BYU head men’s basketball coach Dave Rose received a verbal commitment from Portland, Ore., area recruit, Jordan Chatman, earlier this week.
“I’m so excited to play Division I ball at BYU,” Chatman said. “The fans are excellent and I’m excited to play in the Marriott Center. I really liked coach Rose and his style of play. I think it fits me really well.”
Chatman, currently a senior in high school, said he plans on leaving on a mission upon high school graduation. He will join the team for the 2014-15 season.
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Jeff Chatman said he is excited for his son to follow in his footsteps but hopes his son doesn’t feel the pressure of playing like him.
“Every father wants their son to follow them and be better than them and so having him go to BYU is a great thing,” he said. “But I don’t want him to be compared to me because he’s so different than me.”
Jeff Chatman played forward while at BYU, while his son plays guard. Jordan Chatman likes to play an up-tempo style offense while his father liked play down in the post.
They also have many differences off the court.
“He’s a really quiet kid and I’m really boisterous and loud. I like to be in a big group of people and he likes to have a small group of friends,” Jeff Chatman said. “But because of that, he’s a great learner. He’s a sponge when it comes to basketball. He really would listen to me and I think a lot of the things he learned will make him a really great player.”
Jordan Chatman said he feels his father has been a great influence on his life off the basketball court as well.
“He’s taught me a lot about the gospel and things about life,” Jordan Chatman said. “He’s just always teaching me the right things to do. He’s a great person. When I have the opportunity to get married, I want my future family to be how my family is right now.”
As Jeff Chatman prepares to hand his son off to Rose and the BYU coaching staff, he said he feels comfortable with the future relationship his son will have.
“I’ve always loved coach Rose,” Jeff Chatman said. “He’s a tremendous guy. He’s a great guy for me to turn my son over to because I can see that he loves the players and the players love him. He’s just a class act and his family is as well. It’s really an honor for my son to play for coach Rose.”
Jordan Chatman said he feels the transition to college will also be made easy because of the campus environment.
“I’ve been there multiple times and I really enjoy the environment and being down there,” he said.
Jordan Chatman committed to BYU soon after Lone Peak High School recruits T.J. Haws and Nick Emery committed to the Cougars. T.J. Haws will join his older brother, Tyler Haws, on the team in the 2014-15 season. T.J. and Tyler Haws are also the sons of another former BYU star, Marty Haws.
Jeff Chatman played for two season with Marty Haws and is thrilled at the opportunity his son will have to play with the sons of his former teammate.
“I would say out of all the players I played with in college I was closest to Marty Haws,” Jeff Chatman said. “[Jordan] should get to play two years with T.J. and one year with Tyler so they’ll get to play together just like their old men did.”
As the younger generation of Chatman and Haws players prepare to enter BYU, Jeff Chatman can’t help but feel a little nostalgic.
“When I came to BYU as a non-LDS athlete I had no idea what was going to become of this,” he said. “I’m still just blown away with what’s happened. To have my son and Marty’s play together is really cool.”
