Performance: East Jordan’s Jordan Weber
December 15, 2015
Jordan Weber
East Jordan senior – Basketball
Nine seconds into his team's new season, Weber became East Jordan’s all-time leading scorer. The 6-foot senior guard drilled a deep 3-pointer on his team's first possession against opening-night opponent Mancelona to break the former record of 1,170 points set by Mike Goebel from 1983-86 and earn this week’s Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.” (See below for video of his history-making shot and the brief recognition that followed .) He finished with 24 points total in the 66-20 road win.
Heading into tonight’s game against Charlevoix, Weber has 1,193 points and a number of additional school records: 45 points scored in a game, 614 for one season, 91 3-pointers in one season and 208 3-pointers over his four-year varsity career. His 3-pointers last season were the 13th-most in MHSAA history, and with a similar output this winter he’ll finish among the top five on the career list. Weber has played big parts in multiple history-making team accomplishments as well. As a sophomore, he helped Class C East Jordan to its first District championship since 1997 and first Regional championship since 1953. He has a few more similar opportunities ahead. The Red Devils went a combined 36-11 over the last two seasons finishing second and then third in the Lake Michigan Conference – and this winter should again contend for a first league championship since 2000. They also are possible contenders while seeking their first MHSAA championship.
Weber also plays baseball, and he is ranked eighth academically of 63 students in his graduating class with a 3.66 grade-point average while taking multiple Advanced Placement courses. He has opportunities to continue his basketball and academic career at multiple small colleges in Michigan and Illinois, and would like to eventually study physical therapy.
Coach (and father) Darrin Weber said: “Jordan has been fortunate to have outstanding teammates. Without the kids he’s played with, none of these accomplishments would have been possible. He has a great understanding of the game, outstanding offseason work ethic and an extremely high competitive drive. He has been the best player I have ever coached."
Performance Point: “Obviously it was an honor to get that. I was preparing for that game just like I was preparing for any other game, but it was in the back of my mind. Going in, I just wanted to win the game. I didn’t want to take over, force myself to get the record. I just let the game get to me, and it happened in the first nine seconds. If I’m open, it’s going up. To become the all-time leader in anything is a big deal, in any level of play, if they are going to stop the game and congratulate you. But it was just that I needed two more points; the dream for me (instead) would be to win the state title.
Title aspirations: “To win a conference title, it’s a lot more important than just to win the District title or anything like that. It means we’re playing better than anyone in the conference the whole year. “(In the MHSAA Tournament,) we’re like a Cinderella team, like an eight seed, nine or 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It motivates me just to get that spotlight on the team, small East Jordan down there making it that far.”
Father knows best: “I get two points of view from the same person. There’s the coaching standpoint, and then I go home and talk to him as Dad. He’s hard on me in practice, and I like that. I don’t want a soft coach. Then, to love a father figure in this game I love … he’s coached me since elementary school, and we’ve always been able to connect like that.”
He’s got game: “I’m not just going to sit in the corner and shoot. I’m going to create my shot, going to create shots for other people. I like to get my shot off quickly like (Golden State’s) Steph Curry does. I like to try to attack the rim as hard as (Oklahoma City’s) Russell Westbrook does. Try to, at least.”
Leaving a legacy: “I like to leave something like that, for kids coming up to all want to shoot like Jordan Weber. There’s a little youth program my dad holds every Saturday, and I haven’t missed a Saturday. All the kids love seeing me there … (and I like) to be a role model for little kids.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, respond as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) East Jordan's Jordan Weber unloads a shot during a game last season; he set his school's career scoring record last week against Mancelona. (Middle) Weber, right, poses with his dad and coach Darrin Weber. (Photos courtesy of the Weber family.)
'Football Guys' Play Big Roles for Big Reds
February 6, 2020
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Cameron Martinez is not done having fun in high school.
Martinez, MLive’s two-time Michigan High School Football Player of the Year, signed his national letter of intent to play football at Ohio State during a midday event Wednesday at Muskegon High School.
But unlike the rest of the Buckeyes’ incoming class, who are either specializing in only football or have already left their high schools and early-enrolled in Columbus, Martinez is playing a key role for the Big Reds’ state-ranked basketball team.
“I want to enjoy being a high school kid as long as I can,” said Martinez, who rushed for 6,491 yards and 145 touchdowns during his four-year varsity football career, with his first two years at Muskegon Catholic Central and the last two at Muskegon High.
