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Childhood teammates back together for final run at NAIA title Sekou Harris and Dii'jon Allen Jordan went separate ways after leading Plainfield High School to two consecutive New Jersey 3A state championships. Click on headline for complete story By Jordan Alves KANSAS CITY, MO - Separated only by their high school graduation, a couple of Plainfield, N.J. players rejoined forces at Campbellsville this year to lead the Tigers to their second straight national tournament appearance - the first in their careers. Sekou Harris and Dii'jon Allen-Jordan went their separate ways after leading the Plainfield High School Cardinals to two New Jersey 3A state championships in 2011 and 2012. The two went 46-0 in middle school and won the Plainfield City Championship over Hubbard Middle School both years. Moving into high school the duo was overshadowed their sophomore season by University of South Carolina signee Tyron Johnson. After Johnson left Plainfield for another prep school in 2010-11, the town lost hope in boys basketball. The supporters rebelled and turned their backs on the team. But it was a game of basketball that brought the team, the school and the town back together. "Nobody gave us a shot at winning our junior and senior seasons," says Harris. "Once we started to win five, 10, 15 games in a row, people started to jump on the bandwagon and get behind us again. We had to prove to them and win the respect of others. That's exactly what we did but more importantly we played for ourselves." Plainfield rallied to win back-to-back state titles. The Cardinals knocked off Burlington Township and Neptune high schools to win the first championships for the Cardinals since 1983. Plainfield High - the second oldest prep school in New Jersey - has seen many star athletes in its time. A few notable stars - Milt Campbell (Gold medalist in 1956 Summer Olympics) and Joe Black (first African American pitcher to win a World Series Game - 1952). But the two recent stars - Harris and Allen-Jordan - have both made names for themselves this season. But the road to success for Allen-Jordan and Harris hasn't been just trophies and titles. Struggles and overcoming adversity at a combined seven different schools have played a vital role in both of their lives. Allen-Jordan - or better known as DJ by the team -- admitted he didn't take high school basketball as serious as he should have. After graduation, he enrolled at Western Oklahoma Junior College where he played two seasons, earning After earning his associates degree, DJ decided he wanted to stay close to home, making the jump to NCAA DII Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. "My mom is my biggest supporter," said Allen-Jordan. "She comes to as many games as she can and she always drives. That was one of the most important things to me. I always talk to her before every game - whether it's on the phone or in person. We don't talk about basketball ... just life. It helps me relax." In his only season with the Patriots, Allen-Jordan made his mark, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds per game. But Francis Marion went 17-12 overall, 9-10 in Peach Belt Conference play and lost in the PBC Tournament Quarterfinal. Harris is exactly the opposite of his childhood best friend. He liked the big stage and went to NCAA DI Fairleigh Dickinson after graduating high school. After starting in four of the first six games, his playing time started to slowly decrease. Even though he played in 22 games overall and averaged 17 minutes per contest, he wasn't OK with the Knights finishing the season losing 15 straight games. Harris didn't feel like it was the right fit and took his talents to South Plains Junior College - where he teamed up with current teammate Roderick Lawrence. During his one season at South Plains, Harris, who is a scorer at heart, had to transition into a true point guard. He excelled running the offense and getting others involved but gave up scoring, knowing it was for the better of the team. After a disappointing season for the Texans, Harris received another offer to go back to Division 1. After a season with University of South Dakota, the situation just wasn't right and a fourth school was on the horizon for the 21 year old. "I was in the process of talking to coach (Brent) Vernon here at Campbellsville and really liked what was being offered," said Harris. "He told me if I knew of any forwards or centers to let him know and it just happened that DJ was wanting to find a place as well." "Sekou called me up one day and talked to me about Campbellsville," said Allen-Jordan. "We both have a winner's mentality -- all the way from middle school to high school to college ball. We both want to win. I wanted to play with someone like that again and Campbellsville was the perfect fit for us both." A perfect fit it was. After season-ending injuries to Rod Lawrence and Erik Kinney, Allen-Jordan and Harris felt the need to step up and be leaders. DJ, who is more of a wing player, had to transition into a center and get use to having his back to the basket. Harris had to learn to share the guard responsibilities with fellow senior Ron Scott. Both excelled at the transition and were named First-Team All Mid-South Conference. But it isn't about the individual stats that this duo cares about. It's all about winning and sacrificing for the team. "I just want to win," said Allen-Jordan. "Sekou and I came here because of the winning atmosphere and the high competition level. Playing in the national tournament is a dream come true but we aren't satisfied with just making the tournament. We are here to go all the way." It was a game of basketball that started the friendship of Sekou Harris and Dii'jon Allen-Jordan but Campbellsville University brought two childhood best friends back together and now competing on the biggest stages of their lives this week. The Tigers are playing in their 11th NAIA National Tournament and will tipoff against Texas Wesleyan on Thursday, March 17 at 10amET. Allen-Jordan is currently fifth in the national in total rebounds with 305 and No. 8 with 60 blocks. He finished the regular season second in the MSC in scoring with 551 total points, third by hitting 54.5 percent of his field goals and first by grabbing 9.53 rebounds per game. Harris has teamed up with Scott to be one of the best backcourts in the country. The duo finished the regular season first and second inside the MSC in assists per game, with Harris leading the way at 4.9 dimes per contest. Jordan Alves is Sports Information Director at Campbellsville University This story was posted on 2016-03-13 21:10:30
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