For as long as Mexico’s Jordan Shelton could remember, he has had his hands on a basketball.
Shelton will continue his playing career in college with NJCAA school John Wood Community …
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For as long as Mexico’s Jordan Shelton could remember, he has had his hands on a basketball.
Shelton will continue his playing career in college with NJCAA school John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois, as evidenced from a Thursday, May 18, signing ceremony at the Mexico Sports Complex.
For pretty much his entire life, Shelton said he has been playing basketball, even way before he developed his signature athleticism.
“My parents say I picked up a basketball at the age of 2,” Shelton said. “It has been in my hands ever since.”
Playing at the college level has been “embedded” in Shelton ever since he was five years old as he said he would talk with his grandmother about it.
Of course, there hasn’t been just talk about a lot of work for Shelton as turned into one of Mexico’s better players, averaging double-digit scoring over the last two years but also being a force on the defensive end. Shelton has averaged at least two steals per game each of the previous two years and amped it up last season with 2.9 steals per game and a total of 94 deflections and 18 blocks.
Head coach Darren Pappas said Shelton deserves to continue his career not just because of what he brings on the court but also because of what is off the court.
“He’s a great kid that works extremely hard and has a lot of potential,” Pappas said. “He’s one-of-a-kind when it comes to athleticism. I think John Wood is a good fit for him as coach (Brad) Hoyt does a good job with his players, developing them and getting them beyond the junior college level as well.”
Shelton said John Wood is a great next stop in his career because of how comfortable he felt when he visited.
“I chose to go there because, on my visit, I really like coach Brad,” Shelton said. “All of the players really made me feel at home. I enjoyed being there.”
His fondest memories as a Bulldog happened during the 2021-22 season when Mexico set a school record by winning its first 28 games of the year, finishing the regular season undefeated for the first time ever. While Shelton said the season ended sooner than the team wanted, with a 69-44 state quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Vashon, the experience of that entire season was fun.
“I loved playing with the guys I played with that year and all of my years,” Shelton said.
On a regular basis, Shelton barreled through defenses as he was effective driving to the rim, but he said he wants to refine his game even more by working his passing IQ and his shooting.
Pappas said “anything is possible” for Shelton in the future as he expects him to spend hours in the gym working on those things but also appreciates what Shelton meant to the program’s past, helping it improve from a 14-12 season in 2020 to back-to-back district titles and 20-win seasons in 2021 and 2022.
“He came to the program at a time we were trying to rebuild and trying to get it back to where it was,” Pappas said. “He was part of our 2021-22 season and that historical run. He’s been a two-year starter for us. It means a lot to be able to coach a player of that magnitude and that caliber.”