“I really do enjoy playing basketball, and we want to make a long run. We still haven’t played our best game yet.”
Martinez is not the only Division I football signee who chose to honor his commitment on the hardcourt for Muskegon.
Billie Roberts and Jordan Porter, who both will play defensive line at Bowling Green, provide valuable muscle inside for the Big Reds, who are ranked No. 7 in Division 1 in the latest Associated Press poll.
Muskegon is 10-1, with its only loss coming Jan. 4 against visiting Chicago Curie, the top-ranked team in Illinois. In addition to being perfect in Ottawa-Kent Conference Black play, the Big Reds have pulled out tight nonleague wins over Rockford, East Kentwood, Ferndale and, most recently, Saginaw on Saturday at the Redhawk Showcase in Grand Rapids.
Muskegon coach Keith Guy, who also happens to be the stepfather of Martinez, shudders at the thought of not having the three Division I football recruits on his team.
“We do things a little different around here,” said Guy, explaining the symbiotic relationship between the Big Reds’ football and basketball programs. “I am thankful that these guys play football. They bring physical toughness, leadership and just an expectation of winning.”
Martinez, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound guard, averages 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, but his big contribution is as the team’s defensive stopper. While in football he electrified the crowd with his offense (Exhibit A: His seven rushing touchdowns in this year’s playoff opener against Marquette), in basketball he brings the fans to their feet by locking down on the opponent’s best player.
“It’s a lot like playing defensive back, where you are guarding someone 1-on-1,” explained Martinez, who is projected as a defensive back and kick returner at Ohio State.
Roberts, a 6-5, 270-pound post player, has been slowed and often sidelined by a lingering stress reaction in his fibula, and is averaging just one point and one rebound per game.
Guy, who led Muskegon to the Class A championship in 2014, said his big man is starting to get healthier, which will be critical as the team chases its ultimate goal of another Finals title.
Porter, a 6-4, 240-pound forward, brings size and versatility off the bench. He averages 2.5 points and four rebounds per game.
“Basketball helps me so much,” said Porter, who is projected as a defensive end and hybrid lineman/linebacker at Bowling Green. “Obviously, it helps me conditioning-wise. But it really helps with footwork and moves.”
Muskegon High School gets more than its fair share of visits from college football coaches, and many ask to watch basketball practice to get better looks at their prospects’ athletic abilities. Those coaches especially like to see how well linemen prospects like Roberts and Porter can move.
“I got my first offer from Indiana in my sophomore year because of basketball,” said Roberts, who went 52-4 during his four-year varsity football career and played in four MHSAA championship games at Ford Field. “They knew I had good size, but they saw that I could run and move and I think that’s why they offered me.”
Roberts is starting to move better every day, according to Guy, and Guy said that’s a big reason for his team’s improved play of late. After a narrow win at Ferndale on Jan. 20, the Big Reds blew out four straight conference opponents before Saturday’s dramatic win over Saginaw.
Guy sported an Ohio State football T-shirt during Wednesday’s signing event, but his mind was on this weekend’s big back-to-back games – Friday at Grand Rapids Union and Saturday at home against Grand Blanc.
He expects Muskegon’s historic Redmond-Potter Gymnasium to be rocking and rolling Saturday, when Grand Blanc, 10-3 and an honorable mention in Division 1, rolls in with standout 6-5 sophomore Ty Rodgers.
Muskegon will counter Rodgers with a veteran team, including five senior starters and one of the state’s best backcourt duos in Jarvis Walker and Vernon Nash III. Walker, a Mr. Basketball candidate, averages 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while Nash averages 14.8 points.
The X-factor in Saturday’s showdown might be the Big Reds’ “football guys,” who Guy hopes will give his team a physical and mental edge.
Roberts can’t wait.
“There’s nothing like high school,” explained Roberts, flashing a big grin. “I could have early enrolled, but I didn’t want to miss my senior basketball season and prom and all that. I want to stay a kid a little bit longer.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon’s Cameron Martinez, right, walls off a Chicago Curie ball handler during their teams’ Jan. 4 matchup. (Middle) The Big Reds’ Billie Roberts works to gather a loose ball. (Below) Jordan Porter makes a move to the basket. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)