Jordan.
It’s a name we all know, one that has transcended the basketball world. It’s the last name of former Chicago Bulls guard, Michael, who won six NBA championships. It later became the first name of a girl with the last name Horston, born in Dallas on May 21, 2001.
I bring this up because both have played sick and won in championship settings.
Jordan Horston was the No. 2 HoopGurlz recruit in the class of 2019 and 1,445 points, 731 rebounds and 455 assists with the storied Tennessee women’s basketball program later, she was drafted at No. 9 by the Seattle Storm in the 2023 WNBA Draft on April 10.
Part of Horston’s appeal is that she can rack up the points, rebounds and assists. She is a 6-foot-2 point guard who averaged 4.6 assists as a freshman in college before turning up the scoring and rebounding as a junior (16.2 points and 9.4 boards per game) while still averaging four helpers. Now, she has the honor (and challenge) of replacing Sue Bird as Seattle’s PG.
Horston grew up in Columbus, Ohio, admiring a shooting guard: Kelsey Mitchell of the Ohio State Buckeyes. She became a big guard when her height increased by six inches her freshman year of high school. She played varsity at Columbus Africentric all four years, winning the state championship three times.
She had an 102-degree fever during the championship game that yielded the third of those titles. She was in urgent care the night before the game, but decided to play, notching 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. The victory set precedent, as Columbus Africentric had never completed a perfect season until then and had never won back-to-back championships until then.
The same month of her sick game, Horston won MVP of the McDonalds All American Game, finishing with 14 points. It was at that game in Atlanta that she first heard that the coach who recruited her to Tennessee, Holly Warlick, had been fired.
At the time, Horston didn’t want to comment on if she would be switching schools. She ended up believing in Kellie Harper, who took over at Tennessee and, like Warlick, played for the legendary Pat Summitt as a Lady Vol player.
In their time together, Horston and Harper went to two Sweet Sixteens and made it to the second round in their other NCAA Tournament appearance. They likely would have made the tournament all four years had it not been canceled in 2020; Swish Appeal had the Lady Vols as a projected No. 9 seed that year.
Only Alexis Hornbuckle has also accumulated 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists in a Tennessee women’s basketball uniform. Horston was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2019-20 and was voted All-SEC First Team by the conference’s coaches as both a junior and senior. Her last two seasons in college also saw her earn AP All-America Honorable Mention nods.
When it came time for draft night, Horston was ranked by ESPN as the fourth-best player available. Our Eric Nemchock had her going at No. 3 to the Dallas Wings. She was a steal for the Storm at No. 9 and has the height and skills to be a problem in the WNBA.
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