The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser and the Timu Foundation.
In the two seasons since winning a CIF-SS championship, the Jordan boys’ basketball program has hovered around the .500 mark, but has also secured postseason berths for three years running.
As the Panthers look to take a step forward in 2025-26, they’ll be forced to take a circuitous path. The hoops program is one of many in J-Town without a gym this season as the campus enters its next stage of renovations, and it’s been a challenge to secure gym space for practices and games this winter.
Furthermore, the Panthers haven’t all been together as a group for very long, since a few of their top players were also playing football. But if you’re looking for excuses from J-Town head coach Chris Francis, you’ve come to the wrong place, and his expectation is that this team will gel and improve as the season goes on.
“That’s the expectation. It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Francis said. “We didn’t have our whole team, we’ve been practicing all over the place; some days we can’t practice, but no excuses. We knew this was coming, and we know it’s gonna be like this next year. So that’s the main thing, we’re not allowing these kids to make excuses. In life, you’ve got to play the hand you’re dealt.”
Jordan is planning to play the majority of its home games at Browning High School at the base of Signal Hill, where they’ve often been practicing to prepare for the season.
The Panthers have a core of returners, led by a trio of juniors back in the rotation–Malachi Burdette, Aaron Chiles, and Samajay Jackson. They’ll provide key experience on the court and drive the J-Town offense, with every player on the floor expected to play Francis’ brand of high-pressure, full-court defense.
“We were young last year, so we went through all of the struggles and now we’ve got all the little things down pat,” said Jackson, a lanky athlete on the wing who can score in a variety of ways for the Panthers. “Now that we’re juniors, we understand the assignment now, so we can just execute it. Our brains work differently, we’re all smarter, we understand the court now, and we play together.”
Togetherness is a big strength of this team, according to Francis. It’s a mature group that cares about one another on and off the court, which is a real asset and building block for any successful program.
“I think the strength of our team is our chemistry,” said Francis. “These kids really like each other, and that’s important. What people don’t understand with sports today, at a professional level, they know how to distinguish business from personal. At the high school level, it can be difficult. So I think that’s one of our biggest strengths is that these kids like each other, which means accountability is way more real, because it’s not just me holding them accountable.”
Jackson echoed his coach’s analysis, and even though he hasn’t been with the team as much during the offseason while playing quarterback for the Jordan football team, he’s still been spending plenty of time forming bonds with his teammates.
“We’re all together all the time. We go out to eat, we’re on the phone together, when we’re at school we’re with each other a lot,” Jackson explained. “And then we get at each other. We hold each other accountable, and that’s what we didn’t have last year. We learned to hold each other accountable, so now that we’re older, we can show the young guys how to do it, too.”
Burdette should be a primary ballhandler for the Panthers, with both Jackson and Chiles standing around 6-foot-5 and capable of playing all over the floor. Senior forward Eduardo Cabrera is also back from the football field and is Francis’ “enforcer” in the paint. He and sharpshooter Amir Bowser represent most of the senior production expected this season.
Francis said there’s a half dozen juniors that he’s been building the program around, and some will look to make the transition from JV to varsity and help elevate the roster over the next two seasons. Two such 11th graders are Estrada Edwards and Alvino Duncan, a pair that Francis said he’s excited to see at the varsity level. Add in junior Imari Martin, and there’s starting to look like a rotation that Francis can work with, projecting to go about nine deep.
In the era of competitive equity playoffs, teams that work hard and work well together can find success in the right division, and Francis is excited to work with this group as they navigate the adversity of not having a gym to call their own.
“We’re excited, but still have realistic expectations,” Francis explained. “We have a lot of returners back, and we’re looking for some R.O.I., some return on investment. But the Moore League is the Moore League, and we respect all our opponents. We just want to be able to compete.”
J-Town will open their season against LA Jordan on Nov. 20 and will begin league play Dec. 12 with a visit to Lakewood.
