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State Gazette Girls Basketball Defensive Player of the Year: Dyersburg Lady Trojan Chelby Jordan
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Dyersburg Lady Trojan Chelby Jordan
JASON PEEVYHOUSE
As part of the Lady Trojans’ first-ever TSSAA Class AAA State Championship team this past season, Dyersburg sophomore Chelby Jordan was a bane on opposing offenses and has been named the State Gazette Girls Basketball Defensive Player of the Year for this past season.
Dyersburg Head Coach Tim Strayhorn said Jordan was disruptive to opposing teams’ offenses.
“She’s so long and so active in our press, in our zone, and in our man,” Strayhorn explained. “She’s one of our top leaders in deflections and steals. She was also one of the top girls leading us in blocked shots. So, she’s an all-around good defensive player.”
Jordan’s defensive stat line was, indeed, one of the tops on the team as she accumulated 95 steals, 97 deflections, and 175 rebounds during her sophomore year. This is in addition to what she did on the offensive side of the court, scoring almost 13 points a game and shooting at a 47.2 percentage from the floor.
One of her best assets is also her speed.
“I think it’s very deceiving,” the Lady Trojans’ head coach said. “I think she is so long and is covering so much ground that you don’t realize how fast she is.
“She’s pretty quick to be her size.”
Seeing the court well also helps the defensive side of the game, according to Strayhorn.
“And, she’s pretty dang smart,” Strayhorn pointed out. “Her basketball I.Q. is pretty high.
“She knows the game and has been playing for a while even though she sat out of couple years. She’s got a very high I.Q. for the game. And her work ethic and attitude is very good, too.”
Defensively, Strayhorn was able to see improvement in Jordan’s game on the mental side of the game.
“And, just the knowledge and understanding of the game,” Strayhorn explained. “ Like, when we played in the championship game, we did not want to switch when they kept running the back screen on us.
“She made several key stops which made a big difference in the ballgame. We were not going to switch on any screen and she saved us about three times on it.”
As good as her stats were, one thing that doesn’t show up at first glance on the stat sheet is how she creates the deflections.
“When she’s on the top of the press, she is so long, it’s hard for opposing teams to reverse the basketball,” Dyersburg’s head coach pointed out.
The State Gazette’s Defensive Player of the Year honor is far from the first award Jordan earned during her second year at the high school level. In April, Jordan was named to the Tennessee Basketball Coaches Association All-State Team for Class 3A. During the postseason, Jordan was named to the District 13AAA All-District team and was the postseason tournament’s MVP at the district level. The sophomore was also honored as the co-MVP in the Region 7AAA Tournament. Jordan rounded out the honors by earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team in the Class AAA State Tournament.
That’s a lot of trophies for a sophomore. Colleges have already began to notice as, after having received offers after her freshman season, college program’s continue to take notice.
“She’s just a great kid,” Strayhorn added. “She’s a hard worker and has a good attitude every day.
“She’s a pleasure to be around and great to coach.”
With her junior season beginning in November and her team entering the campaign with a state championship to defend, Strayhorn said he wants to see Jordan continue to improve.