Lynch becomes 5th Knight to sign, joins Mount Olive
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
As four of his fellow seniors on the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team’s starting lineup joined college programs, Jordan Lynch thought he would be happy just attending Winston-Salem State University as a normal student.
Instead, Lynch decided he was not ready to stop being a student-athlete. Instead, Lynch will join the program at the University of Mount Olive, a member of NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas.
Because he hadn’t indicated that he was receptive to signing, Lynch said he only received recruiting interest, but no offers, from Div. II schools Catawba and Elizabeth City State, as well as Div. III William Peace and Fayetteville Tech of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Although he was planning on not playing basketball in college, Lynch continue to work out on his own even as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all athletic activity. When Mount Olive head coach Joey Higginbotham continued to pursue him, offering him a chance to redshirt, Lynch reconsidered his plans.
“I had been talking with them all along and then they offered me a redshirt year,” he said. “So I just took it because I’ve been working since the quarantine.”
The son of Tomeka and Keith Lynch of Rocky Mount, Lynch transferred from Northern Nash High. He helped the Knights go 62-11 over the last two seasons, including winning the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship in 2019.
Lynch averaged 14 points, four assists and three rebounds per game for Greenfield this past season.
“I’m proud of Jordan,” Knights veteran head coach Rob Salter said. “Mount Olive’s getting a kid who will really work his butt off. Jordan’s a tough-nosed kid who’s going to put pressure on the defense a lot in transition and he can guard the ball very well, so I think Jordan’s going to really contribute to the program his four years there.”
Hard work was a hallmark of Lynch, who was also an outstanding student.
“Jordan is really coachable and he wants to get better so he’s going to be in that gym 24/7 and he will show the coaches how bad he wants it,” Salter said.
Mount Olive is coming off a 16-13 season, including a 10-10 finish in Conference Carolinas, one spot below Barton College.
“I’m going to learn a new system and earn my minutes and work hard every day,” Lynch assured.
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound senior was the fifth Knight to join a collegiate program, joining Dji Bailey (Richmond), Creighton Lebo (North Carolina preferred walk-on), Trey Pittman (Lynchburg) and Collin Guilford (Randolph-Macon).
Lynch said it’s no accident the senior group are all headed to the next level.
“Coach Salt really prepared us for college,” he said. “Every time he really pushed us, he was, like, ‘I’m preparing y’all for the next level and not just high school.’
“Then, every day in practice you go against some of the best players in North Carolina and that pushes you, too, so you’ve got to come ready to practice every day. And that’s what we did because we competed every day.”
Salter said the way the quintet came together last season — with Lynch, Lebo and Guilford joining Bailey and Pittman at Greenfield — was remarkable.
“I mean, they worked hard, and they just pushed each other every single day,” he said. “And they all had their dream, and they all supported each other to try to achieve their dream and all those seniors helped each other achieve that.
“That group was special for the two years they played together. They did a lot of special things at Greenfield.”
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
As four of his fellow seniors on the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team’s starting lineup joined college programs, Jordan Lynch thought he would be happy just attending Winston-Salem State University as a normal student.
Instead, Lynch decided he was not ready to stop being a student-athlete. Instead, Lynch will join the program at the University of Mount Olive, a member of NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas.
Because he hadn’t indicated that he was receptive to signing, Lynch said he only received recruiting interest, but no offers, from Div. II schools Catawba and Elizabeth City State, as well as Div. III William Peace and Fayetteville Tech of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Although he was planning on not playing basketball in college, Lynch continue to work out on his own even as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all athletic activity. When Mount Olive head coach Joey Higginbotham continued to pursue him, offering him a chance to redshirt, Lynch reconsidered his plans.
“I had been talking with them all along and then they offered me a redshirt year,” he said. “So I just took it because I’ve been working since the quarantine.”
The son of Tomeka and Keith Lynch of Rocky Mount, Lynch transferred from Northern Nash High. He helped the Knights go 62-11 over the last two seasons, including winning the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship in 2019.
Lynch averaged 14 points, four assists and three rebounds per game for Greenfield this past season.
“I’m proud of Jordan,” Knights veteran head coach Rob Salter said. “Mount Olive’s getting a kid who will really work his butt off. Jordan’s a tough-nosed kid who’s going to put pressure on the defense a lot in transition and he can guard the ball very well, so I think Jordan’s going to really contribute to the program his four years there.”
Hard work was a hallmark of Lynch, who was also an outstanding student.
“Jordan is really coachable and he wants to get better so he’s going to be in that gym 24/7 and he will show the coaches how bad he wants it,” Salter said.
Mount Olive is coming off a 16-13 season, including a 10-10 finish in Conference Carolinas, one spot below Barton College.
“I’m going to learn a new system and earn my minutes and work hard every day,” Lynch assured.
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound senior was the fifth Knight to join a collegiate program, joining Dji Bailey (Richmond), Creighton Lebo (North Carolina preferred walk-on), Trey Pittman (Lynchburg) and Collin Guilford (Randolph-Macon).
Lynch said it’s no accident the senior group are all headed to the next level.
“Coach Salt really prepared us for college,” he said. “Every time he really pushed us, he was, like, ‘I’m preparing y’all for the next level and not just high school.’
“Then, every day in practice you go against some of the best players in North Carolina and that pushes you, too, so you’ve got to come ready to practice every day. And that’s what we did because we competed every day.”
Salter said the way the quintet came together last season — with Lynch, Lebo and Guilford joining Bailey and Pittman at Greenfield — was remarkable.
“I mean, they worked hard, and they just pushed each other every single day,” he said. “And they all had their dream, and they all supported each other to try to achieve their dream and all those seniors helped each other achieve that.
“That group was special for the two years they played together. They did a lot of special things at Greenfield.”
