BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Hyland DeAndre Jordan, Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball center with the Los Angeles Clippers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He played a year of college basketball at Texas A&M University. He was drafted by the Clippers with the 35th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Before the draft, DeAndre was expected to be a mid-first round pick by many around the NBA.
Early years
Jordan was born in Houston, Texas to Kimberly and Hyland Jordan.
In high school, Jordan averaged 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks as a sophomore; 16.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.0 blocks as a junior and 26.1 points, 15.2 rebounds and 8.1 blocks per game as a senior. He was a Parade All-American, named to the first-team All-Greater Houston squad by the Houston Chronicle and was a two-time all-state selection. At Christian Life Center, Jordan posted a career high of 37 points in a game and also set the school record for most blocks in a game with 20.
Coming out of high school, Jordan was rated as the number 8 overall prospect, the number 2 center in the country and the number 1-ranked prep player in Texas by Rivals.com. Jordan was recruited by Florida, Florida State, Indiana, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Kentucky and others.[1]
In the summer of 2007, Jordan played for Team USA at the 2007 Under 19 World Championships in Serbia. Jordan played only 9 minutes per game. The team finished 2nd with an 8–1 record.[2]
College career
Before Jordan arrived in College Station, Aggies head basketball coach Billy Gillispie left the school to take the head coaching position at Kentucky. Jordan chose to honor his commitment to the university.
Jordan started 21 of 35 games in his freshman season at Texas A&M. He averaged 20 minutes and 1.3 blocks per game. In those games, he shot a team-high of 61.7 percent in field goals, but a team-low of 43.7 percent in free throws. Most of his field goals, however, were within a few feet from the basket.[3] He finished the season averaging 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.[4] He made the Big 12 All-Rookie Team for his efforts.[5]After the season, he declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.[6][7]
Prior to the draft, draftexpress.com, a third party NBA draft website, listed Jordan's strengths and weaknesses. A few strengths include "incredible physical specimen", "defensive potential", "incredible upside", and "freakish athlete". Some weaknesses include "not productive", "poor fundamentals", "mediocre footwork", and "high bust potential".[8] The website also projected him to be picked at No. 16 by thePhiladelphia 76ers.[9] Other mock drafts had him projected to be picked at No. 10 by the New Jersey Nets or at No. 11 by the Indiana Pacersdue to his attractive ability to run the floor.[3] ESPN's Chad Ford had him going to the Memphis Grizzlies at pick No. 28 in the first round.
Professional career
In the 2008 NBA Draft, he was selected 35th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Due to injuries among the Clippers' low post players, Jordan was pushed into the starting lineup for the January 19 game against the Timberwolves. In his first game as a starter, he recorded 6 blocks, 10 rebounds, and 8 points in 34 minutes of game play. In the January 21 game against the Lakers, he played for 43 minutes and recorded a career-high of 23 points. This included 10 dunks, which had only been accomplished by two players (Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal) over the past 10 NBA seasons.[14] Despite his performance, both games resulted in losses.
On December 11, 2011, Jordan signed an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors reportedly worth $43 million for 4 years.[16] However, one day later, Clippers decided to match the offer and keep him.[17]
For the 2011–12 NBA season, Jordan changed his jersey number from 9 to 6.[18] On December 25, 2011, Jordan recorded a career high 8 blocks against the Golden State Warriors in an opening day 105–86 victory.
During the 2012–13 NBA season, Jordan's free throw percentage dropped from 52.5% to 38.6%, which was one of his career worsts. However, he led the league in field goal percentage, shooting 64.3%. This was his first season playing all 82 games.
In 2013, Jordan was selected to Team USA's minicamp in Las Vegas.[19] On November 29, 2013, Jordan recorded a career high 9 blocks in the 104-98 victory against the Sacramento Kings. On January 3, 2014, Jordan scored a career-high 25 points in a 119-112 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.
Personal life
Jordan is a Christian. Jordan prays frequently and has spoken about his faith saying, "... I know my relationship with Christ, and I know what He has done for me, and that is what I live on."[20]Jordan has a tattoo of Matthew 5:4-5 on his chest,[21] a Christian cross on his left arm,[22] the Serenity Prayer and his own message saying "I thank God for the gift that he has given me. I will honor, sacrifice, and dedicate myself to my talent. I know where I have come from but I know where I am going" on his right arm, and Philippians 4:13 and praying hands with G.W.O.M (God Watch Over Me) on his stomach.
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