{"id":2834,"date":"2019-08-26T18:32:26","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T18:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westernmirror.com\/?p=2834"},"modified":"2019-08-26T18:42:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T18:42:13","slug":"gordon-takes-his-talents-to-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/?p=2834","title":{"rendered":"Gordon takes his talents to Jersey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts – Staff Reporter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hillside, New Jersey in the United States, has been the home of talented young basketballer David Gordon for the past two weeks, and will be for at least the next 12-months.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lanky 18-year-old, who experienced a rapid growth spurt\nwhile in the 10th<\/sup> grade, left the island in mid-August to take up a\nscholarship at Patrick High School \u2013 once home to NBA Champion and superstar,\nKyrie Irving, who now plays for the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supremely talented and expected to go the distance in the sport, Gordon, who started out his sporting career as a well-reliable goalkeeper, told the Western Mirror<\/strong> before departing that he will be doing a 1-year stint at the school before seeking College offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am really grateful for the opportunity and will be putting in the work, both on and off the court, as I look to impress while hoping to get some D-1 offers at the end of my time with Pat School,\u201d said the towering 6\u2019 8\u201d Gordon, who can handle the ball and can be lethal from behind the three point line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winner of the All-Island crown with the Herbert Morrison Technical High School (HMTHS) where they went through the season 18-0, Gordon says his love for the game started when he was in Grade 8 at the Bogue-based institution, following an introduction by motivator and coach, Dave Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gordon powers his way through the middle as three defenders desperately try – but fail, to stop him. <\/em>
Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photos<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gordon, who, earlier in his career represented Jamaica at\nthe Under-15 level \u2013 a time which still holds precious memories for him, is\nhoping to eventually pursue a career in Physiotherapy and Kinesiology in\ncollege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says his main goal right now is to play D1 basketball at\na top university and one day make it to the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ill-tempered in his early years, Gordon revealed that prior\nto being introduced to Basketball by Black in the schoolyard, he had no\ninterest and was not a fan of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COPING WELL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since being at Patrick High School, Gordon revealed to the\nWestern Mirror, skills level and endurance have been the main targets of his\ntraining sessions, and that he has been coping well and has been received well\nby his new teammates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also revealed that, \u201cThe sessions are not much different\nfrom those here, just much more intense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beast on the court, but soft-spoken off it, Gordon\ndedicates his early success to Coach Black, a few close friends and his number\none supporter, his mother, who he says he will find it hard to adjust living\naway from, as she has been his strongest support system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In paying tribute, Gordon says Black has given him a great\nhead start in life and is encouraging youngsters aspiring to play the sport to\nremain focus and hungry, work hard and always have a positive mindset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts – Staff Reporter Hillside, New Jersey in the United States, has been the home of talented young basketballer David Gordon for the past two weeks, and will be for at least the next 12-months. The lanky 18-year-old, who experienced a rapid growth spurt while in the 10th grade, left the island in mid-August to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1491,68,1493,1489,1488,56,1490,1492,754],"class_list":["post-2834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all-island","tag-basketball","tag-d-1","tag-dave-black","tag-david-gordon","tag-herbert-morrison-technical-high-school","tag-new-jersey","tag-patrick-high-school","tag-western-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2838,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834\/revisions\/2838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}