CHAMPAIGN - Senior forward Aaron Jordan had to cut himself off when talking to a reporter at Illinois Basketball Media Day, Oct 5.

He was listing off the people who have supported him throughout his career at Illinois when he said “and the teammates who stayed”.

Jordan stopped himself and surveyed the Ubben Basketball Complex, wide-eyed.

“Wait,” he paused. “I’m the only one that stayed.”

In a 2015 recruiting class that included Jalen Coleman-Lands, Darius Paul, and D.J. Williams, Jordan is in fact the last man standing entering the 2018-2019 season. Forward Michael Finke, who transferred to Grand Canyon, was also a freshman in that class after taking a redshirt season.

Throughout constant turnover during his four years, whether it was players transferring or coaching changes, Jordan persevered instead of leaving the program like several of his former teammates.

“Illinois is home and that’s all I’ve thought about throughout the process,” Jordan said. “It’s really about knowing who you have around you: family, friends and coaches. Through all of them, they helped me get through it.”

Jordan’s dedication to the orange and blue speaks to his upbringing and family values, said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood.

Underwood added that change can be difficult for young people and the constant coming and going of different personnel is very challenging. It’s because of how Jordan has handled this challenge that Underwood uses Jordan as his model for Illinois basketball.

“Oh my gosh, someone needs to hire him. You’re talking about a guy that’s persevered through so much,” Underwood said. “If I could put ‘Illinois basketball’ and a picture, it’s his as the guy I want to represent our program and what I want our program to be about.

“I use the term pay it forward, he wants nothing more that Illinois basketball to be the greatest of all-time in his lifetime.”

Being the only senior on the roster brings along with a leadership responsibility for Jordan. The younger guys look at Jordan to set the tone for what it means to be an Illini and the returners look at him to continue to be the vocal leader he is.

For sophomore guard Trent Frazier, there's no other player that compares to Jordan.

“There’s nobody else that I’ve ever played with that’s played his role. He doesn’t complain for the ball, he doesn’t pout or anything,” Frazier said. “He’s one of those guys where he does everything right. You look up to him and you want to do everything and follow him because he’s always doing everything right.”

Underwood singled out Jordan during the opening of his press conference on Media Day, saying that Jordan has taken a “tremendous leadership role” in the team’s locker room.

Underwood later discussed the value that Jordan’s leadership brings to the team.

“To have a leader like him and to have a voice like him, I can’t put a value on that,” Underwood said. “It’s so, so important and again, it does speak volumes to who he is as a person.”

While Jordan is seen as the leader of the team, he’s also seen as the old man of the group. Guys like sophomore guard Da’Monte Williams are constantly chirping at Jordan, calling him “grandpa”.

Other chirping includes if Jordan is a little slow to get up, Williams makes sure to let him know it’s because he’s getting up there in years.

Ignoring the old man jokes, Jordan looks to lead a roster that includes six freshmen and eight total newcomers.

“Being able to lead these young guys and tell them ‘this is what I did and this is how I would do it, you might go through similar things, or you might go through different things’, it’s just about being able to help those guys and that’s good” Jordan said.

His personal goal for this upcoming season is just that, to lead this young Illini squad.

“Lead this team. Lead them when times get hard and when times are good,” Jordan said. “That’s the role I concentrate on and that’s what I’m going to be doing.”