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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Loveridge, And His Mom, Forever A Part Of Runnin’ Utes’ Family

Loveridge, And His Mom, Forever A Part Of Runnin Utes Family

His senior year of high school, Jordan Loveridge was one of the top prospects coming out of Utah. Essentially, he could have chosen any West Coast school, including Utah’s Pac-12 foe Arizona, but he ended up staying home to be a Ute.

Loveridge attended West Jordan High School. When it came down to picking a college to play for, he wanted to play for the Runnin’ Utes because of the brotherhood he felt right from the beginning. Loveridge knew immediately after visiting the Utah campus that that’s where he was going to play, but his father reminded him he needed to keep his options open, so he did. He visited plenty of other schools, and each time he returned to the Beehive State, it became more and more clear that he wanted to stay home.

“It was the bond I built with all the coaching staff that brought me here,” Loveridge said. “Here you get to talk to all the coaches, and they bring you into their houses, and you get to build a family-type bond, and that’s what I wanted in whatever school I chose.”

Through his entire decision process, his mother, LaTrill Loveridge, never got any sort of inkling as to where he wanted to go.

Being the type of person she is, LaTrill hoped Jordan wouldn’t venture off to another state. When she found out he was staying home, she was ecstatic but couldn’t show it. She found out the news as she, Jordan and Bill, Jordan’s father, were going to a meeting with Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak, and it was clear to everyone that she was a nervous wreck.

“We were sitting in Coach’s office, and I’m looking at Coach, and I know Jordan wants to go there, but it wasn’t time to tell him,” LaTrill said. “Coach was like ‘What’s the matter?’And I’m like ‘Oh, nothing.’”

When it finally came time to tell Krystkowiak, Latrill felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was just excited to watch Jordan progress at the next level under Krystkowiak’s eye. LaTrill has made an effort to go to every home game and has spent plenty of time on the road for away games, including Utah’s upset of Duke in NYC this season. All of her family members and friends know that if Utah is playing, they better not bother her.

LaTrill is often referred to as the ‘Team Mom’ because of her undying support for the team. She finds herself in the Huntsman Center plenty of times during the week, not just on game days, taking it all in before Jordan no longer sports a Runnin’ Ute jersey.

Jordan thinks that without the encouragement he gets from his mother, he wouldn’t be where he is now.

“She’s been great,” Jordan said. “Dad’s more of the one to tell me all the bad things, but she’s on the opposite side, where she goes to the extreme of all the positive things. She always finds something that’s going to cheer me up, even in a bad game.”

Another person who has been a big factor in Jordan’s college career has been his head coach. Krystkowiak gave him a chance in the program from the moment they met, and the Utah head coach has enjoyed watching Jordan grow, not only as a player but as a man.

Without Jordan’s leadership, Krystkowiak is certain the team wouldn’t be where it is now.

“He’s taking care of business in the right way, finishing up his senior year — there’s a little bit of sense of urgency with that,” Krystkowiak said. “When he takes good shots, open shots, I love our chances.”

Something Jordan is going to miss, aside from playing the game, is hanging out with the team. He’s made life-long friendships and considers the other two seniors on the team his best friends. Fellow senior Brandon Taylor is certain Jordan will continue to play a big role in his day-to-day routine once the season wraps up because of how close they have become over these past four years.

“Jordan, that’s my guy,” Taylor said. “That’s a man that’s always going to be a part of my life for the rest of our lives, and we’ll always be tight friends and always be like brothers.”

LaTrill loves the other two seniors — Taylor and Dakarai Tucker — on the team as if they were her own sons. She has a great relationship with both of their mothers and a day never goes by where she doesn’t talk to them over the phone. They also make an effort to take as many pictures as they can of the trio before their time together runs out.

“They are, all three, so much alike,” LaTrill said. “The relationship they have, I have with their mothers. That’s the great thing about this Utah program — we’re a family. We all look out for each other.”

It’s this family atmosphere that both Jordan and LaTrill will miss once his senior season comes to a close. In the end, it’s a brotherhood that brought Jordan to Utah, and it’s a brotherhood he’ll leave with.

[email protected]

@kbrenneisen

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