For Jordan McLaughlin, Humility Breeds Success
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Jordan McLaughlin will make a name for himself at USC, starting next fall. (Sean Burch/Neon Tommy)
This isn’t unusual for McLaughlin. When you're the No. 3 senior basketball prospect in the state of California (according to ESPN), you spend a lot of your time in the gym.
“In order to be good or great, you’ve got to put in the work,” says the point guard from Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Two-hour morning workouts have become routine for McLaughlin, who stands a lanky 6 feet tall and sports a modest afro reminiscent of a young Kobe Bryant. After his team practices in the afternoon, McLaughlin will stick around for another hour or two to work on “a little bit of everything,” from agility drills to defensive slides to midrange jump shots.
On the court, McLaughlin molds his game after the relentless and explosive nature of his favorite player, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose.
Yet what is striking about McLaughlin, or “J-Mac” as his friends and family call him, is how mild-mannered he is for a basketball phenom. Carrying two chairs to the court for his interview, he flashes a giant smile, with his braces serving as a reminder he’s still only 17 years old.
“My family taught me to be humble and generous,” says McLaughlin of his father Thomas, a store manager for T.J. Maxx, and his mother, Lisa, a hair stylist. He says his older sisters, Amber and Whitney, and younger sister Dominique also help keep him grounded.
McLaughlin’s combination of commitment and talent made him the top-ranked point guard on the West Coast, and the target of nearly every college basketball coach in the country.
“It’s fun, but very stressful,” says McLaughlin of his recruiting process. “They call you a lot, and they text you a lot because they want to know where they stand.”
While his final four choices included national powerhouses UCLA, Kansas and Indiana, McLaughlin decided to attend USC next fall, a school better known for football than hoops.
McLaughlin credits the professional background of the Trojans coaching staff, led by Andy Enfield, and the team’s new up-tempo offense for his decision to sign his letter of intent in early November.
“Coach Enfield’s style of play fits me perfectly,” says McLaughlin. “He wants to get up-and-down, throw lobs…it fits me well.”
As he talks about his career, McLaughlin consistently hands out praise to his trainers and coaches, always in point guard mode.
Two of his biggest supporters are Cameron and Tracy Murray, who have run McLaughlin’s Amateur Athletic Union team, Prodigy Athletics, for years. The irony of McLaughlin choosing USC isn’t lost on Tracy, a former star at UCLA and in the NBA.
“We have a few battles,” says McLaughlin, as he laughs over the player-coach relationship. “I have a USC backpack, and when I’m training he will always take my bag and hide it and I’ll have to go find it.”
Hanging directly above McLaughlin in the Etiwanda gym is a fresh banner from his team’s trip to the state championship game last winter.
The playoff run was highlighted by a win over Westchester, a Los Angeles basketball staple. Heading into the matchup, the normally even-keeled McLaughlin couldn’t contain his enthusiasm before the game.
“I told one of my assistant coaches I was going for 40 [points],” remembers McLaughlin. “I got hot for a minute, I scored 10 points in the first quarter, 10 in the second…then I got a little cold, but I went for 30. The game was packed and it was pretty exciting.”
For all of his heroics on the court, McLaughlin thinks of himself as any other high school student, a “sneakerhead” who likes to go to the mall with his girlfriend and stresses over keeping his GPA above 3.5.
McLaughlin also does his best to maintain a low profile off the court, avoiding the distractions that come with being a well-known hoops recruit.
“I don’t go to a lot of parties…I’d rather be at practice than doing something like that, honestly,” he said.
Although he plans on enjoying the rest of his senior year of high school, McLaughlin admits his focus sometimes wanders to what lies ahead.
“There are points where I’m just sitting in my room alone, tossing the ball up and thinking ‘I can’t wait to be at USC,’” he says.
Reach Staff Writer Sean Burch here.
