Isaac Babcock
The Voice
Marcus Jordan, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound son of NBA-great Michael Jordan, has signed to play for the University of Central Florida next season.
The Chicago Whitney Young guard will be rejoining teammate A.J. Rompza when he joins the squad. The two had played together in high school in Illinois, where Jordan leads his team in scoring.
Rompza just finished his first season on the Knights, garnering Conference USA All-Freshman team honors.
Now he'll join forces with his old teammate, after a signing April 8 sealed the deal, and gave UCF's basketball team one of the greatest recruiting coups in its history. The program is also closing in on signing nationally prominent Chicago player Nik Garcia. The team has already signed Keith Clanton and R.J. Scott, making for one of the best recruiting classes in the history of the program.
Michael Jordan's youngest son visited UCF's campus a few weeks ago before making his final decision. He committed to the school verbally April 6, the day his legendary father was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
His older brother, Jeff, already plays in the NCAA, at the University of Illinois. He had been accepted as a preferred walk-on at that school, but was later given a full scholarship.
Marcus Jordan's choice of UCF could be a boon for the school's push for national exposure. When Jeff Jordan joined the University of Illinois, his school's games were broadcast nationwide.
But the youngest Jordan had already received his share of national attention in 2007 when he dropped a soaring layup into the basket at the Amateur Athletic Union's national championship game to win in overtime. He led his high school team to a state championship last season, and was voted MVP for the game.
Now he'll get a chance for more prominence on a new stage. Marcus Jordan attributed his choice to move far from home to wanting to make an impact on a team and be comfortable with his school. He had also been considering the University of Iowa, University of Toledo and Davidson College.
His father has said that he will not pursue coaching at UCF, despite his legendary status in the basketball world.
