of closing it down, one of the first three players we got was Aaron Jordan. While Joe Toye and Tyler Jackson were the two other players, and rated higher than Aaron, I told Troy that Aaron was going to be "the man" on our team. He agreed...he played with such a chip on his shoulder. He felt he was held back his sophomore year at Plainfield East because he had to play PG instead of his natural position of SG. Every practice he was a warrior, taking it to his teammates like they were an opponent. Because of that he became our leader, our go-to guy, and the face of the Illinois Stars. Even though Aaron is a Top 100 player, he still plays with that chip on his shoulder, still plays like that underdog, and still is trying to prove those people wrong. He's going to be a mother f*cker on the floor to do that!
The Best Work Ethic I've Ever Seen...every parent always says that his kid works so hard, and they love the game so much, etc. You've been there...you've heard that. I remember my first conversation with Aaron's father, Rob. We were going to UIC for an unofficial before we even started playing as a squad yet. Rob told me no matter where they go, they go an hour early, and they do drills. I get to UIC 15 minutes or so before we were supposed to be there. In an empty gym Aaron is doing drills with his dad. And not just shooting, rather sweating doing drills. I asked him how long he was there, and Rob said "an hour in a half", like it was no big deal. I knew I had a worker on our team.
To prepare our games for the grunt of the AAU season, we held very early practices, typically stretching at 7:45am and then practice at 8am, which lasted until about noon or 1pm. Obviously it's a long day, especially after a week of school and working out. Aaron would be at the gym at 7am, before even the coaches, waiting to get in. Aaron would stretch on his own, and get to work. Being the great shooter that he is, he still did the small drills, shooting with one hand on each side of the basket 5 feet away, working on his form and follow-through, just like a Tony Gwynn with his t-ball. After practice Aaron would go to Lifetime Fitness, and work out for another couple of hours.
Tell Aaron he can't do something, and he'll do it. Aaron was known as a jump shooter, and was not known as an athlete. Actually, he never even dunked in practice prior to the AAU season. I was giving crap to one of our players, KJ Santos, and Aaron said: "I'm going to dunk on someone this spring." I asked him how many times, and he said 3. After he said this, we went down to Louisville, where Aaron did have three dunks, on people, in just one tournament. He again proved us wrong, and that non-athletic kid turned into an athlete before our eyes.
Defense is all about hard work. You can't play great defense and be lazy. I will tell you right now that Aaron will be one of the best, if not the best, on the ball defenders that you will have next year. He's a competitor, and he'll do ANYTHING to stop you from scoring. I always would tell our team: "Be sure that our opponents will say when they play against the Stars, you hurt after...you're sore...they play like assholes." I never had to look Aaron in the eye, because that was his nature.
For these reasons about work ethic, you guys are getting a total mother f*cker.
Never Says Die...on an unofficial at another school, Aaron was playing with the squad in a pick-up game, and Aaron hurt his foot badly. When his father called me, they first thought it was broken. We were extremely nervous, because he was our guy, and he could be out the entire summer. Good news came where they said it wasn't broken, but doctors recommended that he take July off to let it heal. How many games did Aaron miss for us? NONE. After games Aaron would be in tears in pain because his foot hurt so bad, but that was after he would score 20 points and led us to a win. That was after guarding their best player and totally shutting him out of the game. After coaches saw this, the offers poured in...one of them being Illinois. While he was in pain, while he was hurting, and while he still had a ton of offers, he never complained once, never sat out once, and he played for the team, not for himself. That is what you call a total mother f*cker.
Recruits Like An Assistant...ever notice that Aaron Jordan comes down whenever he can to Champaign to help recruit talent? He was there for every official visit, and doing whatever he can, to bring in talent to the Illini. I would see it on the road, when we were at AAU events, and he would be talking to Illini targets, trying to get them to commit. He didn't sit back and expect the coaches to do it, and you'd be surprised how many kids do just sit back. He's active, and he's engaged. He's a mother f*cker!
You guys talk alot about Jalen, alot of DJ....but there is a reason that Aaron had more D1 offers than anyone else in the Class of 2015 in the state. He's the best competitor you'll find out there, and if Rivals.com ranked competitive nature and heart, he'd be #1 in his class. And if you knew how much he bled orange and blue, you'd love him even more.
I know you guys were expecting more for this season, and I know many thought some of the players were not engaged. I'm telling you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you're going to get the exact opposite from Aaron. You're going to get a mother f*cker that you love!
