L.D. Bell’s dynamic backcourt of Gordon and Davis highlights school’s fall signing day
L.D. Bell senior guard Myra Gordon would tell you, she lost count on the number of offers she received.
Maybe 30. Maybe 40.
“I’ve been getting offers since the eighth grade. I lost count,” laughed Gordon.
But the reigning Fort Worth Star-Telegram Player of the Year dwindled her choices to four — Alabama, Michigan, Missouri and San Diego State.
And when it came time to make a decision at the school’s gym on Nov. 13, Gordon unzipped her sweater to reveal the black shirt with crimson letters — Alabama.
“I committed a couple weeks before announcing,” said Gordon, who was last year’s District 3-6A MVP. “I had narrowed it down to six then to four and then took my official visits. I was going back and forth, making sure which school was right.
“Love the coaches and the teammates I’m about to play with at Alabama, and when I went on campus it felt like home. You get that feeling, this is where I need to go. I feel like I’m going to fit into their offensive and defensive system over there. Overall it was a good fit.”
The 4-star guard was also named 6A all-state last season after leading DFW with 27.4 points per game. Gordon averaged 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, and scored a school-record 928 points.
“Myra and I have the closest relationship I’ve ever had with a player. She bought in right away when I took this job. She’s a natural leader and as a coach coming into a new environment, I respect those type of players,” said LD Bell coach Andy Bloodworth, who is in his 21st year coaching the sport. “She was just a sophomore at the time and it really told me a lot about her character.
“Lot of times you’ll have deadly shooters or great defenders or great passers, and Myra can do it all. She’s got the outside game, her best is mid-range, but she can pull up or post up. She’s the most versatile player, hands down.”
Gordon was one of six athletes to sign from L..D Bell, along with Kriesten Daniel (golf), Sydney Edmiston (soccer), Caitlin Sullivan (soccer), Jaden Wells (boys basketball) and Kyla Davis (girls basketball).
Davis, who led DFW last season with 87 3-pointers, signed with the University of New Orleans.
“She has grown up so much especially this year,” Bloodworth said. “I know she wanted to play Division 1 and aiming for that and to be able to do it, I’m really proud of her.”
“They sold me academically,” added Davis, who averaged 12.5 points per game last season. “It was between three schools and after talking with family and taking school and distance into consideration, it wasn’t a hard choice.
“I kept hearing that this was the school to attend, if I wanted to further my career. Since a young age, we didn’t know basketball was a thing. It was softball. But my mom put in the time to help me get where I needed to be. I was getting worried because I didn’t have any offers. But it feels good to be the first in my family to do something like this, so it was very emotional.”
Bloodworth said that the exposure Gordon and Davis brought to the program has already helped the underclassmen.
“It’s huge. The bleachers are full every home game,” he said. “We have recruiters coming to all our practices and games. We have sophomores and freshmen in the program that benefit from it, get their name out, so it’s a great culture here.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 2:45 PM.
