By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor
SLIDELL — Jordan Cornish is only 16 years old, but he just made one of the biggest decisions of his life.
The 6-foot-5 basketball player from Slidell verbally committed to the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team over other schools like Oklahoma, Purdue, Vanderbilt, VCU, Texas A&M and the University of Houston.
Cornish is a junior at Brother Martin High School, and was first contacted by Tennessee as a freshman. But Cornish truly got his start in the Slidell Youth Basketball Association and Biddy Leagues that were coached by guys like Ricky Suprean and Chris Jean.
“Jordan was raw as raw could be, but you could see he had tremendous athletic talent,” Suprean said, who has been coaching in the SYBA for over 20 years.
Cornish started playing in the SYBA when he was nine years old. His team went 17-0, and Cornish, who was already 5-foot-8 played point guard.
“We would have people come up to us and say, ‘How old is that tall kid?’ I’d tell them, ‘He’s nine years old and he’s our point guard,’” Suprean said.
Getting that experience as a point guard is what has helped Cornish stand out as a 6-5 guard.
At 10 years old, Cornish and his team went 38-0 on the season. Then at age 11, Cornish played in a 12-year-old tournament in Slidell, and his team upset New Orleans, and another Slidell team, but then lost to Kenner. It was Cornish’s first loss in 57 games.
“That was a great team. He was 6-feet tall and a point guard at 11 years old playing against 12 year olds,” Suprean said.
Clearly, Cornish was special from the rest. He said he chose Tennessee over the other schools because of the tradition the Volunteers have.
“Coach was always straight forward with me, and when I go up, I’ll have a shot at playing right away. I couldn’t pass that up,” Cornish said.
The teenager said he remembers playing in the SYBA league very well.
“Ricky (Suprean) and Chris (Jean) got me into it, and I really liked it,” Cornish said. “Those guys are great. They start us off young, and got me the proper training that I needed. Once I stopped playing with them, I just kept going forward.”
Suprean said Cornish is a very unique player.
“What makes him so special is that he will pass to everybody. He gets everybody involved, and he’s a tremendous defensive player. He works harder than anybody on the court. The kid was off the charts from the beginning, and all the kids loved being around him,” Suprean said. “He never had a swellhead.”
When Cornish was 10 years old, he met Chris Duhon, who is a Salmen High School graduate and NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers. Suprean said Duhon and Cornish were eye-to-eye.
“I kept thinking, ‘This kid is 10 years old, and Chris is an NBA player. They’re the same height,’” Suprean said.
Cornish is an only child and the first in his family to play at a Division-I school. He is currently playing in the middle of the Nike EYBL season with Nike Team Louisiana and is averaging 10.7 points per game against some of the top competition in the country.