It never gets boring watching guys in the NBA like a Lebron James or Draymond Green fill up the stat sheet on a regular basis with ease the way Tom Brady does winning games with an offense that any other quarter back would struggle with and wish they could flee the responsibility. You always know what you will get from a Lebron or Green as they do so much well, but then again on the other hand, you have players that in many ways are able to also do everything these guys can do, but to a way lesser extent, but then again have one basketball ability that they especially shine in and use mostly to their advantage on the court. Even though a David Bell can do many things well on the court and is a lot better passer than people might realize, he shines mostly with his scoring and is simply a knock down shooter. Another guy that excels the most at one aspect of the game is ex ratiopharm Ulm center John Bryant who plays for AS Monaco now and led the BBL in rebounds three years in a row as he owned the paint area from 2010-2013 averaging 10,0rpg as one could have named him Mr rebound for good measure. However one player that owns the assist in the easyCredit BBL the way Bill Russell owned the rebound back in the day is Jared Jordan who has inherited the nickname of Mr pass for a reason in Germany the past years. Jordan is a 32 year old 187cm point guard from Hartford Connecticut and is in his 10^th professional season and sixth in Germany and second consecutive season with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He has dominated the assist stat in Europe the way Michael Jordan dominated the scoring race in the 80´s and 90´s in the NBA as well as How Lebron James has in his career. He is currently leading the German easyCredit BBL in assists at 8,6 and has won the crown the last six years and two years ago in Spain and currently on track to win his seventh straight assist race dating back to the 2010-2011 season. He was no slouch in his first three professional seasons as he was fourth in the Baltic league as a rookie, second in the D-league in 2008-2009 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and fourth in the BBL in 2009-2010 which was his first season with the Telekom Baskets Bonn in a growing league. However he already put up mind boggling assists averages in college at Marist(NCAA) which already gave a premonition about what would happen when Jordan was a professional.

After getting a first taste of competitive basketball at prep school Kingswood-Oxford, he arrived on the campus of Marist(NCAA) in upstate New York in the fall of 2003 with the boyish charm and clean cut look that would have fit perfectly into the well known Massachusettes Kennedy political family and it didn´t take long until he started to raise eyebrows as he followed up a solid freshman campaign with a strong second season where he averaged 11.7ppg, 4.4rpg,6.3apg), 1.3spg, FGP: 44.1%, 3PT: 28.7%, FT: 65.5%. In his junior season, he made another big jump as he averaged ScoreMAAC-9(16.1ppg), 4.8rpg, AssistsNCAA-1(8.5apg), StealsMAAC-7(1.7spg), FGMAAC-7(48.7%), 3PT: 37.4%, FT: 74.2%. As a senior he once again raised his stats and improved his best marks in scoring, rebounding and assists with ScoreMAAC-5(17.2ppg), RebMAAC-10(5.9rpg), AssistsNCAA-1(8.7apg), StealsMAAC-4(1.4spg), FGP: 42.5%, 3PT: 29.8%, FT: 69.0%: He finished as Marist’s all-time leader in assists (813) and ranks sixth all-time in points (1,538).He didn´t win much with Marist on the court except the MAAC Regular Season Champion in 2007 and made the MAAC All-Tournament Team in 2007 and was All-MAAC Player of the Year in 2007. The peculiar thing was that he would never match his junior and senior scoring averages of 16,1ppg and 17,2ppg as a professional, but he never lost his amazing feel for the pass and assist that he was able to perfect everywhere and especially in Germany where racking in assists was as normal a procedure as the daily arrival of migrants the last few years in Germany. Jordan´s who´s favorite player was Michael Jordan, but also looked up to John Stockton and Steve Nash as a kid didn´t find the love for passing overnight. “Passing was always in my blood. I grew up with passing. When I was a kid, I remember everyone saying that guys like to play with people that pass the ball and that was the signal for me to pass the ball. Passing is really what I care most about after winning”, stressed Jared Jordan.

