GREEN BAY — Kaukauna legend Jordan McCabe has been around basketball all of his life. Now that his playing days are over, he’s found an outlet to stay in the game: coaching.
Right now he’s an assistant at UW-Green Bay under head coach Doug Gottlieb.
“Been my entire life – it’s been so much more than just a passion. It’s an obsession,” McCabe said about what basketball means to him.
In his playing days, McCabe led the Ghosts to two state titles and was named Wisconsin Mr. Basketball in 2018. If you go to Kaukauna High School you’ll find plenty of memories of his playing days and just last week, the school retired his number five jersey.
“What you remember most is even a successful career that we had as a unit, wasn’t like the state titles or things like that – it’s chocolate milk and donuts after 6 a.m. two a days,” McCabe said of his favorite memories of playing at Kaukauna.
McCabe's father, Matt, also had a stellar career for the Ghosts, but Jordan attributes his love of the game to his late grandpa, Bruce McCabe, who actually didn't play basketball.
“My best friend in the whole world growing up. Every day I would get out of school — the Dodge Ram truck was sitting over there rusted out,” he said. “He worked at the mill in Kaukauna. Every day I don't know what he told his manager, "Hey, gotta pick Jordan up at 3 o’ clock every day and we’re going to the gym.”
Jordan says he thinks a big reason he’s in coaching is because of his grandpa who passed away a little over five years ago. According to McCabe, he breathed confidence in you.
“He made you think you could do anything,” said former Kaukauna star. “We’d come out of a shooting session, I’m like maybe I am better than Steph Curry at shooting.”
In addition to that, McCabe says Grandpa Bruce instilled something even more important into him: Obsession.
“I'll outwork people,” the UW-Green Bay assistant said. “I may not have the experience. I know how important that is, but anything I’m lacking there, I'll make up with work ethic."
After coaching for one season at West Virginia, where he played most of his college ball, McCabe is in his first year with Green Bay. Over the weekend, the Phoenix lost their 15th consecutive game, a program worst. McCabe has faith, that the players can weather the storm and overcome the adversity.
“I see all these guys, they come in and their identity their whole life is oh he’s that really good basketball player. at some point. that’s not who you’re going to be. it boils down to at some point who you are as a human being and trying to give them that perspective as much as I can.”
His coaching career is only beginning, but Gottlieb believes the sky's the limit for his assistant.
“I hope to be here and win a couple Horizon League championships, but if I’m not, I would expect Jordan McCabe to be sitting in my chair,” said Gottlieb.
