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I've probably never been as proud of a Vol player as him. To recap.
Freshman year: He's a highly talented player that's all about himself. He doesn't play with the team, he doesn't want to play defense. He just wants to dunk and shoot 3's. He gets suspended doing something stupid, and I thought he'd transferred when Martin got here. I thought it was a waste.
Sophomore year: He's a nice player, but he's not willing to do the extra work. He wants to just play offense. He gets blown by on defense, but doesn't care. He takes stupid shots, ruins the offensive rhythm. However, he shows [passion and love of his team. He is always the first one off the bench to congratulate a player for a good play, no matter how he is doing. He has big scoring games. He comes off the bench without complaining, filling the sixth man role the Vols needed. There are signs, but you just weren't sure.
Junior year: A completely different player. He goes hard on defense, with big time steals and huge weakside blocks. He goes to rebound with a passion offensively and defensively. He completely changes his game. Instead of just a catch and shoot player who's dangerous in transition, he becomes a scoring maestro with the ability to score in any which way: Off screens, mid-range, finishing in traffic, left handed. He vastly improves his shooting selection. He isn't the best defender, but he plays hard on every possession. He's shown passing ability. And when Golden went down, and the team needed a PG, he did it without complaining knowing that would hurt his numbers. When the team was left for dead, Jordan became the leader. He started talking more, yelling more, staring at opposing players defiantly, giving his team confidence and swagger that they didn't have. And he plays almost every minute, never tiring. He's a complete player, somebody who should win the SEC Player of the Year.
Jordan has been an incredible presence for this program. I can't believe he's transformed like this. I'm so glad he's a Vol and he's going to be great in whatever he decides to do in life. No matter how this season plays out, when people asking me about the 2012-2013 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, I will simply say "It was Jordan McRae's world."
Freshman year: He's a highly talented player that's all about himself. He doesn't play with the team, he doesn't want to play defense. He just wants to dunk and shoot 3's. He gets suspended doing something stupid, and I thought he'd transferred when Martin got here. I thought it was a waste.
Sophomore year: He's a nice player, but he's not willing to do the extra work. He wants to just play offense. He gets blown by on defense, but doesn't care. He takes stupid shots, ruins the offensive rhythm. However, he shows [passion and love of his team. He is always the first one off the bench to congratulate a player for a good play, no matter how he is doing. He has big scoring games. He comes off the bench without complaining, filling the sixth man role the Vols needed. There are signs, but you just weren't sure.
Junior year: A completely different player. He goes hard on defense, with big time steals and huge weakside blocks. He goes to rebound with a passion offensively and defensively. He completely changes his game. Instead of just a catch and shoot player who's dangerous in transition, he becomes a scoring maestro with the ability to score in any which way: Off screens, mid-range, finishing in traffic, left handed. He vastly improves his shooting selection. He isn't the best defender, but he plays hard on every possession. He's shown passing ability. And when Golden went down, and the team needed a PG, he did it without complaining knowing that would hurt his numbers. When the team was left for dead, Jordan became the leader. He started talking more, yelling more, staring at opposing players defiantly, giving his team confidence and swagger that they didn't have. And he plays almost every minute, never tiring. He's a complete player, somebody who should win the SEC Player of the Year.
Jordan has been an incredible presence for this program. I can't believe he's transformed like this. I'm so glad he's a Vol and he's going to be great in whatever he decides to do in life. No matter how this season plays out, when people asking me about the 2012-2013 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, I will simply say "It was Jordan McRae's world."
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