iona transfer greg gordon bolsters blazer backcourt for 2024-25 season

APRIL 15, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

By Steve Irvine

The toughness that UAB basketball signee Greg Demani Gordon brings to Birmingham was developed while growing up in his hometown.

“Chicago is everything to me,” said Gordon, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound transfer portal addition from Iona. “It’s truly everything. It is 100 percent the reason why I am the way I am today, especially the way I’m aggressive on the court. I understand that Chicago is a dog eat dog world. I know that’s  commonly used expression, but in Chicago that’s what it really means.”

On the court, Gordon said, is where it really shows.

“I don’t back down from nobody on the court,” Gordon said, a relentless defender and rebounder. “If trouble wants to come knocking at UAB’s doorstep, I’ll be the one knocking.”

Gordon’s path from his Chicago home to Birmingham comes with a bunch of twists and turns.  He went from high school in Chicago to a high school in Florida. He followed that with prep school stops in Tennessee and Florida before arriving at Dyersburg State Community College in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Even through all of his stops, it was an adjustment when he arrived to start community college.

“It was different,” Gordon said of Dyersburg, a town with approximately 16,000 residents about 80 miles northeast of Memphis. “I’m in the middle of nowhere, everybody speaks Tennessean, which is so hard to understand. I’ve never seen cows in my life. Seeing that, I knew I was in for a ride. There was a total of 11 stores in town. I kind of adapted there. I ended up making that my home, where I currently reside. I love the town and I love the people. It was great.”

He flourished on the court, earning junior college All-American honors in both seasons. He averaged 22.8 points and 12.2 rebounds in his first season and 23.3 points and 10.6 rebounds as a sophomore.

Just like with several of his future UAB teammates, his junior college experience played a big role in his development as a player.

“Juco, it molds you,” Gordon said. “It’s kind of like preparation for what you can expect in D1. It kind of gives you the blueprint. It gives you certain characteristics and traits that will flip over to the D1 side of the game, as far as being tough. You understand that you went JUCO because, No. 1, you didn’t have the grades or, No. 2, no one believed in you enough to take a chance on you. You always want to pay back the people who took a chance on you.”

Gordon signed with Iona last spring. He was the team’s top player, averaging 16 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 24 games. Much of his damage was done inside the 3-point stripe. He was just 14 of 43 from outside the arc.

However, he left the team late in the season because of personal reasons and began looking for a new home. His first official visit came last weekend at UAB. Gordon said he showed up in Birmingham with the intention of learning about UAB. Committing to Andy Kennedy’s program wasn’t the plan, at least for now, especially with a couple of more visits already planned.

His plans changed quickly.

“When I got on campus, it already felt perfect,” Gordon said.

He already had a prior relationship with some of the UAB players, including Juco products Yaxel Lendeborg, Christian Coleman and Alejandro Vasquez. His friendship began at a junior college basketball camp and has continued the past couple of years.

Gordon joined the program before his recruiting visit was complete.

“Seeing the core that they return, I use that as motivation,” Gordon said. “I know, from the jump, that these guys are coming off a conference championship, a (NCAA Tournament) loss that they felt like they should have won. I know they want someone to have their back. I’m coming in here, day one, to 100 percent of giving my all, especially to those group of guys who really care so much about the game.”

He’s also bringing his own motivation with him, just like he’s done all through the way through his junior college and Division I career. Gordon’s brother, Edward James, was shot to death at the age of 22 in the Chicago suburb of Skokie. Monday marked the fifth anniversary of his death.

“Honestly, that is one of the main reasons why I push so hard today and try to make it in life,” Gordon said. “That moment, it broke me and it also molded me at the same time. I don’t want to go through anything like that again. It definitely pushed me way harder to achieve something that I’ve never been able to achieve before. I always dedicate everything to him.”