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University's Barham signs with Davidson
(by Tony Lange - December 14, 2011)
University's Barham signs with Davidson
By TONY LANGE
Jordan Barham, a 6-foot-4 senior guard on University School's basketball team, signed his letter of intent to play Division I ball at Davidson College in North Carolina before the Preppers' season opener against Lakeside last Friday.
Last season, Barham averaged 22 points per game and was selected 2nd Team All-Ohio in Division II by the Associated Press. This season, he is ranked third in the state as a wing guard and 13th overall.
Barham said he had talked with University School head coach Terry Lipford about when would be a good time to sign his letter of intent and they both thought the Preppers' season opener would be a perfect night.
"It's my first game of my senior year and we all just wanted to start the year off right," Barham said. "Coach Lipford thought it would be a great honor to my coach at Davidson, to my coaches here, to my mom and all my friends and everyone to just sign it first thing and just get the season started off right."
Despite returning from a rolled ankle injury two days before, Barham was still able to tally 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Preppers who went on to lose a triple-overtime thriller 61-60.
Barham called his ankle injury ironic.
"I actually got hurt the first week of basketball," he said. "I went a whole football season without getting hurt and my first week at basketball, I rolled my ankle. I think the hardest part about coming to basketball from football is just the conditioning part of it and just getting back into the groove of things."
While Barham visited a number of schools, he said Davidson was his last visit.
The success of Davidson's program, such as its Elite 8 appearance in 2008, as well as the feeling of being wanted and the opportunity to play early is what attracted Barham to the Wildcats, he said.
"Coach (Bob) McKillop really knows what he's talking about. He just really made me feel wanted and I felt like I would be really comfortable playing for him," Barham said. "I wanted to go to a winning program where I thought I would have a chance of playing early and coach McKillop definitely portrayed that to me, so it was really exciting going down there."
Making a verbal commitment back in September really helped take some pressure off of his senior season with the Preppers, Barham said.
This winter, Barham said he just wants to continue University School's team success and work on improving what McKillop wants him to.
Last season, the Preppers finished with a 17-6 record including 11-1 for a championship title in the Premier Athletic Conference.
"Team wise, I just want to help carry out that success. I feel like with the guys we have this year, we can make a really deep run into the playoffs," Barham said. "And then for me personally, I just want to work on the things that coach McKillop wants me to work on for college, work on my defense, keep improving my jump shot and to just go as far as I can."
"I would love to win Division II Player of the Year in Ohio," he said. "So, that's definitely a goal."
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