Stone looking to be rock-solid on and off the court
When you look out on the court during the 2011-12 men’s basketball season, you might notice a few differences from the past season. That tends to happen when a program graduates six seniors. One big difference will be the 6-foot-11, 250-pound frame of Sky View High School product Jordan Stone.
Stone just returned from the New York, New York North Mission and will be looking to build upon a stellar high school career. Stone didn’t always want to play basketball, however, and he surely didn’t plan on basketball paying for his college degree.
Stone grew up loving baseball. It was all that mattered in life. Despite his size, which was above average for most kids his age, he didn’t find any interest in the game of basketball. All of that changed when a friend invited him to play. That day would change Stone’s future for the better, including a full-ride scholarship to play basketball at Utah State University.
Stone, along with everyone who has had a chance to associate with him on the basketball court, knows he is full of raw talent. He may be behind the other guys in terms of skill, but in a system where hard work ethic and high character are weighed heavily, Stone seems to have a bright future.
“He works so hard and he understands the value and commitment involved with working hard, and he also understands the payoffs,” said Stone’s high school head coach Terrell Baldwin. “I think that’s the best way to describe Jordan Stone.”
By the time most basketball players reach their freshman year, most of them have been playing basketball for four or more years. That was not the case for Stone, who didn’t start playing organized basketball until eighth grade.
“I remember seeing Jordan Stone the first time at youth basketball at Sky View,” Baldwin said. “He was a really raw player. Obviously he had some size but he was really young in the game and really raw. The first time I saw him play, we as coaches thought this kid has some real potential. Fortunately we were able to have the opportunity to work with Jordan for a few years and see him develop that potential. He’s still got some untapped potential and he’s going to get better.”
Baldwin’s opportunity to work with Stone may have been more essential to Stone’s success that he realized at the time. The summer between his freshman and sophomore year, Stone began to contemplate whether to continue playing basketball.
“He seemed like my best friend when I was playing for him,” Stone said of his former coach. “I still respected him as a coach, but I still knew he was my friend and he cared for me. That was one thing that made a huge difference when I was still trying to decide my sophomore year to play. He was just a cool guy. He took me in. My whole time in high school it seemed like it was the right choice to play for him.”
As a junior and senior, Stone blossomed. He averaged 15 points per game as a junior and 18 points per game as a senior. During his senior year he only failed to reach double figure scoring four times and registered six 20-plus-point performances, including two 30-point games and a 40-point game. Despite his offensive capabilities, Baldwin said it was his defensive ability that had the most impact.
“Obviously his size was a real factor,” Baldwin said. “He just created some real problems for other teams offensively because of what he could do defensively. When he was at his best, he was playing really aggressive and being a dominating force on the floor.”
Stone’s size is what stood out to Aggie head coach Stew Morrill when he offered Stone a full ride scholarship as a junior.
“I like Jordan Stone a lot, physically, and I think he is raw in terms of his skill level,” Morrill said. “I think he is a developmental guy, and how those guys come a long is really hard to say. We knew when we signed him that he was a big developmental guy and we are excited about his potential, but right now that is just what it is.”
Stone knows his work is cut out for him, not to mention that added pressure of filling the shoes of the departed seniors.
“Starting late I wouldn’t say my skill level is as high as everyone else’s at the college level, but I’m going to work hard get up there and that’s how it’s going to happen,” Stone said. “I know I have to work hard, harder than anything. It seems like a privilege to keep playing with Tai (Wesley) right now to pick up some things from him. Just trying to fill big shoes, there’s always that pressure.”
Despite Stone’s basketball ability, Baldwin attests that there is something else that ascends his basketball skills.
“Jordan Stone, as good of a player as he is, he’s even a better person.” Baldwin said. “I don’t think anyone understands how great of a person he is, and it’s obviously a reflection on his family. He’s a seven-footer and his heart is about that big as well. He’s a real tender-hearted kid. He’s real unselfish. He loves to see other kids have success and sometimes he’s almost too unselfish.”
Those characteristics bode well when playing for a veteran coach who examines character first and skills second.
Due to Stone’s lack of experience, it remains uncertain as to how soon he will develop his game to the Division-I level and make an impact on the team.
“He hasn’t played or practiced at the Division-I level. It is hard to project how quickly he will come along,” Morrill said. “He has got to improve his skill level, his feel for the game and those kinds of things.”
Stone will not be alone in his development efforts however, as he learns from a coaching staff that developed former players Spencer Nelson, Nate Harris and Tai Wesley.
“He’s going to be playing for a great program with a great coaching staff that knows how to develop big men, and I look for great things to come out of Jordan Stone the next few years,” Baldwin said. “He’s a great kid and he’s going to be a very solid basketball player in the next few years for Utah State. We haven’t seen Jordan Stone’s best basketball. We’ll see his best basketball in the next few years.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu