New Raider recruit: Jordan Cyphers No shortcuts for SE's CyphersBY JOANNA CHADWICK
The Wichita Eagle
Well before Southeast junior Jordan Cyphers had matured into a sweet shooter with a repertoire of dunks, his father had seen the natural athleticism. Mike Cyphers was awed by his toddler's dexterity and balance.
Mike wasn't about to let all that talent slip away.
Jordan started playing competitively at 5. They worked on fundamentals in their driveway. Mike planted his son in front of the TV to watch Chicago Bulls games so Jordan could watch Michael Jordan, the man for whom he was named.
"At an early age, Jordan had a knack for the game, and all you had to do was take that and refine that," Mike Cyphers said.
"He had that it."
Jordan Cyphers (6-foot-3) leads Southeast into its game with East (14-2) at Koch Arena tonight in a battle of the City League's top two teams. Both have one league loss with three games to play.
Southeast (15-2) beat East 71-69 in their first meeting Jan. 3 at the Kansas Coliseum. Cyphers hurt his left wrist in that game, missing nearly three weeks. He's regained his shooting touch and is averaging 15.4 points.
Even with weaknesses such as dribbling and defense, there's no doubt he's a Division I-caliber player. Wichita State, Saint Louis, Florida State, Wright State, Air Force and Tulane have all shown interest."He's got aspirations of being a top-notch, Division I basketball player," Southeast coach Carl Taylor said. "He's got this summer and next year, I think he'll make it.
"He has good size and he's a shooter. They'll look at shooters. All college coaches love shooters."
But getting to this point has taken work.
Honing his skills
Since Cyphers was always one of the tallest kids on his youth basketball teams, he was automatically put in the post, where it was easy to dominate.
He wanted to be more than just another big kid, though.
"I wanted to be able to shoot," Cyphers said. "I was always the tallest player on my team, and all of the tall players couldn't shoot. So I wanted to play like a guard."
He made it happen by practicing. And then practicing some more.
He'd shoot around almost every day in his driveway. Sometimes his buddies from down the street would play, but if they didn't show, he'd shoot by himself.
And he worked with his dad on the fundamentals -- dribbling, shooting the right way, always hustling, working through mistakes.
As closely as Mike and Jordan worked together on basketball, there were some bumpy times. Mike coached his son's teams for most of his life and admits he was harder on Jordan than the other kids.
"My wife (Joy), when (Jordan) was younger, she'd get on me a little bit because she thought I was pushing him too hard," said Mike, who played at West and Seward County Community College. "Many times I brought tears to his eyes, but I knew if he was sincere about playing at a high level... well, I could see he had something special going on. I wanted to form that."
More than basketball
Mike and Joy Cyphers also made sure their son is more than a basketball player.
He's a well-rounded teenager, someone who is often referred to as a good kid.
Rightfully so.
He's soft-spoken and fairly laid back, and he adores his little sister, Taylor, a seventh-grader at Stucky Middle School.
"We're pretty close," Cyphers said. "She wants to follow in my footsteps and play basketball. She's pretty good. When I have free time, I go in the driveway and teach her a couple things. I teach her some moves she can do to get open and how to shoot and follow through."
He's involved in his family's church, St. Paul AME, where he's an usher.
Cyphers also has a 3.17 GPA and plays the bass in the Southeast orchestra, which has earned him a healthy dose of teasing from teammates.
He shrugs it off; it's not as if he'd quit because of peer pressure.
Basketball is where his heart is, though.
"I just love it," he said. "I love the game.
"You have to be athletic to play the game, you have to be smart, and it's challenging, too. I like that you have to be coordinated, you have to be dribble and run."
He's focused on improving his dribbling, his defense, his strength. He often watches his favorite player, LeBron James, because he admires how James passes, shoots, dribbles and is smart.
"I'm always thinking how I can be better," Cyphers said.
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