Size 15 Nike Air Jordans.<\/p>\n
Marcus Jordan, son of you-know-who, may not want to be like Mike (\u201cI just want to be me,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI love who I am. I wouldn\u2019t want to be anybody else.\u2019\u2019), but heir Jordan is reminded of the burden that comes with legacy every time he laces \u2019em up and sees his father\u2019s famous No. 23 on the heel.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t think about it,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI don\u2019t talk to the logo.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Marcus, who was just a little kid when Michael Jordan was winning six NBA championships in the 1990s and five NBA MVPs, insists the pressure doesn\u2019t faze him.<\/p>\n
In fact, he embraces it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just motivation to me,\u2019\u2019 said the 6-foot-3-inch, bespectacled Marcus, who turns 20 Christmas Eve. \u201cYou just kind of get used to it. When I was younger, there was a lot more pressure. Me thinking that I had to live up to expectations and blah, blah, blah, blah. People say, \u2018You\u2019re not gonna be your dad. You can\u2019t live up to that.\u2019 Stuff like that. I just never let it get to me. I let my game speak. But now I\u2019m at the point where you either like my game or you don\u2019t.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Inspired by some taunting he was receiving in a game at Stetson last month, Jordan delivered a message with a rim-shaking, thunder ous dunk that would make his father proud.<\/p>\n
Said first-year UCF coach Donnie Jones, \u201cThey were saying some cruel stuff. They said a lot of hurtful things. But you know what? I was impressed by the way he responded.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a little ticked off,\u2019\u2019 Jordan acknowledged. \u201cThe fans were saying stuff. I heard \u2019em on the free throw line. So when I got that opportunity to get that steal and dunk it just sent a wave through our team.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Marcus then saluted toward the crowd, earning a technical foul. He says he was actually saluting his older brother, Jeff, who transferred to UCF and is ineligible this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just like an exclamation point,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, he was back on ESPN\u2019s \u201cSportsCenter,\u2019\u2019 when he switched hands in midair to complete a lefty layup against Florida \u2014 shades of Michael in Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals against the Lakers.<\/p>\n
He says imitating one of his father\u2019s greatest hits wasn\u2019t planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went into the lane and I could feel the defender behind me, so I just switched hands to get it off the glass,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The move didn\u2019t go unnoticed by Dad.<\/p>\n
Oh yeah, he saw it. He was watching it on TV. He didn\u2019t say anything about it. He just said, overall I had a good game. He didn\u2019t pick out any specifics.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Great characteristics<\/em><\/p>\n So now the media spotlight shines on 24th-ranked and undefeated Central Florida (10-0), which plays UMass (6-3) tonight at Mullins Center.<\/p>\n Through eight games, Jordan was the Knights\u2019 leading scorer. But now other teams are targeting him.<\/p>\n Louisiana Lafayette, knowing Jordan has added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, smothered him, forcing him to pass more. He is still second in scoring, averaging 16 points a game, but is battling a sprained ankle.<\/p>\n Jones says Jordan has experience well beyond his years.<\/p>\n \u201cHis strength is obviously the characteristics he gets from his father, his competitive nature, his focus, his toughness, his ability to understand how to compete and win,\u2019\u2019 said Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought his weakness when I arrived here was just his work ethic. His conditioning was very poor.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Jordan blames that on a knee injury that slowed him down last season.<\/p>\n Jones, who was an assistant at the University of Florida before spending three seasons as Marshall\u2019s head coach, has experience with famous sons of athletes. He has coached Joakim Noah (son of tennis star Yannick), Taurean Green (son of Sidney), and Al Horford (son of Tito).<\/p>\n He placed Jordan on an aggressive program of suicide drills, weightlifting, and jump shots (500-1,000 a day in the summer).<\/p>\n The suicide drills were killer.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had to run eight suicides in eight minutes,\u2019\u2019 said Jordan. \u201cYou would have to make it in 33 seconds, so you would get the 27 seconds to rest. If you missed one, he would add one on. I mean it was rough to begin with. But now I\u2019m quicker, faster, more athletic.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n That bodes well for up-and-coming UCF, which is trying to prove that it\u2019s no Mickey Mouse program. The Knights upset No. 16 Florida Dec. 1, just the second win for UCF against a ranked team.<\/p>\n Making his own name<\/em><\/p>\n Jordan led Whitney Young to an Illinois state championship his senior year. He was recruited by schools with bigger reputations such as Stanford, but his childhood friend and teammate at UCF, A.J. Rompza, sold him on the program.