Boys Basketball: Elijah Black, Jaden Holt have state-ranked Jordan off to 14-1 start
Program stalwarts headline experience-laden Warriors team with state championship aspirations
The way Jordan boys basketball coaches and players describe this year’s team offers the sense of something special in bloom.
A “blessing,” coach Charlie Jones called the opportunity to lead these Warriors. An “advantage,” senior guard Elijah Black said of Jordan’s wealth of experience. A “familyhood,” senior guard Jaden Holt said.
Everyone operating with one thing, and one thing only, in mind. Get to the Alamodome in San Antonio for the state championship game in March.
“One goal in mind, and I think we’re fixing to achieve it,” Black said.
More than a month into the season, who’s to argue?
Ranked No. 10 in Class 6A and No. 2 in the Greater Houston area in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, the Warriors are 14-1, including 2-0 in District 19-6A following Tuesday’s intense 55-52 win over Cinco Ranch.
They boast an average point differential of plus-20.3. Jordan’s lone setback was a 58-56 loss to San Antonio Harlan on Nov. 23.
Jordan is only in its fourth year of varsity play but has already authored impressive success, compiling an overall record of 78-29 entering this season, including a regional semifinal finish in 2022-23 and a regional quarterfinal finish last season.
But this season may prove to be the Warriors’ finest yet, in large part because they return their top four players from last season. But in larger part because of their high-powered backcourt.
The 6-foot Black and 5-9 Holt, both varsity players since they were freshmen, are one of the top two-way duos in Houston.
Black averages 11.2 points, 3.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Holt averages 10.7 points, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Either can score at a prolific clip. Either can defend at an elite level. Either can play on or off the ball. Both lead.
That was all on display against the Cougars, who entered Tuesday with a 13-2 record. Black and Holt accounted for 15 of Jordan’s 24 second-half points, including 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
When Cinco Ranch went on a furious run to trim a 13-point deficit to two early in the fourth quarter, it was Holt who took over, scoring nine points in the period, including a tough 4-point play, to hold off the Cougars.
“We talked earlier this year and I told him, ‘Hey, you’ve been playing varsity for so long, I trust you,’” Jones said. “He’s out there, he knows how to play and he’ll get it done.”
It’s moments like Tuesday’s that Holt lives for.
“For the past four years, I’ve been playing at a high level, and this is an experienced team,” Holt said. “Down the stretch, we’re built for those moments, we practice those moments. We feel comfortable in those moments.”
The Warriors play with a punishing force. They’re in attack-mode from the opening tip.
That type of self-assuredness is due to their experience. It’s a group of players that knows it each other so well, having built this program from scratch together ever since the school opened its doors in 2020.
But it’s also because of the tone set by Holt and Black, who play off each other seamlessly and ignite so much of the Warriors’ spirit.
“My sophomore year, it was me and Jaden and a bunch of seniors,” Black said. “Once they left, it was our responsibility to be leaders and being the coaches on the floor. It’s an everyday process. Almost like we’re at the drawing board every day. Just continue working.”
They complement each other perfectly.
Holt is an aggressive scorer, an all-region talent that can get buckets on all three levels while also deftly setting up teammates for open looks. He is poised and comfortable on the floor, assertive and seemingly never in flux.
But it wasn’t always like that. As a sophomore, his first year at Jordan, Holt oftentimes butted heads with Jones. But neither gave up on the other, to the point where Jones said he sees Holt like a son now.
“As a point guard, you have to see eye to eye with your coach, and we worked on that,” Holt said. “Talked it out, talked it through. Now we’re on that level we need to be.”
Black had his junior season derailed by a spiral fracture in his middle finger, causing him to miss nine games. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Jones mused how grateful he was to have Black back, adding how much he will be missed when he graduates.
“I want the world for him,” Jones said. “He’s a family friend. He’s such a good kid. Whatever God has planned for him, I want him to be successful in that.”
While Holt looks to score more often than not, Black is content filling up the stat sheet in other ways. He can get buckets, too, of course, but he is an exceptional talent on the defensive end and plays with an unselfish demeanor.
“I think I can do it all, but I love seeing my teammates succeed,” Black said.
Jordan is allowing just 45.1 points per game this season. Its identity is its defense, and that starts with Black, often tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.
“He takes a lot off me,” Holt said. “We both work so well together. We both feed off each other.”
Intangibly, this year’s Warriors are a more close-knit group. They’re more confident.
But on the floor, where it matters most, they are consistent, having already put together two separate win streaks of seven games this season, this most recent one still ongoing.
“It’s really hard to win five in a row,” Jones said. “My mentor always told me once you win five in a row, everybody wants to be the reason why you win. To be able to get past that is good, so we’ve just got to keep getting better every day.”
It’s a sentiment his players share.
“This is our year,” Black said. “But we have to be humble and just go day by day. The big thing is to keep practicing hard. We can go step by step. It’s going to be a slow process, though.”