After The Whistle: SU’s Jordan Oates
SALISBURY, Md. – In the 2024-25 season, Salisbury University men’s basketball has put together the best campaign they’ve had under Head Coach Maurice “Mo” Williams. They reached 15 wins on February 1st, a full three weeks before the close of their regular season schedule.
On a roster that returned only seven of 15 players, a graduate student has stood at the center of the team’s success.
“I always tell people what a pro is compared to someone else: they make something that’s hard look easy. There’s things that he does on the floor that he makes look easy,” said Coach Williams in praise of 5th-year forward Jordan Oates.
Oates has found his greatest success turning back to the paint in an era of basketball driven by three-point-loving analytics and statistics. “Coming in my freshman year I was more of a perimeter player, so I feel like over the years, I just kind of worked on my inside game,” he said.
Oates said that his mentality and approach to training has changed throughout his Salisbury career, allowing him to transform his body and take full advantage of his 6’5, 220-pound frame. “I’d say that I’m bigger than a good amount of people on the court, so I felt like I could utilize that, and making a layup is easier than making a three at the end of the day,” said Oates.
Averaging career-highs in scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounding (13.0 rpg), Oates leads the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference in both categories, winning conference player of the week for the entire month of December.
His grad-year exploits have earned him consideration for national honors too, with the forward finding his name on the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List and Trevor Hudgins Top 25 Watch List. Even with the accolades, Oates hesitates to take credit full credit for his performance: “When I see these awards I just thank my teammates and my coaches because I can’t do it without any of them.”
Oates is one of the top rebounders in all of DIII basketball. As of February 11th, he is 5th in total rebounds (286), tied for 5th in rebounds per game (13.0), and 2nd in defensive rebounds per game (9.59).
While he acknowledges his acumen for cleaning the glass, Coach Williams said that what Oates has brought to the team goes beyond statistics: “I think the obvious is the rebounding part, but I think the unseen is his character. We talk a lot about ‘be a sponge, not a rock’…He really is a sponge. His entire career here, he’s allowed us to coach him.”
As he continues to carve his name into seagull record books, Oates remains focused only on how his personal success can contribute to that of the team, saying, “Whoever thinks about Jordan Oates, I just want them to know that he’s a hard worker. Ultimately, I want to leave a championship here, make it to the tournament. That’s the legacy I want to leave here.”
With his 18-point performance against Mary Washington on February 8th, Oates moved into 9th place on SU men’s basketball’s all-time scoring list.
