Jones Shooting for More Than Her Next 3-Pointer
Saturday, January 14, 2012 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – She holds onto those memories like a 3-year-old clutches her favorite teddy bear. They were special times for Jordan Jones.
Now a senior on the UF women's basketball team, Jones once played on one of the best high school teams the female game has known.
That's not just a bunch of hyperbole.
“They were pretty amazing,'' said Gators coach Amanda Butler.
Butler and college coaches from around the country made regular visits to Collins Hill High in Suwanee, Ga., in the mid-2000s.
Some came to see Jones, a 5-foot-9 guard who could make the nets sing from behind the 3-point line. Others wanted to see point guard Shantell Black, who later signed with Ole Miss. Butler watched center B.J. Cade especially close and later signed Cade to play for her at UNC Charlotte.
But they all came to see phenom Maya Moore, considered the top player in the nation coming out of high school in 2007.
“They could have had her and four kids who were 4-foot tall with one hand and probably still been really good,'' Butler said. “They were super fun to watch.”
Moore ended up at Connecticut and added two more NCAA titles to the Huskies' trophy case during her four seasons and led UConn to an NCAA-record 90-game win streak. She added a WNBA title to her accomplishments as a rookie with the Minnesota Lynx last summer.
A year after being teammates on back-to-back state championship teams at Collins Hill – the Eagles claimed the USA Today mythical national championship in 2007 – Jones and Moore played against each other.
The Huskies easily dispatched of visiting South Carolina, where Jones spent her freshman season before a coaching change prompted her to transfer to Florida.
“It was a nice little welcome to college basketball,'' Jones said.
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Five years after Jones and Moore helped Collins Hill make a splash on the national scene, Jones continues to shoot for one of those unforgettable moments at UF.
The Gators made their last appearance in the NCAA Tournament during the 2008-09 season as Jones sat out due to NCAA transfer rules. The next season Florida slipped to 15-17 with Jones taking over as the team's starting shooting guard.
In a season of adjustments, Jones averaged 9.1 points after averaging 13.1 as a freshman at South Carolina. She started all 33 games as a junior, averaging a team-high 10.2 points, 32.7 minutes and leading the Gators with 72 3-pointers.
Jones was also named one of the team's co-captains, a role that fit her perfectly in Butler's view.
“I've got so much respect for Jordan because of how intelligent she is,'' Butler said. “That's what helps her bridge the gap sometimes as a leader. She always knows the game plan or what is supposed to happen. She has done a really good job of developing her voice.
“She probably has a better grasp of all parts of the game plan and what the coaches expect than anybody else on the court.”
Jones has continued to make strides as a senior, averaging 12.6 points and 3.3 rebounds entering Sunday afternoon's home game against LSU.
However, the Gators (11-6, 1-3 in SEC) have lost two in a row and three of four to start SEC play. The fact isn't lost on Jones that for her to experience anything close to her prep career, a turnaround needs to happen – and fast.
She had hoped the Gators' win over ranked Florida State earlier this season – Florida's first win over FSU since Jones arrived – might be a turning point.
Instead, it was an example of the way the Gators can play if everyone is on the same page.
“I think about it all the time,'' Jones said. “I joke around and say, 'Those were the good days, winning and playing with a great player like Maya.'
“We're not hanging our heads. We're playing in the SEC and you have so many games to kind of make a statement and get those NCAA Tournament r?sum? wins. There is a lot of season left.”
While her Florida career has had its “ups and downs,” it's not without one of the more special moments of her life.
It happened two years ago at the O'Connell Center against Georgia. The game was televised live on ESPN2 and not long before the game Jones met a young girl named Catriona Chennell. Cat (as everyone calls her) suffers from a rare disease called primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a potentially life-threatening disorder characterized by abnormally high pressure in the artery carrying blood from the heart to the lungs.
Cat needed a heart and double-lung transplant at the time when Jones met her. The two formed a close bond that lasts today. Cat eventually received the transplants she needed and continues her recovery.
She had a special request at the game.
“Win the game for me,'' Cat told Jones and some of her teammates.
The Gators had lost three in a row and the Bulldogs arrived in town ranked No. 20 in the country. Still Cat's wish came true as Florida pulled off a 64-57 upset, its only win over a ranked team in seven tries that season.
Jones rushed into the stands looking for newest friend when the game ended.
“I went up there to give her a high-five but she was so excited she jumped into my arms,'' Jones said. “I brought her back down to the court with me and then she went into the locker room with us. It was great to see her reaction.”
Angela Jones, Jordan's mom, was touched by the moment as much as anything her daughter has done on the court.
“She has the softest heart for children,'' Angela said. “[Cat's] family still sends Jordan notes. She takes a great interest in children. That was an exciting moment when they won that game.”
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Jones has been a steady performer in the classroom as well during her career. She earned spots on the 2010 and 2011 SEC Academic Honor Roll and will have her master's degree in Sport Management later this spring.
Her competitive nature is carries over off the court, but that's where it was refined growing up near Atlanta. Jones would spend hours playing pick-up games when not playing softball.
She usually played basketball against boys, including her brother Tanner, now a baseball player at Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.) College, and Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks. Smith grew up in the same neighborhood.
It was in those games against mostly boys that Jones developed her touch from outside. She set a single-season UF record by hitting at least one 3-pointer in 23 consecutive games as a sophomore.
“Playing with big guys like that, I always would rather hang outside than try to go in with the big people,'' Jones said. “I've never been the tallest or the fastest or the one who could jump the highest.”
Jones is averaging more than two 3-pointers a game this season and now has 166 in her UF career, climbing into the top five in school history.
She doesn't know if she will pursue a professional career once the season ends – the thought of moving overseas isn't one that appeals to the family-oriented Jones at this point.
Before it's time to make that decision, Jones is shooting for a special ending to her UF career.
“No one can take those memories [I had in high school] from you,'' she said. “We haven't made those memories here yet. It's a special thing that not many people can relate to you.”
Angela Jones played basketball when she was in high school. She follows Jordan's career closely. Sometimes they talk about the good old days at Collins Hill.
“I'm quite sure that anyone who has experienced something like that, it's a feeling you would love to experience again,'' Angela said.
