Feeling slighted, Linn-Mar’s Bohannon works his way to major D-I college program

CEDAR RAPIDS - The moment it all changed for Jordan Bohannon came sometime in June. Linn-Mar was having a summer scrimmage with Iowa City West at the North Liberty Community Center.

No one remembers the final score, not that it was important. Bohannon has no idea how many points he finished with or any of his stats.

He just knew he played well. Validation came when University of Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery (there to watch his son, Connor, play for West) approached him.

'That kind of started our relationship,” Bohannon said.

Bohannon continued his fine play over the summer, which led to a scholarship offer from the Hawkeyes in late August. The 6-foot-1 point guard jumped at it, following his three older brothers as a Division I college player.

Jason Bohannon starred as a guard at Wisconsin, and forward Zach Bohannon transferred there after beginning his career at Air Force. Matt Bohannon is a senior shooting guard at Northern Iowa.

You've got to wonder how Jason and Zach, in particular, are going to be able to withstand seeing their little bro in black and gold.

'Jason's not too bad with it,” Jordan said with a laugh. 'But Zach, on the other hand ... I'm not sure what he's thinking.”

Jordan Bohannon was thinking a lot of negative things about a year ago at this time. He started as a freshman and sophomore for Linn-Mar, as good a 3-point shooter as there was around.

But he went into and came out of his junior season with the Lions with only two substantial D-I scholarship offers: one from UNI, one from Drake. He was frustrated, feeling he was a better player than that, with no offense to the Panthers and Bulldogs.

'I put a lot of hard work in, used the frustration as motivation,” Bohannon said. 'I was so mad because I wasn't achieving the level I could have. I felt like I was under-recruited last year. People don't really realize how tough of a process it is. Colleges are recruiting so many kids, you just don't know what is going to happen. I had a chip on my shoulder every day.”

Being able to shoot never was a going to be a question for Bohannon, but he knew he was going to have to be able to get through the lane and to the basket if he was going to be a high-major college guy. His defense was going to have to improve as well.

So that's what he worked on.

'Jordan has always been able to shoot the ball,” said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. 'Coming up as a freshman, that was his strength. But it is just the way he has been able to evolve his game. He is a total player now. He has worked hard on his defense, and a big thing for him is to be able to get to the rim.

'Anytime you can shoot it like Jordan can shoot it, you're going to be a good player. But I don't know if I've ever had a kid who has worked harder than he has. He is in the gym all the time.”

Bohannon averaged 17.8 points last season, making 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. He led Linn-Mar in rebounds, assists and steals and made 63 of 67 free throws.

He might not have to score as much this season, considering he has Jordan Printy as a backcourt mate. Printy, who has signed with Western Michigan, transferred in from Cedar Rapids Washington.

This is going to be a very good Lions teams. Will it be good enough to get to the state tournament and win it?

Linn-Mar hasn't been to state since 2012 after making it nine years in a row. Bohannon's brothers all won state titles, while he has never even played in a state tourney game.

'I kind of feel like we've let down the Linn-Mar school district,” Bohannon said. 'That's definitely disappointing, but I think that gave us more energy, more motivation working out in the summer.”

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