Jordan McLaughlin - In The News
BREAKDOWN: Jordan McLaughlin is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior point guard who has the ability to be both an elite floor general and scorer. He is serving as one of USC’s captains again this season. Ranks second on USC’s all-time assist list (457), eighth on its steals list (141) and 22nd on its all-time scoring list (1,188 points).
2016-17: McLaughlin started all 36 games and averaged 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He ranked second among Pac-12 players with 197 assists and fourth with a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio. Scored 20 or more points five times with a season-best 24 points vs. BYU on Dec. 3. Went 7-for-7 from the floor to finish with 18 points vs. Pepperdine on Dec. 11. Scored a game-high 21 points and hit a floater in the lane with 48 seconds left to give USC lead for good vs. Troy on Dec. 17. Scored winning basket to finish with 22 points in 94-92 OT win vs. Wyoming in the Las Vegas Classic title game on Dec. 23...named Tournament MVP. Scored 20 points, but his layup was blocked at the buzzer vs. Cal on Jan. 8 in a 74-73 loss. Had a season-high 10 assist vs. Arizona State on Feb. 26. Matched that and just missed the second triple-double in USC history with16 points, 10 assists and nine reobunds vs. Washington State on March 1...it was his first double-double of the season. Led USC with 22 points & 9 assists vs. Washington on March 4. Scored 18 points and had six assists vs. UCLA in Pac-12 Quarterfinals on March 9. Picked up his second double-double of the season and third of his career with a career-high 10 rebounds and 18 points in USC’s comeback First Four win over Providence on March 15.
2015-16: McLaughlin was named a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention as he averaged 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists. The co-captain was one of two Trojans to start all 34 games. He wasted no time in demonstrating he had recovered from his two shoulder surgeries by scoring 20 points in the opener vs. San Diego on Nov. 13. He led USC in scoring in the first four games, averaging 20.3 points in those contests. He broke his nose vs. Xavier on Nov. 27 and did not play in the second half, finishing with six points. He played wearing one of two masks the next five games and averaged 7.2 points. He set the USC single-game assist record when he recorded 16 vs. Lafayette on Dec. 23, breaking the record of 15 set by Brandon Granville in 1999. He scored 23 points, four assists and matched a career high with five three-pointers made at UCLA on Jan. 13. He had 10 assists, nine points and tied a career high with five steals vs. UCLA on Feb. 4. Scored a career-high 25 points, had five assists and three steals vs. Colorado on Feb. 17. He scored a game-high 24 points in USC’s Pac-12 Quarterfinals loss to Utah. Scored a team-high 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in USC’s NCAA first-round game vs. Providence on March 17. Given the Forrest F. Twogood Award as USC’s best defensive player at USC’s award banquet. Played for the Pac-12 All-Star team which traveled to Australia in the summer following the season.
2014-15: McLaughlin was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team as he averaged 12.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He played in 22 games and made 21 starts before his season was cut short due to his second shoulder injury. He led the team in minutes played per game (31.6) and despite missing 10 games, was second in assists (100), steals (33) and free throws made (60) and third in scoring average and three-pointers made (28). His 100 assists rank ninth on USC's all-time freshman single-season list and his 1.5 steals and 4.55 assists per game led all Pac-12 freshmen. Made the transition from high school to college look simple by starting and scoring 19 points and handing out six assists in USC's opener vs. Portland State on Nov. 15. Scored 15 points, had seven assists and four steals in the second game of the season vs. Tennessee Tech on Nov. 17. He scored 11 points and registered eight assists vs. Drexel on Nov. 21. The eight assists were a season high, also accomplished on Feb. 8 at Stanford. He posted 12 games of five or more assists. He averaged 21.3 points and 5.7 assists in the first three games of December. He scored 18 points and had seven assists vs. LMU on Dec. 3, 21 points, five assists and made a season-high five three-pointers vs. Utah State on Dec. 7 and a season-high 24 points and five assists vs. Army on Dec. 13. He injured his right shoulder in the game at Utah on Jan. 2 and sat out the next two games. Came off the bench to score 14 points vs. Stanford on Jan. 11, including the Trojans' final four points to cut Stanford's lead to 77-76, but he slipped in the lane with two seconds remaining before he could attempt the game-winner. Scored 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting at California on Feb. 5. He scored 18 points, matched a season-high with eight assists and had a season-best five steals at Stanford on Feb. 8. He scored 11 points before leaving in the second half with a left shoulder injury on Feb. 11 at Oregon. Was presented the Ryan Francis Scholarship Award as "the best example of being a Trojan" at the Men's Basketball Awards Banquet following the season.
HIGH SCHOOL: McLaughlin led Etiwanda High to a 27-5 record and No. 9 ranking in the state of California as a senior, as he averaged 17 points and 8 assists per game. Etiwanda advanced to the CIF Southern Section quarterfinals where they fell to Chino Hills. McLaughlin suffered a torn labrum in that game, but put off surgery until after the CIF State Championships. He was able to fight through and lead Etiwanda to a to a 64-51 win over El Camino Real, before his team lost 67-64 to eventual state and mythical national champion Mater Dei in double-overtime...he scored 21 points in that game. McLaughlin was the sixth-ranked 2014 point guard recruit and No. 36 overall according to Scout.com and No. 41 according to ESPN.com. McLaughlin was an All-CIF first team selection and named second team on the MaxPreps 2013-14 California Overall All-State squad. He was also named the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Player of the Year, San Bernardino Sun Player of the Year, Southern Section All-Open Division Team, Los Angeles Times All-Area Team and the Baseline League MVP. As a junior he led Etiwanda to the CIF Southern Section title by taking out perennial powers Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei in the semifinals and finals respectively. Etiwanda finished with a 28-3 record and McLaughlin averaged 15.6 points per game. The last two seasons of high school, McLaughlin guided Etiwanda to a 55-8 record. Before choosing USC, he also considered among others Indiana, UCLA and Kansas. His high school coach David Kleckner has coached such players as Darren Collison, Jeff Ayers and Byron Wesley and said that McLaughlin "Is right up there with the best I have had." Maintained a 3.5 or higher GPA throughout high school.
PERSONAL: Jordan was born on April 9, 1996 in Pasadena, Calif. His nickname is "J-Mac." His parents are Thomas and Lisa McLaughlin and his siblings are Amber, Whitney and Dominique. He is a fan of the Chicago Bulls. Says he is blessed that USC has taken the No. 11 jersey out of retirement to allow him to wear the number he has donned since a freshman in high school. Is a fan of musical artists Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye West, J. Cole and Meek Mill. Among his favorite foods are ribs and brownies. In his spare time likes to play video games and hang out with friends. His favorite movie is Spacejam. Lists Michael Jordan as his sports hero because he was one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball. Some day would like to visit Puerto Rico and Italy. After USC he would like to play in the NBA and then be a college coach. He is majoring in Sociology with a minor in Communications.
