'Ello Dere: My name is Jerome Jordan

Here's our friend Mike of Liberty Ballers and Ridiculous Upside with a profile of the big man who, barring the discovery of an enlarged uterus in Corey Maggette's physical, will become the newest Knick. Check out his previous take on Landry Fields. -Seth

Upon selecting two wing players with their second round picks, some sources close to the Knicks were disgruntled about not coming away from the draft with a big man. Now I don't want to name names, but let's just say his name rhymes with Meth and he was sitting next to me. Fortunately for Meth and for you, Donnie Walsh was able to buy Milwaukee Bucks second-round pick Jerome Jordan for a milly, and he'll be joining the team shortly depending on Corey Maggette passing his physical. 

It's clear that the Knicks have frontcourt needs and just how much Jordan will be involved depends on what happens in free agency. With Eddy Curry as the only big man on the roster, I figure the Jamaican native will see a ton of playing time. He's still got plenty of room for development as Meth linked in his original post, but what exactly does he bring to the table? I'm glad you asked.

He is a legitimate 7-footer and that combined with his 7'6 wingspan makes him a physical specimen on the court.  He's got a nice little jump hook that he can depend on in the post, and a fadeaway that's still in the works. Without too much seasoning, however, he still has improvements to be made in his footwork, as he looks a bit goofy when his defender is a match for him physically. I've seen him extend his range to a consistent 12-15 foot jump shot that will help him be productive on the offensive end while his post arsenal grows.

On the glass, he uses his length and quickness to box out his man and get to floor boards. He's not laterally quick enough to defend the pick and roll very effectively yet, but he's been working on getting a stronger lower body and should do a passable job hedging at the next level. His biggest strength on the other end is his weak side shot blocking, but he's gotten better at manning up each year at Tulsa.  In Conference USA, you have one of the top 2 or 3 mid-majors, so he's not Patrick O'Bryant in the Missouri Valley, but the comparisons will inevitably come. Let's look at how he fared against decent competition his senior year, shall we? We shall.

2/3/10 vs. Marshall 73-69

JJ: 36 minutes, 7-16 FG, 10-13 FT, 24 points, 12 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 blocks, 6 turnovers

Hassan Whiteside: 25 minutes, 4-9 FG, 2-2 FT, 10 points, 1 rebound (0 offensive), 5 blocks, Fouled Out

Jordan dominated this matchup, and while the turnovers are ugly, holding a 7-footer to one defensive rebound is certainly an impressive feat. Getting to the line 13 times and fouling him out is just as important. It should be noted that Jerome also scored the last 4 points of the game.

2/6/10 @ UTEP 59-73

JJ: 34 minutes, 7-11 FG, 6-10 FT, 20 points, 5 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 blocks

Derrick Caracter: 30 minutes, 4-12 FG, 4-6 FT, 12 points, 12 rebounds (4 offensive), Fouled Out

Arnett Moultrie: 30 minutes, 4-6 FG, 2-2 FT, 10 points, 11 rebounds (4 offensive)

Tulsa didn't have the two big men like UTEP did, so this was a struggle for them. Moultrie is a player of Larry Sanders' ilk that figured to go mid-first this year before his transfer to Mississippi State, to give you an idea if you didn't know. Jordan got pushed around by a wider guy in Caracter and couldn't get to as many rebounds, but still managed  to get him in foul trouble and get to the line 10 times, while shooting a solid percentage from the field. I'm not going to go in detail in the other two games because of the difficulty of the 2v1 big man matchup for Jordan. Tulsa lost all three games to UTEP this season, because UTEP was a better team. But each game, Caracter and Moultrie got into foul trouble and Jordan got to the line a good amount. He also improved his rebounding to 13 and 15 in the next two losses.

2/17/10 @ Marshall 58-64

JJ: 38 minutes, 5-9 FG, 3-3 FT, 13 points, 15 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 blocks, 4 turnovers

HW: 21 minutes, 5-11 FG, 7-9 FT, 17 points, 9 rebounds (2 offensive), 4 blocks, 4 fouls

While Jordan didn't get to the line as much, he kept Whiteside off the court by getting him to foul in the post and on the glass early on. When Hassan was on the court, he was obviously effective, but in getting him into foul trouble, and if not for a poor team shooting night, would have gotten Tulsa the win.

3/11/10 @ Marshall 80-64

JJ: 36 minutes, 8-17 FG, 5-5 FT, 21 points, 12 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 blocks, 4 turnovers

HW: 35 minutes, 6-13 FG, 2-6 FT, 14 points, 10 rebounds (3 offensive), 6 blocks, 1 foul

This was to advance in the C-USA conference tournament, and it's clear that Jordan had the advantage over Whiteside all season long.  Hassan is even rawer (RAWR!) than Jerome as a freshman, so Jordan's success shouldn't be overstated, but he is an NBA prospect and for those claiming he didn't face enough tough competition, he played well against good talent.

CEILING: The Knicks can't land a center in free agency, so instead of signing a Jamaal Magloire, they give Jordan the nod from the start and he gets 12 and 9 by accident, all while going through his development but showing flashes of potential.

FLOOR: He doesn't get stronger, fails to understand how to move in a D'Antoni offense, and looks lost on the court. Then he marries Patrick O'Bryant and they get a cottage together in Wyoming.