Jordan didn´t go unnoticed in the NBA as after his huge senior year with Marist, as he was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) in the second round at number 45. Even if he never would play an NBA game, the Hartford native could at least claim to belong to a slim crowd of guys that can say they got drafted by the NBA: “After my senior year there was some talk leading up to the NBA draft, but I never really gave it so much thought. I think that looking back it is always cool to say that you were drafted by an NBA team”; stressed Jared Jordan. However his NBA dream was quickly washed away a rookie as he was cut by the New York Knicks (NBA) in training camp and then settled on going the European route instead of toiling around in the D-League most likely putting up huge stats, but playing for a yearly salary that a Euroleague player would earn in three months. As is so often the case, Jordan became a recipient of the famous numbers game. “My rookie year as I was drafted by The Los Angeles Clippers, I was traded to the New York Knicks. The team had all guys with guaranteed contacts and I was unable to make the team since there were no openings and I didn´t really know where I fit in there either. My next year, I was with the New Orleans Hornets and was one of the last cuts. My agent thought that I should of made the team. They were keeping a roster spot open in case someone got hurt and I simply was not in their plans”, stressed Jared Jordan. The American strutted across the Atlantic ocean and landed in Lithuania with Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania-LKL): Lithuanian League: 18 games: 5.9ppg, 1.8rpg, 4.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 51.2%, FT: 75.0%, 3PT: 45.0%; Baltic League (Elite): 10 games: 6.0ppg, 1.8rpg, Assists-4(4.4apg), 1.9spg, 2FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 53.8%; Euroleague: 11 games: 1.0ppg.

In his second professional season, he went back to the states to try his luck at reaching the NBA and missed out again which pretty much ended his NBA dream as he came too Europe after his second season and never returned. After being cut by the New Orleans Hornets (NBA), he moved to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League) where he played 36 games averaging 10.9ppg, 3.8rpg, Assists-2(9.0apg), 2.0spg, FGP: 45.9%, 3PT: 28.0%, FT: 70.3%. When Jordan signed with the Telekom Baskets Bonn in the summer of 2009, he had pretty much already made up his mind that his NBA dreams would be on the shelf forever and it was time to concentrate on a new challenge in Europe and get established as a top player even if a player never totally loses that desire to play in the best league in the world. “Before I went to the Vipers, I was close to making the Hornets and I decided to stay in the D-league and give it one more chance, but I didn´t return. there comes a point in time when a player should start to focus on a basketball career in Europe. My focus is establishing myself in Europe and I am not really worried about the NBA now. It is something that I am keeping in the back of my mind, but my number one focus now is being successful with the Telekom Baskets Bonn”, added Jared Jordan then. In his first season with the Telekom Baskets Bonn, Jordan led the club to a fourth position in the standings and had a talented supporting cast of guys like ex NBA players Vincent Yarbrough and Ronald Dupree as well as BBL legend in the making Chris Ensminger which made his distributing abilities so much easier as he played  EuroCup: 5 games: 6.4ppg, 3.4rpg, 4.4apg, FGP: 37.9%, 3PT: 10.5%, FT: 80.0%; German League: 37 games: 9.0ppg, 4.2rpg, Assists-4(5.3apg), FGP: 43.4%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 76.8%. In his fourth professional season, the American got a great offer from VAP Kolossos Rodou (Greece-A1) and helped lead the team to an eighth position in the standings and won his first assist title. He had many talented guys like Pat Kalathis or Jurica Golemac, but it was the persistent experience and age that the team had that once again made his basketball life a little easier when executing the playmaking for the Greek side. With the Greek team, Jordan played 27 games averaging  6.3ppg, 2.6rpg, Assists-1(5.5apg), FGP: 52.3%, 3PT: 23.2%, FT: 56.0%. Jordan who stated that Dimitris Diamantidis was the toughest guy he battled that season in Greece also showed that getting an assist in Greece wasn´t any different than in the BBL. “It is weird in Greece that sometimes you don´t get an assist after a jump shot, but then again they give an assist when a player gets fouled. The style is more up and down in the BBL and you have better chances of getting an assist”, stressed Jared Jordan.

