All that matters to me is to get a 'W'

Marcus Jordan said the best advice his father, Michael, gave him was, "Play your game."
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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You visited Central Florida last weekend. Did you miss Chicago’s weather? No. When I left, it was warm. But it was a lot warmer in Orlando, about 85 degrees. I wore flip-flops, shorts and T-shirts. The campus has a great atmosphere. It’s the fifth largest university in the country with an 8-to-1 ratio of females to males.

Did you remind your father that you were the only Jordan to have his picture in last week’s issue of Sports Illustrated? I didn’t know it. Nobody told me. That’s pretty cool. Now I definitely will show it to him and brag a little bit.

Why do you wear glasses and not contact lenses? My eyes are very sensitive. The whole thought of touching my eyes makes me feel uncomfortable. My eyes tear up, and I get chills when I look at other people touching their eyes.

After Whitney Young won the state championship, you embraced the ball like your father did after winning an NBA title. Do you remember? Yes, I do. I had told my teammate Ricardo Munoz that if we won I’d grab the ball and wouldn’t let anyone touch it. When my father did it, it was on Father’s Day.

At what point in the season did it finally hit you that you were going to win the state championship? I didn’t believe it until the buzzer went off and I ran to my teammates. I still think about it in class. But after we beat De La Salle for the sectional championship, after we locked down on them and played tremendous defense, I felt if we continue to play defense like that, we can win the state championship.

When did you become aware that your father was sitting directly behind the bench for both games in Peoria? Midway in the first quarter, I heard him giving me advice from the stands. He told me to attack the paint and get more into the offensive part of the game. It surprised me that he was sitting there. I didn’t know if he would be at the game.

Coach Tyrone Slaughter said you handled your celebrity with tremendous professionalism, that you could’ve been a disruption but demonstrated you’re unselfish and more concerned about winning. Would you put that on your epitaph? Definitely. A lot of people think I’m selfish. All that matters to me is to get a ‘W.’ If that means scoring zero points but getting 15 rebounds, that’s what I’m going to do.

Slaughter also said your natural position in college is point guard. At Young, you fulfilled other needs. Is he right? Definitely. I tried to play a little point guard at some points during the season. But I did what he needed me to do. It is my natural position. I played point guard for my AAU team. I feel I am a natural-born leader. That’s what point guards do.

Do you think college coaches and recruiting analysts overlooked you during the season? Yes, to a certain extent. Over the summer, I put together a good resume with great performances at the National AAU and other AAU events. But I never got the praise I deserved. Winning the state title capitalized on that. Look at my AAU films. I run the team and distribute the ball.

How do you describe your style of play? Tough. I’m aggressive at both ends of the floor. I like to disrupt the guy I’m defending on defense and get into the paint on offense.

Your recruiting has picked up since the state tournament. What is your game plan? I have been offered by Iowa, Stanford and Toledo. Central Florida was my first official visit. I also am considering Oklahoma and Butler. Nothing is on the table right now. I plan to make some visits until I feel it’s right. If I step on a campus and have a gut feeling that that’s where I want to go, that’s where I’m going to go.

What do you want college coaches to know about you? I’m a hard worker and will do whatever it takes to get the ‘W.’

What was the best piece of advice your father has given you? Play your game. Don’t let criticism or anything else get in your way. He critiques my games, all in good love. I take what he says to heart and get in the gym and work with it. I’m not afraid to make mistakes. The big thing is to correct them for the next game. If I’m not playing good defense, that will irritate him.

Do you have any superstitions? I wear a new headband for every game, definitely a Jordan brand. I have a box of them in my closet.

Even my friends don’t know this about me: My favorite class is math. I have a great math teacher in Julienne Au, and it really interests me.

Could LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade beat your father one-on-one in his prime? No. Not even close. No contest.

Whom would you like to play HORSE against? Carmelo Anthony. He’s my favorite player in the league. He has shown he’s a tremendous shooter. He worked hard on his jump shot, which is what I have done. I admired that.

I’d like to have dinner with: Angelina Jolie, my favorite actress.

My brother Jeff and I talk about this all the time: Tattoos. We both are addicted to tattoos. We both like art, and body art is one of the most interesting things I know. We both like tattoos and both have them. Every tattoo is meaningful to me, the same for my brother. Our parents support it. My latest one is wrapped around my right forearm. It says: ‘‘To whom much is given much is tested.’’