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Illinois Basketball: Aaron Jordan past, present and future

By Rees Woodcock

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball tournament between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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There were more than a few mysteries on the Illinois basketball team with the previous coaching regime. One of the mysteries was the decline of guard Aaron Jordan.

Past

Jordan was a solid get for the Illini from the class of 2015. He was rated as a four-star shooting guard who was ranked as the No. 101 player in the class and the No. 30 shooting guard in the nation. This kid was highly recruited as well.

During the recruitment process, Jordan had scholarship offers from teams like Wisconsin, Xavier, Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana and Butler. He was a wanted player but Illinois came out on top. He was supposed to cap off a talented class that was coming into the program.

Things haven’t quite worked out that way for Jordan, though. During his freshman season, he played 11.8 minutes per game and in that time averaged 3.4 points. Those freshman numbers are expected. But, he was supposed to continue progressing as a player. That is where things went off the rails. Last season, he only received 6.9 minutes per game and averaged 1 point and 1.1 rebounds in that time.

I still say the previous coaching regime didn’t use Jordan right. This kid has talent and he should be able to show it off this season.

Present

Everything is earned, nothing is given. Jordan knows this and he will have to fight for minutes the next two seasons in Champaign. Illinois has a solid stable of guards this year with Te’Jon Lucas, Trent Frazier, Mark Smith, Da’Monte Williams and Mark Alstork. But, I think there could be room backing up Alstork at the No. 3 spot.

Jordan is going to have to show he can play to be able to get minutes. I think he will do that in the offseason and then, gradually, he will get an increase in minutes as the season goes on. I expect him to average somewhere in the ballpark of 10-14 minutes per game this season.

Next: Position evaluations midway through the 2017 season

Future

Depending on what happens in the present will dictate what happens in the future. Jordan has a chance to see 10-14 minutes per game this season and he could shine. That would help his career and the team now and into the future.

Heading into his senior season, Jordan will probably see the same amount of minutes he is seeing this year. Alstork will have departed but, in all likelihood, Illinois will receive a talented guard from the class of 2018 who will jump ahead of Jordan.

But, Jordan will still see 10-15 minutes per game his senior season. Those are some solid minutes and I can’t wait to see his career get back on track.

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