5/15/2020 football Edit

Catching up with ... Walter Jordan

Walter Jordan has settled in to life in Atlanta.

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

Purdue had plenty of talent in the 1970s. And few Boilermakers had more skill--or accomplished more--than Walter Jordan.

He arrived in West Lafayette in the fall of 1974 from Northrup High in Fort Wayne, which he led to the IHSAA state title. Upon getting to campus, Jordan became an instant hit for head coach Fred Schaus.

Jordan ranks No. 9 on Purdue’s all-time scoring list, scoring 1,813 points (16.6 ppg) and was first-team All-Big Ten as a junior and a senior.

Jordan led the Boilermakers in scoring as a sophomore, junior and senior. His best season was his junior year of 1976-77, when Jordan averaged 18.6 points. That same season, Jordan helped lead the Boilers to the NCAA tourney, where they lost 69-66 to No. 4 North Carolina in a game played in Raleigh, N.C.

GoldandBlack.com caught up with the 64-year-old Jordan, who spent the 1980-81 season in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

GoldandBlack.com: Where do you live?

Jordan: I have been in Atlanta for 19 years. I was getting older and trying to find a home where the climate was conducive to a good quality of life. Winters had taken a toll on my body. It was between here and Dallas. I love Atlanta.

GoldandBlack.com: What have you been doing?

Jordan: I am really involved with kids. Have been my whole life going back to when I was in Fort Wayne, doing non-profit work through basketball, summer camps and youth leagues. I have a travel basketball organization with 100, 150 kids. We had 17 travel teams this past year. Currently, I am the CEO of Impacting Our Youth, Inc.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you end up at Purdue?

Jordan: That's a crazy story. Eugene Parker is somebody that is close and dear to my heart. I thought in 1974 he was one of the top three or four players in the state of Indiana. He inspired me to work harder and go after it. Just by his presence.

Going into my last year in high school, I had one offer—from Edinboro. My mom passed away a week before my senior year. I worked extremely hard the last two years to get better because I fell in love with basketball. And I kept growing. I came back my senior year and we had lost nine seniors. We had racial tension at my high school in my early years. All of the busing had started. We ended up coming together as a senior class and got close.

GoldandBlack.com: Did you have a lot of schools coming after you?

Jordan: I had all these offers because we won the state championship. All these people overnight were recruiting me, including from Indiana University where everyone thought I was going because I had two brothers and a sister attending IU at that time. I had spent time training down there over the summers, too.

GoldandBlack.com: Who did you choices come down to?

Jordan: My final choices were Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and IU. I took a visit to Purdue with Eugene. I'd never really considered Purdue, and Purdue was never Number One on my radar.

GoldandBlack.com: Who was in your freshman class at Purdue?

Jordan: Wayne Walls, Eugene Parker, Mark Barnhizer, Michael White.

GoldandBlack.com: How tough was it to lose Eugene?

Jordan: Besides the loss of my son and my mom, that was right there. He called me when he needed a laugh. I miss those calls. We shared things as roommates people don’t know. And I’d make him laugh. We lived two years together. Our junior year, he moved in with his cousin who played football. So me and Wayne lived together our last two years. We lived next to each other.

GoldandBlack.com: What was the highlight of your Purdue career?

Jordan: There were plenty. The games against Indiana stand out. When they were undefeated and probably should have won two national titles in a row. Wayne Walls takes credit for breaking Scott May’s wrist. But that's another story. We came close to beating them a few times.

GoldandBlack.com: Who else do you recall playing?

Jordan: I also recall playing Michigan State in my first Big Ten start at Purdue and I think Wayne Walls scoring 26 and beating them. I always think about the Minnesota games. I thought Minnesota was the most talented team in the Big Ten but never finished as strong as they should have. I remember playing a three-overtime game at Williams Arena. It was an unbelievable game.

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Walter Jordan ranks No. 9 on Purdue’s all-time scoring list, scoring 1,813 points (16.6 ppg).

GoldandBlack.com: People don't realize how much talent you had at Purdue.

Jordan: At one time we had Kyle Macy, Parker, Bruce Parkinson, Joe Barry, me, Gerald Thomas, depth. … People always ask me how we would do in the tourney. Just 32 teams made it to the Dance back then. You had to win the Big Ten to make it. We never finished any worse than third in the Big Ten in my four years. And when we made it, we played North Carolina in North Carolina. Come on. Phil Ford, Mike O’Koren, Dean Smith, the four corners.

GoldandBlack.com: What was it like to play for Coach Schaus?

Jordan: He attracted me. He had an NBA background. My mom always told me I would be a pro. So that put a vision in my mind. He had that background. He was with the Lakers and coached West and Bailey and Chamberlain and was GM. I said: 'Wow. this guy can help me get there' I love him as man. He’s strong convicted to his faith and family, high character.

GoldandBlack.com: Some feel Purdue never reached its potential during your era. Why do you think that was?

Jordan: Chemistry was good my first three years at Purdue. I look back and blame a lot of that on us as seniors for not taking a stronger leadership. We didn’t know Fred Schaus was gonna retire. We had no idea that was happening. I like to think that if we knew that, we could have rallied around that. No excuses.

GoldandBlack.com: How was your pro career?

Jordan: I was drafted by the Nets. They couldn't afford to have a guaranteed contract. So I played in the Western Basketball Association for Bill Mussleman who recruited me out of high school at Minnesota. I did well there and then Mussleman got the Cavs job. I played for him in the L.A. Summer Pro League. We won the league. Had offer from Rockets and Cavs. I signed with Cleveland. I couldn’t stay healthy and went overseas.

GoldandBlack.com: It all turned out pretty well for you.

Jordan: Yes. I owe Purdue a lot.

Walter Jordan was first-team All-Big Ten as a junior and senior.

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