This post was edited on 3/18 12:07 PM by Ciepierball
This post was edited on 3/18 12:08 PM by Ciepierball
This post was edited on 3/18 12:09 PM by Ciepierball
Came Up As That Underdog...when Troy Johnson and I restarted the Illinois Stars after a few years of closing it down, one of the first three players we got was Aaron Jordan. While Joe Toye and Tyler Jackson were the two other players, and rated higher than Aaron, I told Troy that Aaron was going to be "the man" on our team. He agreed...he played with such a chip on his shoulder. He felt he was held back his sophomore year at Plainfield East because he had to play PG instead of his natural position of SG. Every practice he was a warrior, taking it to his teammates like they were an opponent. Because of that he became our leader, our go-to guy, and the face of the Illinois Stars. Even though Aaron is a Top 100 player, he still plays with that chip on his shoulder, still plays like that underdog, and still is trying to prove those people wrong. He's going to be a mother f*cker on the floor to do that!
The Best Work Ethic I've Ever Seen...every parent always says that his kid works so hard, and they love the game so much, etc. You've been there...you've heard that. I remember my first conversation with Aaron's father, Rob. We were going to UIC for an unofficial before we even started playing as a squad yet. Rob told me no matter where they go, they go an hour early, and they do drills. I get to UIC 15 minutes or so before we were supposed to be there. In an empty gym Aaron is doing drills with his dad. And not just shooting, rather sweating doing drills. I asked him how long he was there, and Rob said "an hour in a half", like it was no big deal. I knew I had a worker on our team.
To prepare our games for the grunt of the AAU season, we held very early practices, typically stretching at 7:45am and then practice at 8am, which lasted until about noon or 1pm. Obviously it's a long day, especially after a week of school and working out. Aaron would be at the gym at 7am, before even the coaches, waiting to get in. Aaron would stretch on his own, and get to work. Being the great shooter that he is, he still did the small drills, shooting with one hand on each side of the basket 5 feet away, working on his form and follow-through, just like a Tony Gwynn with his t-ball. After practice Aaron would go to Lifetime Fitness, and work out for another couple of hours.
Tell Aaron he can't do something, and he'll do it. Aaron was known as a jump shooter, and was not known as an athlete. Actually, he never even dunked in practice prior to the AAU season. I was giving crap to one of our players, KJ Santos, and Aaron said: "I'm going to dunk on someone this spring." I asked him how many times, and he said 3. After he said this, we went down to Louisville, where Aaron did have three dunks, on people, in just one tournament. He again proved us wrong, and that non-athletic kid turned into an athlete before our eyes.
Defense is all about hard work. You can't play great defense and be lazy. I will tell you right now that Aaron will be one of the best, if not the best, on the ball defenders that you will have next year. He's a competitor, and he'll do ANYTHING to stop you from scoring. I always would tell our team: "Be sure that our opponents will say when they play against the Stars, you hurt after...you're sore...they play like assholes." I never had to look Aaron in the eye, because that was his nature.
For these reasons about work ethic, you guys are getting a total mother f*cker.
Never Says Die...on an unofficial at another school, Aaron was playing with the squad in a pick-up game, and Aaron hurt his foot badly. When his father called me, they first thought it was broken. We were extremely nervous, because he was our guy, and he could be out the entire summer. Good news came where they said it wasn't broken, but doctors recommended that he take July off to let it heal. How many games did Aaron miss for us? NONE. After games Aaron would be in tears in pain because his foot hurt so bad, but that was after he would score 20 points and led us to a win. That was after guarding their best player and totally shutting him out of the game. After coaches saw this, the offers poured in...one of them being Illinois. While he was in pain, while he was hurting, and while he still had a ton of offers, he never complained once, never sat out once, and he played for the team, not for himself. That is what you call a total mother f*cker.
Recruits Like An Assistant...ever notice that Aaron Jordan comes down whenever he can to Champaign to help recruit talent? He was there for every official visit, and doing whatever he can, to bring in talent to the Illini. I would see it on the road, when we were at AAU events, and he would be talking to Illini targets, trying to get them to commit. He didn't sit back and expect the coaches to do it, and you'd be surprised how many kids do just sit back. He's active, and he's engaged. He's a mother f*cker!
You guys talk alot about Jalen, alot of DJ....but there is a reason that Aaron had more D1 offers than anyone else in the Class of 2015 in the state. He's the best competitor you'll find out there, and if Rivals.com ranked competitive nature and heart, he'd be #1 in his class. And if you knew how much he bled orange and blue, you'd love him even more.
I know you guys were expecting more for this season, and I know many thought some of the players were not engaged. I'm telling you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you're going to get the exact opposite from Aaron. You're going to get a mother f*cker that you love!
This post was edited on 3/18 12:07 PM by Ciepierball
This post was edited on 3/18 12:08 PM by Ciepierball
This post was edited on 3/18 12:09 PM by Ciepierball
