The key to Division I college basketball success, at least in these days and times of one-and-done recruits and multiple high school basketball social media highlight packages, is recruiting.
The University of Arkansas-Little Rock new head coach and former Clark Atlanta University men’s basketball head coach Darrell Walker knows this, and so does former Clark Atlanta University assistant coach Alfred Jordan, who is making the move southwest with Walker.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to excel in my career,” said Jordan via a text message on Thursday morning. “I definitely want to thank Clark Atlanta University for everything.”
Jordan came to Atlanta from Harlem in 2004 and has been been a part of the basketball program ever since, including coaching as an assistant from 2009-2018. “Clark Atlanta took me in as a teenager and molded me into the man I am now,” said Jordan. “I will take the school’s motto, ‘find a way or make one’, with me to the next level.”
Jordan, a former Panther guard, was the key to Walker’s two teams recruiting players from New York City, including outgoing seniors Anthony Williams, Michale Vigilance and junior junior college transfer Jamal Pollydore from Brooklyn, senior center Damien Davis from the Bronx and Samson Akilo, a Manhattan College transfer.
Under Walker and Jordan, the Panthers, 24-6 overall this past season, qualified for the past two Division II NCAA tournaments, winning the 2017 SIAC men’s tournament in the process. The University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans were 7-25 last season, 4-14 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans play a game in Atlanta at Georgia State University every season.
