The Dagger - NCAAB

The Dagger

Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:07 pm EDT

Michael Jordan's son Marcus chooses ... Central Florida?

By Eamonn Brennan

A certain amount of pressure comes with being an athlete's child. You're supposed to be just as good as pops (or mom) was, or even better, and if you're not, people wonder what went wrong. It's a tough life. Then again, if you're a former pro athlete's child, you're probably mind-blowingly wealthy, so the pity only goes so far.

Such is the case for Michael Jordan's sons, Jeffrey and Marcus. It is utterly impossible that they'll be as good as their father. Their father was the best basketball player of all time. They aren't. Instead, they're merely good: good enough to play in college, but not good enough to do much more than that.

It is with that context that the announcement of Marcus Jordan's collegiate choice -- the University of Central Florida -- came Monday. Many might see Jordan's name and wonder why he's not going to a premier school. Strategically, it's actually a pretty smart move. He was being recruited by a host of good programs, but nowhere truly "elite". A strong year at UCF could set him up for a Seth Curry-esque transfer to one of the big boys that might not have considered him straight out of high school. There are options here.

Anyway, such is the nature of being Michael Jordan's son. Marcus may never be as good as his father, but how many kids get college scholarships to play basketball? Not too shabby, when you really think about it.

Related: C-USA Basketball

digg delicious
more

4633 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. nateb72
    1. Posted by nateb72 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:34 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Hey, Michael got cut from his high school team as a sophomore, and then he turned out OK...You never know what Marcus might do. At the very least, he is still young with a lot of potential.
  2. Jamie Mottram
    2. Posted by Jamie Mottram Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:28 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    What's up with the goggles?
  3. Justin W
    3. Posted by Justin W Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I wrote up a piece on Marcus for SLAM recently. Good to see the Dagger show a little love. Also, when it comes to Marcus, you have to think of how the recruiting experience was for him, as well as what kind of person he is. He had some nicer offers actually, but they were in drab, boring places for him. UCF was a beautiful campus and just fit his personality. He may do a Curry-esque transfer... Or he could just enjoy his college career. For posterity's sake, here's the piece on Marcus, as well as the short mix we did on his play recently. http://slamonline.com/online/media/slam-tv/2009/03/video-marcus-jordan-at-nike-extravaganza/
  4. Tim F
    4. Posted by Tim F Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:10 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Will never compare to his father..... will always be in the shadow
  5. Ernest
    5. Posted by Ernest Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:59 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Michael Jordan's son needs a scholarship? Can't his father afford school?
  6. aarpops
    6. Posted by aarpops Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:43 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    is mj on a tight budget? contacts arent that much
  7. White Squirrel
    7. Posted by White Squirrel Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    they make contacts...it is 2009
  8. ron
    8. Posted by ron Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:49 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Glad to see that some one who really needs a scholarship is getting one.I wonder how many other UCF students will make national headlines. Still suprised that he is not going to be wearing Carolina Blue.
  9. Jesse W
    9. Posted by Jesse W Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    sucks
  10. Retrobush
    10. Posted by Retrobush Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:38 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    mike jordan is ok but not good like mateen cleeves
  11. Mr.Twitter
    11. Posted by Mr.Twitter Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    It's nice that Michaels kids only make the news with positive stories & accomplishment.
  12. Your Highness
    12. Posted by Your Highness Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:25 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    CB , your googles piece was hilarious. I was trying to see some dominant Mike and Juanita genes in him, but I kept seeing Horace Grant LMAO!
  13. sgtboat
    13. Posted by sgtboat Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:14 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    He should turn down the scholarship.
    MegaRich people should not get scholarships.
    Those should be reserved for the players that cant afford to go.
    MJ's son would have 0 problems paying for any school in the world.
    All he did, to me, was take a spot away from someone who couldnt afford to go to school otherwise.
    SHAME ON HIM for not paying his own way.
  14. migs m
    14. Posted by migs m Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:03 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    gotta love the old school RecSpecs... Respect the specs!
  15. Jesse W
    15. Posted by Jesse W Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    is that bruce falanche
  16. kris
    16. Posted by kris Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:40 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Rock on Aquaman!
  17. Rhymo
    17. Posted by Rhymo Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:04 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Hey, I would choose a scholarship at a smaller school in this day and age so I could graduate (depending on what major) even though we all know his dad has tons of money. Plus you never know when a smaller school could be a cinderella, he has a better chance of making an impact with a smaller program so who knows, maybe he could help turn it around. As long as he felt like he made the right decision I have no problem with it.
  18. BigSixConSpiRacY
    18. Posted by BigSixConSpiRacY Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Take that you CUSA haters
  19. ZESTRO!
    19. Posted by ZESTRO! Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:00 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Booo!!!!
  20. Hector T
    20. Posted by Hector T Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:17 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Go marcus show the world ,good luck and thank u foe coming to ucf looking forward to seeing play
  21. Billy The Kid
    21. Posted by Billy The Kid Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:16 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I actually like this move, I saw some flashes of potential from Marcus in the high school championship 4A game. I think he could be good at UCF, then transfer elsewhere. Smart move
  22. Air J
    22. Posted by Air J Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:43 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    hes better than that scrubby older brother who walked on at illinois
  23. joocky1
    23. Posted by joocky1 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:40 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Michael Jordan's drive didn't come from being the best but playing the best. He would tell you that his brother Larry was way better than he was but Larry pushed him to find out how good Michael could be. Maybe that is what MJ is doing for his boys by telling them to not let anyone decide how good they can be but simply being the best they could be. Worked out pretty well for THE BEST player to ever play the game!
  24. Max
    24. Posted by Max Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:12 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    You forgot to mention that AJ Rompza, his best friend from high school players here at UCF, I go to UCF and this school is going crazy that we got him. We just lost Jermaine Taylor, C-USA player of the year, and we needed a big name to put our school on the map. This is a great improvement and I dont think he will leave like Seth Curry did. He'll stay and have a great 4 years.
  25. Big $$
    25. Posted by Big $$ Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:56 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Hillarious CB !!!

The Dagger

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Jeff Eisenberg

The Dagger is a college basketball blog edited by Jeff Eisenberg. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Contributors:
Chris Chase, Matt Norlander,

Related Photo Gallery

More NCAAB Photos »

Featured NCAAB Video

More Videos »

Y! Sports Blogs

The Dagger Recent Readers

(provided by MyBlogLog)