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Column: Brentwood’s Jordan Houegban is a smooth-shooting guard on the rise

Jordan Houegban of Brentwood is a junior guard with size 13 shoes developing into a top outside shooter.
(Craig Weston)
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Jordan Houegban is a 16-year-old L.A. kid with African roots raised by a single mother. He fell in love with basketball from the first day he showed up as a 5-year-old at the Palisades Recreation Center.

“I was always telling my mom when I was young I wanted to play basketball,” said Houegban, whose mother was born in Sierra Leone and father in Benin. “She finally listened. I signed up for a team and it was one of the best experiences I ever had and made me love basketball.”

Watching Houegban shoot a three-point attempt for Brentwood School is like appreciating an eagle in full flight. There’s beauty in his high-arching shot, and when it drops perfectly through the net, you want to instantly replay it because it looks so smooth and masterful in flight.

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It has been perfected through hours of practice in gyms in the morning and at night.

“I think Jordan is going to be great,” Brentwood coach Ryan Bailey said. “Even after a good shooting night, he’s back in the gym at 7 a.m. the next morning.”

The thing is Houegban looks like he’s in the middle of another growth spurt. He’s 6 feet 1 but runs the court with feet that are expanding, which explains his size 13 shoes and occasional awkwardness.

“I’m definitely going through a growth spurt,” he said.

Added Bailey: “When you shake his hand, it’s like a mitt around you.”

Houegban’s mother, Maya, emigrated from Sierra Leone to New York when she was 5. His father is 6-5. She’s 5-4, and when Jordan passed her and his older sister in height, the family dynamic changed.

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“That’s why I knew I had to get him under control before he got taller than me,” his mother said. “Now he towers over me. I can’t look down at him and tell him anything.”

Jordan always listens to his mother.

“We believe in education,” she said. “Made sure it’s a daily thing, not Monday through Friday, but every day.”

His sister attends Pennsylvania. Maya has been the parent in charge for years, and she has relied on a series of coaches to help Jordan develop his skills. His willingness and enthusiasm to embrace those helping him on his basketball journey have put him on a path to success.

Bailey is just hoping he doesn’t miss the growth spurt while Houegban is at Brentwood. Lots of things will change if he ends up 6-4. Bailey has been working with Houegban since he enrolled in sixth grade. He’s averaging 16 points this season for 18-3 Brentwood and made six threes in a loss to Windward on Tuesday. Thursday, he made 12 three-pointers for 36 points against Calabasas Viewpoint.

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“You knew he was going to be good because he had the desire,” Bailey said. “Some kids talk it. He walks it.”

Said Houegban: “I can ask him whatever and he’ll give me advice.”

And he never forgets who’s the boss at home even if he’s the tallest.

“At the end of the day, I’m a fiery, short person,” his mother said. “I grew up in New York. You will listen. I will be the boss until he graduates.”

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