In the summer of 2011, Jordan decided to go back to an old stomping ground with the Telekom Baskets Bonn where he would play until February 2014 and not finish the season there, but with the Brose Baskets Bamberg which many people in Bonn didn´t like at all. In his first season back with the Telekom Baskets Bonn, Jordan helped lead the team to a seventh place finish and a cup final, but the club lost in the quarterfinals of the playoffs something they had been doing mostly the last years and this time against Bamberg. Hardcore Bonn fans will always have game one in their minds where ex Boston Celtic Tony Gaffney won the game with a buzzer beater in Freak city. It was in this season that the BBL would get their own private dose of German Showtime as the German basketball community got to witness Jared Jordan and Tony Gaffney as teammates and would see alley-oop hook ups on a game to game basis the way Clippers fans now see it from Chris Paul and Deandre Jordan. Even if you could never compare a Jordan or Gaffney to a John Stockton or Karl Malone, seeing the alley oops from the Bonn American duo often left some drool on the lips of fans. “Well we aren´t as good as Malone and Stockton as they were unbelievable, but Tony and I have a good connection. He understands that when he runs the floor, that I will get him the ball. We have a great relationship on the court and the fans are always awaiting an ally-op from us”, warned Jared Jordan. Jordan won his first assist title in Germany as he got over the 8 assists per game as he played 36 games averaging 10.7ppg, 3.8rpg, Assists-1(8.2apg), 1.0spg, FGP: 49.7%, 3PT: 38.4%, FT: 81.4%; EuroChallenge: 12 games: 10.6ppg, 4.6rpg, Assists-1(8.8apg), FGP: 56.5%, 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 55.6%. In the summer of 2012, the NBA ambition of Jordan was finally closed. “I have no more ambition of playing summer league or going to a training camp. I want to concentrate on a career in Europe. I like living in Europe and playing here”, stressed Jared Jordan.

In his third season with the Telekom Baskets Bonn in 2012-2013, the American led the team to another playoff appearance as the team finished in seventh place again, but the team lost in the quarterfinals again and this time in an exciting 5 game series against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Jordan won his third assist title in a row and second straight in Germany. That season he had to do it without Tony Gaffney who played in Spain, but had potent new teammates like Jamel Mclean and Kyle Weems. Jordan played 38 games: 10.1ppg, 3.5rpg, Assists-1(7.6apg), FGP: 54.7%, 3PT: 30.6%, FT: 69.8%; EuroChallenge: 14 games: 9.1ppg, 3.0rpg, Assists-3(5.9apg), FGP: 57.4%, 3PT: 55.2%, FT: 76.9%. One player that benefited much from Jordan was a young German by the name of Andrej Mangold where it seemed like he was a student and Jordan the teacher. “It is great having him as a teacher. I don´t think that there is a better point guard in the Beko BBL now. I can learn so much from him especially the small things. I always try to talk to him and pick up little things. His best trait is that he stands for unselfishness. A great thing is that he first tries to find his teammates, but when an opponent takes his assist away and forces him to score than he is able to do it on a consistent rate. He always makes the right decisions and I don´t think that there has been a team that has totally taken him out of the game”, stressed BG Goettingen guard Andrej Mngold. Jordan returned for a third season with Bonn in 2013-2014, but things didn´t end in a harmonious way. Even if the club was playing well and would finish the regular season in fourth place, Jordan wouldn´t end the season there, but would flee to Bamberg. Bamberg wanted to have that fifth title in a row and had had point guard woes all season long and felt with Jordan on board, they could achieve that fifth title in a row, but didn´t. Many Bonn fans were disgusted that Bamberg snatched Jordan away from under their noses, but also were disappointed that Jordan left for a better financial setting. For years Jordan stayed faithful to the Telekom Baskets Bonn and had to watch lesser caliber players make three and four times as much as him elsewhere, but the American always returned back to Bonn and gave his best showing his true dedication to the Telekom Baskets organization. That wasn´t self-evident and his chance to finally win a BBL title with Bamberg as well as make the kind of money that he deserved should have been better respected by the Bonn fans. Jordan was teammates with his friend Tony Gaffney again in Bonn and after the last game of Jordan with Bonn where he helped his side to a 82-80 win in Vechta, Gaffney then reflected on how hard it was to see Jordan go. “Yesterday was an extremely emotional day for everybody. Knowing it was our last game with Jared made it really hard to play through those emotions. He’s been so much more than just a teammate to us. We have such a close group of guys on our team, 1 through 10, that I think as a team, were more emotional about the departure of our brother, and the person Jared Jordan, than we are the basketball player. It will be strange not having him around every day, and living next door to him. Having played nearly 2 seasons together now, I don´t know if there is another player I’ve played with that I have connected with on the court like Jared. He has always known where I was on the floor and I have always known when he was looking for me”, stressed Tony Gaffney.

