Jordan Epps has spent the last two seasons on the sidelines coaching the Central Bulldogs boys basketball team, but this summer he got back in the game as a player.
In the Winter of 2022, Elijah Whitley was playing for Parkview facing a Jordan Epps-coached Bulldog team. So, it’s quite the turn of events to see Whitley, now a Drury Panther, and Epps guarding each other in a game.
“I just came out of high school around 2 years ago and he was coaching against me. It’s wild,” Whitley said.
This summer Jordan Epps traded in his whistle for a jersey at the Strafford Sports Center Pro-Am.
“It’s definitely fun to just be out here playing, not everybody is fortunate enough to keep playing at the ages we are,” Epps said.
Epps laced up with a group of former area players during this year’s Pro-Am. Now, in his late 20’s, he is taking on athletes a decade younger.
“It’s fun because they all give me stuff for it,” Epps said. “They all like to make jokes about the old man, but it’s good being able to see that I can still be out here and play with those kids.”
He’s even learned how to adjust to being on both sides of the sideline.
“I kind of see the game a little different from being on the sideline to playing now being able to adjust a little more to the game. It feels a little slower,” Epps added. “Definitely a separation from a coach and a player and I had to learn that as I started my coaching career.”
He proved to be a natural leader for this team of former players, and truly be a player-coach.
“I catch myself trying to orchestrate where everybody is supposed to be. I still want to try to coach these guys, I kind of get in a habit of trying to tell them where to go and what to do. I try to make different adjustments, so I have to remember they know what they’re doing at the same time,” Epps said.
It’s a mindset fit for a coach even if he’s a player again too.
