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Saint Mary’s Gaels Land Jordan Ford

By Mark Kramer

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Like most of the teams in the West Coast Conference not named BYU or Gonzaga, the Saint Mary’s Gaels don’t often compete for top-ranked high school recruits.  That hasn’t stopped the Gaels and Head Coach Randy Bennett from building a strong program, but they have had to do it by finding diamonds in the rough and by building a robust international pipeline to Australia.

Bennett got a rare win through traditional recruiting when Jordan Ford, ranked as the #138 player in the class of 2016 by Rivals, gave his commitment to the Gaels on Monday.

https://twitter.com/jordan_ford_/status/640954335782834176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The point guard from Folsom, California was targeted by a number of West Coast schools, and the Gaels reportedly beat out finalists Oregon State and UC Santa Barbara for Ford’s services.  That trio emerged from a large group of schools in the region that were interested in Ford including notable programs like Gonzaga, UCLA, and San Diego State.

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There’s a reason why Ford was so highly sought after by West Coast teams.  Ford led his school deep into the state playoffs each of the past two seasons while averaging 20+ points per game.  He also had a strong season playing for the Oakland Soldiers in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.  His scoring was down to 12.1 points per game with the Soldiers, but his rebounding and assists numbers remained strong even against the elite competition.

Ford is the type of quality all-around guard that the Gaels love.  He’s a scorer who can also use his tenacity to force steals and go inside to grab rebounds.  He is made in the mold of Kerry Carter, another do-everything guard who graduated from SMC this past spring.

Ford will look to be the heir apparent to Carter as the Gaels try and continue their legacy of elite guards dating back to Australian talents Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova and more recently with stars like Carter and Stephen Holt.

Not only is this an impressive signing for the Gaels since they have struggled to keep up with Gonzaga and BYU in recent seasons, it could not come at a better time.  The Gaels were decimated this offseason as all their major players have graduated.  All five of their starters from last season are gone including Carter and talented Stanford transfer Aaron Bright.

The biggest loss is the graduation of Brad Waldow.  The Center was one of the best big men the WCC has ever seen, and his ability to compete inside with the athletes of Gonzaga and BYU was a big reason why the Gaels were able to be competitive in what is normally a very top-heavy conference.

Ford can’t replace Waldow, but he will go a long way to beefing up the backcourt that loses the scoring of Carter and the leadership of Bright.  By the time Ford arrives on campus next year, the young backcourt of the Gaels will have greatly improved and could see a big boost with the presence of Ford.

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    • Emmett Naar showed a lot of potential as a freshman last season, and he should take on a major role this year which will lead to a lot of growth.  And after sitting out a season due to transfer rules, former Boston College player Joe Rahon could be in line for a breakout season playing alongside Naar.

    There isn’t much depth behind them however, meaning things should still be wide open for Ford to take on a big role when arrives.  Assuming no major transfers come into the picture, Ford could slot into the third PG role or even play himself into a starting role as a freshman.

    It’s possible the ability to make an immediate impact with the Gaels helped influence his decision.  To find a quality program in his backyard that will allow him a chance to be an impact player right away is a great fit, and it couldn’t have worked out better for both Ford and the Gaels.

    Bennett has a lot of work left to build a team around Ford, but considering the Gaels are right on the ledge of falling down into the large pool of mid-tier teams that are chasing BYU and Gonzaga, this was a major pickup that could start to turn them back towards being a real competitor in the WCC race.

    Next: Three Coaches on the Hot Seat

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