The season may be over but it is time to look toward building the Seminoles' basketball future.
As the national signing period approaches, I will feature a few players of interest to Florida State. Some may be seriously considering us, others may simply have us on their list.
To start things off...let's take a look at Marcus Jordan. Yes, he is related to His Airness.
Ever heard of Michael Jordan? Well, let me introduce to his son, Marcus Jordan a 6'3 180lbs shooting guard who recently led his Whitney Young High School Dolphins to the Illinois State Championship.
The schools that are currently listed on Marcus's list include the following: Florida State, Miami, LSU, Davidson, Toledo, Iowa State, Nebraska, Iowa, Penn State, Rice, Toledo, Wright State and Virginia Commonwealth. The first five are the only ones listed on his ESPN profile. The only overlaps between his ESPN profile and his Scout profile are Miami and Florida State. He currently has offers from Iowa St, Nebraska, Miami, Penn State, Rice, Toledo, VCU and Wright State.
Rivals, who I don't think does such as good a job with basketball as it does with football, has him interested in Miami, Florida, Iowa, Michigan State and Wright State, with an offer from Miami. It is true that Miami provided him an offer. However, Marcus has explicitly stated he is not interested in Illinois as he doesn't want to "trespass" on his brother's school. Jeffery Jordan is a guard for the Illini.
Jordan is currently ranked as the 61st Shooting guard by ESPN.com and scores an 87 with Scouts.com. Jordan is described as an intense player who has excellent athleticism and leaping ability. The added twist is that Jordan is a lefty who loves to drive to the basket. One concern that has been expressed is his shooting technique, demonstrating a low release point. In the articles I have read, it seems that Marcus has spent a lot of time on his shot and is constantly demonstrating improvement. Many articles comment on his strength and his tenacity on the defensive end of the court.
This past weekend, Marcuse led his team to the Illinois Class 4A Championship, scoring 19 points, hitting 4 free throws down the stretch and pulling down two defensive rebounds down the stretch to seal the 69-66 victory over Waukegan.
Photo from Chicago Tribune
Here are some clips of Marcus:
Midstatehoops.com This video shows his athletic ability as well as his ability to score with his right hand around the rim.
Oneent I think shows his strength and quickness very well. He's super quick as he turns the corner off the screen.
Ballislife.com I think this really shows his explosive ability and shows a couple of different angles on his jump shot. He does have a low release point but that could easily be corrected.
AAU National Chamionships Buzzer Beater Marcus is wearing number 3 and has the yellow head band on.
Sorry about this but could only embed it:
Find more videos like this on PrepTicket
A nice article from the Local Media.
So what are the upsides? Marcus is currently listed as a shooting guard, but I think he has the body type and skill set to be a true point guard in college. He is aggressive and has excellent athletic ability. He doesn't quit on either end of the court and most of the stories I have read talk about his tenacity on defense. Clearly, he already has the best mentor in the game. Marcus fits the mold of Leonard Hamilton type player. I wish I had more statistical data to back all of this up and I'm trying to find more on Marcus's stats. In his AAU league, he averaged over 10 points a game. He had a number of games with 3+ steals and also had a game with double digit rebounds.
Marcus may not have had the press that a Michael Snaer or Chris Singleton had coming out of high school, but I think he could really contribute to our team. Of the potential players that are interested in Florida State, Marcus is certainly someone who could immediately make an impact at a position in need. Position in need you ask, we have tons of guards, what are you talking about TC? Who is our point guard next year? I think Michael Snaer is going to play the 2. Dulkys is not a point guard. Kitchen...eh? I love the kid but he's not our point guard. Loucks is a great basketball player but doesn't fit my mold for a true point guard. Pierre Jordan...yes he is still on the team. Demercy is a better 3 than a 2, plus he's 6'7. It's a huge load to carry but I think Marcus Jordan is a sleeper recruit could have the skill set necessary to run the point for this team.
There are a couple of excellent players who are reportedly considering Florida State: Latavious Williams (6'8 Power Forward Kingsville,TX) and Kyryl Natyazhko (6'10 Center Bradenton, FL) Remember, all of these names are simply speculation and the correlation between various sites is not as good as it is for football.
But if he is the remaining guard who might be interested in our program, wouldn't this look nice:
