Hurricanes Sign Junior College All-American

April 18, 2000

Coral Gables, FL – Head men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton announces the signing of Joe Gordon (Palm Bay, FL) to a national letter of intent to attend the University of Miami next fall. Gordon selected Miami over Florida State, DePaul, Maryland and Georgia.

“Gordon is a combination guard who will give us a lot of versatility in the backcourt,” commented Hamilton. “His experience will help us offset the loss of seniors Johnny Hemsley and Vernon Jennings.”

Gordon, 6-2 180 pounds, was named first-team NJCAA All-America after averaging 27.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game at Brevard (FL) Community College this past season. Gordon’s scoring average was tops in the nation.

“I wanted to go to a school that was close to home and would give me a chance to play,” said Gordon. “Miami is two hours from my house, the campus is beautiful and the team went to the Sweet 16 last season. The Hurricanes were a perfect fit for me.”

Gordon, the Southern Conference and Florida Junior College Player of the Year, shot 337-of-696 (.484) from the field this past season, including 129-of-290 (.445) from three-point range, and 186-229 (.812) from the line.

“I’ve coached basketball for 36 years and Joe (Gordon) is a unique player in that you don’t have to do anything special for him to get open shots,” said Brevard Head Coach Don Smith. “He is a tough player to defend. If you lay off him he can hit the three-pointer, and if you jump out at him he has the ability penetrate and create shots for others.”

Gordon set school single-season records for scoring average and three-point field goal percentage last season and led Brevard to a 29-7 overall record, the Southern Conference regular-season title and the NJCAA Region VIII Tournament Championship.

Gordon is the third player to sign with Miami. The Hurricanes signed 6-10 forward/center Reo Logan (Country Club Hills, IL) and 6-2 guard Rashid Dunbar (Bayonne, NJ) during the early signing period in November.