HEIR JORDAN?

Martin Bell

July 08, 2002

There was Jordan driving the lane, then coolly sinking a jumper while hanging in midair. But this was neither Chicago Stadium nor the MCI Center. This was the Wooddale High gymnasium in Memphis on June 24, and that was Jeffrey Michael Jordan, elder son of You Know Who, playing in the AAU 13-and-under national tournament. The Air apparent, a 13-year-old, 5'9" swingman, debuted with a 13-point game as his Deerfield (III.) Rising Stars fell 71-51 to Virginia's Prince William Pacers. Jeffrey (whose 11-year-old brother, Marcus, also plays AAU ball) added 18 points in the last of his four games. "He has a decent body but didn't have unbelievable hops or anything," said Ron Higgins, a sportswriter for Memphis's The Commercial Appeal. Still, history shows the danger of underestimating a Jordan. "You can't forget," said Higgins, "that his dad was cut from his high school team in the ninth grade."