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also going to get the chance to play with his brother next season. Jeff transferred from Illinois and is sitting out this season, per NCAA rules.<\/p>\n Marcus is rated higher by scouts, but Jeff took more heat for being a Jordan.<\/p>\n \u201cJeff definitely got the worst of it,\u2019\u2019 said Marcus. \u201cI could just sit back because I was younger. When I got to high school, when it started to blow up, I knew how to handle it.\u2019<\/p>\n Rompza, the point guard, says Marcus Jordan has an inner peace.<\/p>\n \u201cAs much of the crap people talk about him, that he has it easy, he\u2019s spoiled, I don\u2019t think people understand how humble he is,\u2019\u2019 said Rompza. \u201cMarcus doesn\u2019t do it for his dad or mom, he does it because it makes him happy. His dad has always been there for him but never has told him do this or do that. His dad never pushed him in any way.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n One thing is clear. He is no Michael Jordan, but neither is anyone else.<\/p>\n He plays his game below the rim, more aggressive than his father, more Locomotive Jordan than Air Jordan.<\/p>\n Sometimes his tongue hangs out a bit \u2014 he\u2019s unaware of it \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t waggle like his father\u2019s.<\/p>\n But he did play against his dad for fun.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was definitely very competitive,\u2019\u2019 said Marcus. \u201cThere might have been a couple of high elbows or two. I\u2019d beat him now. I\u2019m sure. He\u2019s a little older now, he can\u2019t really move like he used to.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Fatherly advice?<\/em><\/p>\n Michael Jordan, who owns the NBA\u2019s Charlotte Bobcats, watches every game, sometimes in person, but mostly on TV.<\/p>\n He says, \u201cJust to go out and play my game,\u2019 \u2019\u2019 Marcus said. \u201cDon\u2019t go out and try to play a game that I don\u2019t normally do, just play with confidence.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n He also made an appearance at a Knights practice, but he never interferes with the team, said Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said this is where great teams are built, right here in the arena in practice, hard work in practice,\u2019\u2019 said Marcus about his father\u2019s advice. \u201cGet better, trust in your teammates. It\u2019s about what you do every day.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Marcus says he wants to play in the NBA. Bulls, Bobcats, he doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever writes the check,\u2019\u2019 he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s in the future, and he\u2019s a bit of a long shot. But don\u2019t count Marcus out, especially with his special tutor giving advice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big thing with him was sometimes he said I need to stop, pull up, and take jump shots instead of taking it to the rim against bigger teams,\u2019\u2019 Marcus said.<\/p>\n Marcus said he\u2019s proud of his last name.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely has its perks, but it definitely has its downside, too,\u2019\u2019 Marcus said. \u201cThe perks are the shoes and the clothes, definitely. The downside is you always have to think about what you are doing because you\u2019re always being watched. It just becomes second nature. \u2019\u2019<\/p>\n For heroes, he keeps it all in the family.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom and dad, definitely. My dad for his work ethic, and just how he always sets goals for himself and then he goes out and achieves them. My mom for just being the strong woman she is.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n He says hardly a day goes by without questions about his famous father.<\/p>\n He remembers hanging out in locker rooms as a kid while Bulls players poured champagne over his head in celebration.<\/p>\n He also remembers it burning his eyes and making him cry.<\/p>\n Some of his birthday presents were great, others inappropriate. For his seventh birthday, Dennis Rodman gave him a can of red hair dye.<\/p>\n So, what is something nobody knows about one of the most recognizable names on the planet?<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a good question,\u2019\u2019 said the son, rubbing his chin. Then he smiles.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, he hates snakes.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Source: The Boston Globe, Heir Style, by Stan Grossfeld. Mr. Grossfeld can be reached at grossfeld@globe.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Size 15 Nike Air Jordans. Marcus Jordan, son of you-know-who, may not want to be like Mike (\u201cI just want to be me,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI love who I am. I wouldn\u2019t want to be anybody else.\u2019\u2019), but heir Jordan is reminded of the burden that comes with legacy every time he laces \u2019em up and sees his father\u2019s famous…","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[423,2439,2957,3127],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-19057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","tag-basketball","tag-jeff-jordan","tag-marcus-jordan","tag-michael-jordan"],"yoast_head":"\n