Jordan played 23 games with Bonn averaging 10.0ppg, 3.6rpg, Assists-1(7.8apg), 1.6spg, FGP: 57.0%, 3PT: 37.2%, FT: 59.5%; German BBL: 23 games: 10.0ppg, 3.6rpg, 7.8apg, 1.6spg, 2FGP: 57.0%, 3FGP: 37.2%, FT: 59.5. With Bamberg he played  Eurocup: 10 games: 8.1ppg, 3.2rpg, 5.8apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 55.6%, 3FGP: 26.9%, FT: 83.3%; German League: 12 games: 5.3ppg, 3.2rpg, 6.5apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 24.0%, FT: 62.5%. He finished the season winning his fourth straight assist title, but was embarrassed in the playoffs by the Artland Dragons in four games.

In the 2014-2015 season, Jordan decided to turn his back on Germany and the BBL and took on a new challenge and went to play for Gipuzkoa BC San Sebastian (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing  34 games: 6.9ppg, 2.7rpg, Assists-1(7.0apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 65.5%. It was a season to forget as the team finished in 17th place, but  he won his fifth assist title in a row. He once again proved that he was the best playmaker in a new league that he had joined and also demonstrated that he belonged to the best in the best league in Europe. In his two games against top Euroleague team Real Madrid, he averaged 8,5apg. Last season he started with JDA Dijon Bourgogne (France-ProA), left in Oct.’15, in Nov.’15 joined Walter Tigers Tuebingen (Germany-BBL) playing 27 games averaging 7.0ppg, 3.9rpg, Assists-1(8.5apg), FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 34.6%, FT: 81.8%. He won his sixth assist title in a row, but the club struggled all season long finishing in 16th place and were saved for another season in the BBL with late season victories against Giessen and Crailsheim. Despite the poor season, the American had some nice season memories with a win against playoff team Ludwigsburg, 14 assists against his ex team Bonn and 18 assists in a win against Wurzburg. Last season, Jordan signed an extension with Tuebingen, but this season like last has been a hard grind as the club is in 15th place and clinging to life shortly before the allstar break. These days, it is nothing new when a Russell Westbrook gobbles up an opponent with a triple double and the same is with Jordan as nobody is surprised that he is once again leading the BBL in assists going for his seventh consecutive assist title. “This season my body has felt as good as it has in a long time. I have really concentrated on certain exercises to help my body and our physic here in Tubingen has been great”, stressed Jared Jordan. What really stands out now is that despite getting older each season, Jordan doesn´t let up or lose his basketball abilities, but continues to stay consistent. ”Jared has an unbelievable high basketball IQ. His experience grows each season and because he is a true point guard and can read the game so well will always have good stats. I really like to watch him play not only because we were teammates and are good friends, but simply because he reads the game so well. Every guard can learn from his game. When you watch a Tuebingen game all you have to do is watch him and you see just how much he does for them. He conducts all players up front and in the back. He is like a second coach out there. If he can stay fit, I see him playing another 3-4 years at this level. I also could imagine him being a good coach”, smiled ex Telekom Baskets Bonn guard Andrej Mangold. Of course there are always the critics who will mention that no matter how many assists a guy gets, if the team isn´t winning, how can a point guard be doing his job correctly? “Jared makes every teammate around him better and nobody reads the game as well as him. The BBL is so balanced this season that there are minimal factors that decide if you play at the top or not. Tuebingen has had injury problems, but if they can win two or three games in a row, then the basketball world will look a lot different there. He was always a good player and will continue to be so and he could still hold these stats if he played for a playoff team”, warned Andrej Mangold. The season is almost half over, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played and with a little winning streak something that Tuebingen have produced here and there the last years, the club could be scrapping near the playoff spots. Jordan continues to have that never ending self-confidence that every player needs to have to  be successful. “It has been really tough not winning games because I really believe we are a better team than our record shows, but guys are still positive and competitive so that is a good sign”, stated Jared Jordan. Just how much longer a Jared Jordan can play is unknown at the moment, but with his continued potent stats remaining so consistent, the basketball life of a Jared Jordan could continue for a long time. If Jordan ever does get doubtful about just how long his body will put up with the grind, then he could call up his friend Chris Ensminger in Gotha who played until he was almost 40 and inquire about how to master the correct yoga exercises to keep him going.