Investors Group Athletic Centre has been home to some tremendous American guards over the years. From Stephan Walton to Ilarion Bonhomme II, there's no denying the impact these players have had.

The most recent, and perhaps most intriguing import to enter the court for the men's basketball team, however, is 6'2" DJ Jordan Jr, who, despite being a rookie for Manitoba this year, has been through his fair share of battles at the collegiate level.

A product of Wichita Falls, Texas, Jordan Jr. got into sports in order to stay out of trouble. He had a self-admitted temper issue growing up and was kicked out of his elementary school as a child.

"I just channeled all that energy into sports," he says.

"I always played with older people, because I had older cousins and older brothers, so I was real advanced at a young age. I'd be nine hanging out with 14-15-year-olds playing basketball and football just doing stuff like that."

Jordan Jr. excelled in basketball, football, track and boxing, but chose to focus on the court sport from high school onwards. Part of this decision came from his coach Carl Pennington telling him that he would help him get to college and away from the street life that took some close friends from him growing up.

"I had a lot of brothers and cousins that were older than me that could've done something with basketball or football or any other sport, but they ended up falling victim to the streets.

That kind of helped me growing up in Wichita, because it made me realize I didn't want to live like that or end up that way. It made me keep my head on straight and block out the stuff that could draw me into that growing up, because it's real violent in Wichita. There's a lot of fights and gun violence."

Jordan Jr. started from his sophomore year onwards for Wichita Falls High School, performing well. He also played for Team Texas and the Dallas Mustangs club team, which included players such as Marcus Smart, a similarly gritty player who now plays with the Boston Celtics.

He participated in tournaments all through the United States and was generating serious interest from a number of NCAA Division 1 schools, until a brawl in his senior year derailed his post high-school dreams. The sharpshooter was suspended for 16 games and lost most of the offers that were previously on the table.

Picking up the pieces, Jordan Jr. enrolled at Weatherford College, a Division 1 junior college (JUCO) roughly 25 miles west of Fort Worth. Unfortunately, his experience was tainted by the firing of the coach who recruited him, as well as a lack of interest in class.

"When I was at Weatherford I was young and I really didn't go to class. I was a true freshman at a good JUCO and everyone knew me. What I took away from that was just getting more serious, because JUCO was really tough. There were some good ballers there. It humbled me and gave me the experience of how college was done."

Jordan Jr. transferred to Eastfield College, a Division 3 JUCO in Mesquite, TX for the following year. It was a success.

"That was the blessing right there," he says.

"We were ranked number one in the country in Division III JUCO in the pre-season polls. We continued to be number one during the season and ended up making it to the final four up in New York."

Arguably the more notable part of Jordan Jr.'s time with Eastfield came off the court however, where he continued to provide for his family.

"Growing up with my mom, we struggled a lot. Even when I got older, my mom still struggled so I was always the person that provided for my mom and my little sister. I'd go back and forth from Dallas to Arlington where they stayed and go eat lunch with my sister."

The Texas native's play at Eastfield caught the eyes of many schools both in the U.S. and Canada. He had interest from NCAA Division 1 teams such as Texas Tech, Texas-Arlington and Stephen F. Austin, but on the encouragement of his dad, he chose to come to Canada instead to play for Gil Cheung and the Brandon Bobcats beginning in 2014-15.

"My dad was just like, 'maybe [going to Canada] would be something different for you, getting away from Texas and just playing basketball.' And that's what I did."

Jordan Jr. started 33 games over two years for the Bobcats, finishing first in points per game in his first year with 17 and second in his second year, with 15.1. But things just didn't click the way he was hoping.

"When I was at Brandon, I didn't really mesh with the team well," he says.

"The only time I was out of my house was for class and practice. I really didn't hang out with [the team] much, because I couldn't relate to them and they couldn't relate to me. It was more of a competitive thing there too. I met a lot of great people out there, it just wasn't what I wanted."

The 24-year-old also had a daughter at the end of his second year and chose to go back home to be with her. He attended a few pro camps and did well, but never followed up with an agent, instead choosing to train the next generation of athletes in his community.

He established a training program called Upgrade Sports and also started his own youth team named Team Jordan, composed of kids from the east side. Jordan Jr. also worked at a youth shelter, providing further guidance to those at risk.

After roughly three years away from the game however, the itch came back. Jordan Jr.'s goal was always to play pro and he knew that finishing university was a critical step in making that happen.

With that in mind, he contacted Bison men's basketball head coach Kirby Schepp, who he got in touch with thanks in part to Bonhomme II.

"I was doing a lot of talking with my big brothers and cousins and stuff, and they were like 'you need to get back to it before your age gets to you.' So I was like alright. Through the three years that I was back home, I kept in contact with [Kirby] Schepp, because I played against the U of M and I knew Ilarion and stuff like that. I was actually supposed to come out last year, but I couldn't get eligible, so then I got eligible this year and now I'm just getting back into my groove."

Training camp was a struggle at first for Jordan Jr., as he wasn't in game-ready shape.

"I was in horrible shape," he chuckles.

"You have to think about it, I was three years off. My cardio was alright, but getting back into the rhythm and basketball flow, I was probably at like 50 percent. I threw up the first day of training camp. My legs were dead and I felt like I couldn't jump or dunk anymore. I was just like oh my gosh, but I got through it."

Jordan Jr. added that Schepp helped him exponentially in understanding the flow and requirements needed from his game.

"When I was at Brandon it was more of give DJ the ball and let him score, versus now I have players on the team that can play too, so it's more like okay, when you get the ball in this situation, that's when you need to score and make a play. I feel like now I'm actually learning the real fundamentals of Canadian ball and how it's played, because Kirby is a great coach."

The bench boss has appreciated the dedication that Jordan Jr. has brought to the table thus far.

"He's certainly willing to learn," Schepp says. "He's a very coachable young man, so yes, adjustments need to happen, but he's certainly primed to make them."

The offensive sparkplug has averaged 24 minutes per game for the Bisons, starting three contests while averaging 11.7 points per game. His standout performance came a few weeks ago against nationally ranked UBC, where he put up 31 points.

Manitoba, who currently sit just out of a playoff spot at 3-7, have the bye this week and are now off until January. Jordan Jr. will likely be a key cog in the Herd's second half surge and is looking forward to continuing to grow and learn as a player.

"I feel like I'm about 80 percent right now. When I go back home for this break I'll be working real hard with my cousins and getting on the vertimax. When I come back I'll be 100 percent."