Illinois Basketball Player Preview: Aaron Jordan

Player Preview: Aaron Jordan

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior from Plainfield East High School (Plainfield). He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, ranked as high as No. 95 nationally.

What He Did Last Year: Jordan starred in 24 games last season while getting two starts against Southeast Missouri and Northwestern. His numbers significantly dropped off from his freshman year to his sophomore year. His averages of 11.4 minutes per game and 3.3 points per game slid down to just 6.9 minutes per game and only one point per game. Jordan also appeared in 31 games and tallied six starts his rookie year. His season-high of 11 points came against Division II McKendree toward the beginning of the year.

How Does He Fit into Underwood’s System:

Aaron Jordan has his work cut out for him if he wants to make a significant impact on Brad Underwood’s squad. Jordan showed that he has a smooth stroke during his tenure in high school. He set the school record for points in a season with 503 and finished as the school’s leading scorer (1,483 points) and most career threes (162). We have yet to see his percentage of 48 percent from deep translate into his college game. Underwood could certainly put his sharpshooting skills to good use.

What to Expect This Year:

There is a lot of talent at the guard position this year. Highly touted freshman Mark Smith and graduate transfer Mark Alstork give Illinois a nice 1-2 combo of scoring guards. Aaron Jordan will be behind these guys on the depth chart. That being said, someone will have to give these two a breather. That workload will fall on freshman Da’Monte Williams and Jordan. Per some magical, breakout season, Jordan will be expected to provide quality minutes in Underwood’s fast-paced offense. With the improvement of the Illini offense, you can expect some of his averages to go up as well. But Jordan role’s will be to provide quality minutes and not be a liability on defense for Illinois this year.