'I definitely miss it': East Bay native Jordan Pope back home as Texas takes on Purdue in Sweet 16

Christian Babcock, The Mercury News on Mar 25, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jordan Pope’s homecoming has been a long time coming.

“It’s good to be back in the Bay Area,” Pope said. “I haven’t been here since my days at Oregon State.”

In the brave new world of college basketball, which has moved on swiftly without a requiem for the old Pac-12, Pope swapped one shade of orange for a different one after several Western schools were burned by the collapse of the formerly venerable basketball conference.

None more than Oregon State and Washington State, the two unwanted holdovers who remained in what was still called the Pac-12 but contained just the pair.

So Pope decamped for Texas, where he has blossomed into a difference-maker for the 11-seed Longhorns, the lowest seed to advance to the Sweet 16. Texas faces second-seeded Purdue in the West regional semifinal on Thursday at SAP Center.

Now his journey in burnt orange has taken him to San Jose, reuniting him with friends and family from Oakley, the tucked-away East Bay enclave that raised him before he left Freedom High for Prolific Prep in Napa as a high school sophomore.

“I got about 30-plus people coming,” Pope said. “Could be more. A lot of people asked for tickets that I couldn’t get tickets for. But it should be a good showing.”

Before any of the national hype, Pope was a normal kid who enjoyed playing basketball with his buddies at the local YMCA.

“Back when I was younger, just playing with my friends and people I’ve seen since an early age,” Pope reminisced. “Those early moments when the game was just strictly fun and just for our pleasure at that moment.”

As a freshman, he played for a 13-14 Freedom team that ended its season with a 61-59 loss to Monte Vista in the NCS Division I round of 16.

“It wasn’t too many wins, but it was fun, and it meant a lot, because I was still with all my friends,” Pope said. “I was down the street from my house. So it was fun to have the experience of normal high school for a year. And I definitely miss it.”

But basketball stardom beckoned when his dad suggested he move to Napa and join Prolific, a national club team that played elite groups of high schoolers from all over the country.

“It wasn’t really my decision. I didn’t want to at the time,” Pope said. “It was more so my dad taking control. He thought me being somewhere where I wasn’t the best player on the team, somewhere I was being challenged on a daily basis would be the best for my future.

“And I’m thankful he did that, because I don’t think I’d be here without that decision.”

Pope figures to play a big role if Texas is to advance past the Boilermakers. In Texas’ win over Gonzaga in the round of 32, Pope co-led the Longhorns with 17 points and hit multiple key 3-pointers down the stretch.

His injury status is a concern. Pope injured his ankle against Gonzaga and was seen in a walking boot Wednesday.

He did not participate in Texas’ practice session and said he was getting treatment during that time. As can be expected given the circumstances, he is planning to play on Thursday.

“I feel good,” Pope said. “I’m just doing all the treatment I can to make sure my body’s able to go for the game.”

His coach, Sean Miller, who said after the Gonzaga game that Pope was playing as well as any guard in the country, was concerned but optimistic that Pope will be able to go.

“We’re hopeful that he can,” Miller said. “We’ve given him a lot of rest since our last game, and I think he’s really responding to it.”

Pope sounded ready to go, even anticipating taking on the challenge of guarding Purdue’s star guard Braden Smith, who broke the NCAA Division I all-time assist record on Friday against Queens.

“I like that matchup,” Pope said. “I wanted the chance to play against a point guard like that, and Purdue themselves. And it’s funny how we’re in this moment now playing against them in the Sweet 16. So I think it’ll be fun.”

Smith also has a local connection – of sorts.

“I’m a big Steph Curry guy,” Smith said. “So I’ll watch Steph Curry. I watch the game a lot. I take it from a lot of different players, whether that’s a Jalen Brunson, a Payton Pritchard, a Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) — I love Shai. Cade Cunningham, whoever it is. I watch a lot of different basketball.

“For Steph, it’s more about his journey and his story is what I’ve looked up to, and then obviously how he carries himself as a person on and off the floor.”

____