JESSIEVILLE -- "Old Uncle Jonny." "Mr. Nice Guy." "Big ol' teddy bear."
Jessieville boys basketball coach Eddie Lamb has described his gentle giant in the middle, senior Jonny Jordan, in such terms this year. But with the season winding down, Lamb has noticed a different side to his center.
"He's a senior, and seniors do this," Lamb said. "It's not my first time to see this. Seniors tend to get really emotional, and they play every minute hard. They're playing like it's the last thing they have left."
Jordan hopes he can keep his career alive for at least three more games when the Lions, seeded second from Class 3A-5, face 3A-2 third seed Marianna in the Region 2 tournament at 5:30 p.m. today at Rose Bud (White County).
"Last week, we could've ended it against Glen Rose like we have this week with Marianna Lee," Jordan said. "You just have to take it one game at a time. We had that mindset in my 10th-grade year, and that got us all the way to the state semis."
As a three-year starter, Jordan is certainly no Jonny-come-lately. Already 6-foot-7, 275 pounds in junior high, Jordan had Lamb and Jessieville fans excited about his varsity prospects when he moved up for the 2012-13 season.
The Lions' most experienced player, Jordan as a sophomore was surrounded by four seniors in the starting lineup, three returning starters and the sixth man from the previous season.
"When he was a sophomore and I had Braden (Davis) and Chase (Anderson) and Gage (Cockman) and (Jake) Applegate, (Jordan) was the big man we needed to be successful," Lamb said. "If you noticed back in the state tournament when we made that final-four run, he played all-conference basketball for us. That was important for us to get to that point."
Once the four veterans left, Jordan was called upon to stabilize the program last year, providing leadership in the Lions' run to a regional berth despite a fifth-place conference finish.
"It was certainly a transition," Jordan said. "It was a pretty big one at that, definitely difficult. I guess I was almost immature about all the winning atmosphere. I came to be almost expecting a winning atmosphere and not really having one. It was pretty rough and challenging, but it definitely didn't deter anything for me. I knew it was going to be difficult because we had a really young team last year. ... It was just a transition. Not too bad, not too good."
The Lions (21-8) feature three new starters, all for the better, but Lamb is also very glad to have his returnees, especially with junior guard Hunter Daley averaging more than 20 points per game. Jordan welcomes a return of the chemistry he enjoyed while playing with the class of 2013.
"This has probably been the easiest of my seasons because unlike my 10th-grade year, I came into this situation where I had known the guys forever, but I hadn't played with them yet," Jordan said. "There was bickering (last year) because they didn't really know how to play on that level yet. With the chemistry I built with the younger guys last year, I just tried to be good to them and make sure it was good for everybody this year."
Jordan showed resiliency in one elimination game this year, recording 15 points on seven-of-nine floor shooting in a 58-35 victory over Glen Rose in the 3A-5 quarterfinals at Haskell Harmony Grove. He also headed Jessieville's defense in not allowing a double-digit scorer in the Lions'42-36 loss to defending state champion Episcopal Collegiate in Saturday's district final.
"The phrase 'sense of urgency' comes to mind," Jordan said. "Just knowing that it might be your very last game is hard to come to grips with. I just remember playing my sophomore year, I was the only sophomore who touched the court, even over seniors. Just watching that fire every game, like this could be our last and we're going to give it everything we've got, that's what I have to give. I'm just glad I've developed the fire in me like they had."
While Jordan's offensive numbers haven't improved much, he became a defensive menace with more than two blocks per game.
"People who really don't know me that well wouldn't notice, but I've lost a drastic amount of weight," Jordan said. "Before football season, I'd say I was up around 335 pounds. That's the body of a D1 football player. I'm down right now to about 285, dropping 50 pounds. That's given me some extra athleticism. This is the first year I've actually been able to dunk."
His offseason defensive work was apparent right from the start, preserving a 54-49 victory over Class 1A power Kirby. Jessieville clung to a 50-49 lead when a Jordan block sent Carson Smith to the floor from its force; the officials ruled it clean and Kirby coach Marty Smith, the fallen player's father, received a technical foul.
Setting the tone for a season of rejection, Jordan had five blocks in that game (career high is seven). On the other hand, the big man has proven hard to reject both on and off the court. He took advantage of halftime of the girls game in last year's regular-season finale -- on Valentine's Day -- to ask out his date to prom in the middle of the court (she said yes).
"A lot of people who don't know me would assume that I'm more of a gruffer guy. I've got the facial hair going most of the year, and I'm bigger," Jordan said. "But you can ask any team, whether it's Mayflower or Episcopal, I'm a pretty likable guy on the court. I think that's where the popularity comes from in the student body. I'm just a likable guy. I won't go out of my way not to talk to anybody."
Jordan hopes high-scoring Marianna doesn't reject his ambitions of reaching next week's state tournament at Cossatot River High School in western Arkansas. The Lions avoid nemesis Harding Academy in the first round, Harding ending their season the last three years (twice in regional openers).
"They're not really big, and that's a good thing for us because we are a little bit big," said Lamb of Marianna. "If we can beat the press, get the ball down the floor and rebound well, then we're going to have a good opportunity to win that ballgame."
Jessieville's girls, also seeded second from 3A-5, draw Rose Bud at 4 p.m. today. For the first time since moving up to 3A during the 2008-09 season, the Lady Lions (19-8) are not a No. 1 seed.
"We've just got to get off the bus with the right mindset," Jessieville coach Matt Carter said. "Any time you're playing at somebody's place, that's always tough. It's like a road game. They're going to be very excited about playing us, so we're going to have be extremely prepared with our minds."
The Lady Lions open region with Rose Bud for the third consecutive season. They pounded the Lady Ramblers 66-33 in 2013 and won last year's matchup 43-34.
Led by sophomore post Kellie Lampo, Jessieville relies on its defense to frustrate its opponents. The Lady Lions and league champion Perryville displayed their defenses in each contest despite the Lady Mustangs winning all three, 36-33 in Saturday's district final.
Now Jessieville has to take that stifling defense on the road.
Sports on 02/27/2015