Jamon Alfred Lucas Gordon (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Standing at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) he played the point guard and shooting guard positions. He played college basketball with the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Early life
Jamon Lucas Gordon attended Andrew Jackson High School, where he played high school basketball and was first team all-state as a junior and senior. He led the state of Florida in steals as a junior and senior, and also had the most steals (four) in the state final as a senior. He averaged 19 points per game that year and made the Florida-Georgia All-Star Classic in Orlando, Florida. Scout.com ranked Gordon as the 20th best point guard in the nation.
College career
Gordon attended and played college basketball at Virginia Tech, with the Virginia Tech Hokies, from 2003 to 2007. A four-year starter, Gordon and teammate Zabian Dowdell were considered one of the best backcourt duos in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Gordon has the second most career assists (514) and steals (273) in Virginia Tech history. He was named third team All-ACC in 2006–07, All-ACC Defensive team twice, and was the 2006–07 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Freshman season (2003–04) Gordon started the first 11 games for the Hokies as a freshman. He then missed the next five games, which were the first five conference games, to have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. His first collegiate start was on November 22, 2003, in a win against the University of New Hampshire, 79–49. In that game, Gordon had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals to earn Big East Conference Rookie of the Week. On December 1, 2003, he had 12 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and six assists in a win against Morgan State University, 76–66. Gordon's seven steals were one away from tying the Tech school record of eight steals. Less than a month later, on December 23, 2003, he tied the Tech record with eight steals in a win over the College of William & Mary, and also tied a career-high with nine rebounds.
At the end of the regular season, Gordon played in two games of the 2004 Big East tournament, Virginia Tech's first team to ever make the tournament. In the first round win over Rutgers University, he led the team with five assists and five steals. Virginia Tech then lost in the quarterfinals to the University of Pittsburgh, and Gordon led the Hokies with 14 points and six assists. He played in 24 games, started 23 games during the season, and was third on the team in scoring. In his last 20 games of the season, Gordon had 95 assists.
Sophomore season (2004–05) The 2004–05 season was Virginia Tech's first in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Gordon made an impact early. In their first conference win, he had 14 points and five rebounds against Clemson University. On February 5, 2005, Gordon scored a then career-high 22 points in a loss against Wake Forest University. On February 17, 2005, he scored 17 points and had six rebounds in the win over seventh-ranked Duke University in Cassell Coliseum, one of the most famous victories in Virginia Tech basketball history. In the regular season finale, Gordon scored a then career-best 23 points, including seven points in the final 2½ minutes, to beat the University of Maryland, College Park, 86–76. The win secured a first-round bye in the 2005 ACC men's basketball tournament, who then lost in the first round to Georgia Tech.
After the regular season, Gordon totaled 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in two games of the 2005 National Invitation Tournament, including a team-high 16 points in a second-round loss against the University of Memphis. The tournament was Virginia Tech's first postseason appearance in nine years and their first National Invitation Tournament appearance in a decade. Gordon finished the season with 67 steals and 31 blocks, and was named to the ACC All-Defensive team. He started 29 games and led the team in assists (120) and steals (67). He also was second in rebounds (148) and fourth in scoring (36).