Jeffrey Jordan, the oldest son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, recently decided not to return to Illinois University’s basketball team. (Courtesy Photo/chicagoist.com)

(June 30, 2009) - Jeff Jordan was going to be compared to his father no matter what vocation he chose. Choosing basketball just made the comparisons come at a quicker rate. Wearing the No. 23 jersey just made the comparisons more obvious, but leaving basketball may have just ended the comparisons all together.

Michael Jordan’s son is leaving the Illinois basketball team after two seasons. The 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound guard has elected to focus his concentration on his academics instead of his athletics.

"I loved playing for the Fighting Illini and appreciate the support I was given by my teammates, coaches and the great fans here," said Jordan in a statement. "But I have come to the point where I'm ready to focus on life after basketball."

Jordan joined the team as a walk-on and earned a scholarship shortly before the 2009 spring semester. While lacking the offensive firepower of his father as evident by his career average of just one point per game, Jordan made his mark as a defensive specialist in his 8.4 minutes per game.

Jordan’s announcement came as a surprise to several on the team as he was expected to earn more minutes and a possible leadership role in the upcoming seasons as stated by Illini head coach Bruce Weber.

"He brought great work ethic to the gym and pushed himself, as well as his teammates, each and every day to improve. We will miss him, but we fully support the decision he has made," Weber said.

Jordan's departure from the team officially removes him from his sports scholarship. Jordan was on scholarship in the spring only because the team had an extra one available, but he was not expected to have received one for the upcoming season.

Jordan was a solid high school player during his tenure at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, a Chicago suburb, but his contributions didn’t earn him heavy recruitment. He chose to walk on at Illinois rather than accept a scholarship from Valparaiso.

While Michael Jordan will lose one son to an early retirement, his youngest son, Marcus Jordan, committed in April to play for Central Florida next fall.

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