Jimcs50
01-12-2005, 09:05 AM
Jones measures up at A&M
Freshman excels in transition from small-town roots to big-time hoops
By NEIL HOHLFELD
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
COLLEGE STATION - At 6-foot-9, Texas A&M freshman Joseph Jones would stand out in any crowd. Considering he grew up in Normangee, a town of 800 about a half-hour from Texas A&M, he truly was a big fish in a small pond.
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But he's certainly not caught up in himself. Jones is good-natured and polite. Smiling all the time, he answers every question with "Yes, sir," or "No, sir."
Like his team at A&M, the freshman center is having a surprisingly fast start to the season. The Aggies are 11-1, with their only loss a 65-60 setback at No. 2-ranked Kansas last week.
Going into tonight's game against Texas at Reed Arena, Jones is averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. At Kansas, in front of a crowd of 16,300 (more than 20 times the number of people who live in Normangee), Jones had 16 points and seven rebounds in his first Big 12 game.
A year ago, Jones was playing Class A high school games, toying with teams from Snook and Hearne. This year, he's going head-to-head against the Jayhawks and Longhorns. And so far, he hasn't missed a beat.
"I didn't think I'd be doing this this year," Jones said. "I imagined it — it's what I wanted to do — but I didn't think it would come this fast."
A&M coach Billy Gillispie wasn't sure, either. After Gillispie was hired at A&M last March, one of his first trips was to Normangee to make sure Jones was still coming. Former coach Melvin Watkins and his staff had recruited Jones.
Coach in his corner
One of the first topics of conversation was their small-town kinship. Gillispie knows all about being from a speck on the map. He grew up in Graford (population: 494) in west Texas and feels a kinship with Jones.
"I like Normangee," Gillispie said. "Joe and I have a bond of being from small towns. All the guys on the team give us a hard time about it, but Joe and I hang together on that."
A&M junior Antoine Wright is from San Bernardino, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Wright is smooth, from the way he dresses to the way he speaks. He truly likes the freshman, even though there is a culture clash between city and country.
"From the moment he got here, he's done nothing but improve," Wright said. "I didn't think he'd be this good because of the level he was at last year. But he hasn't slacked off at practice one bit, even when he's had some success.
"Big Joe is a fun dude to be around — when you can understand what he's saying. Most of the time, Joe and I are speaking a different language. When he gets tired, it gets worse. But as long as he's working hard and smiling, it's fine."
Has Wright taken the time as yet to go over to Normangee and see Jones' hometown?
"Not yet," Wright said. "His family brought me some food around Christmas time, but I didn't think I was quite ready for that yet."
The Aggies certainly are ready for Jones. In their loss to Kansas, Jones showed the kind of assertiveness and toughness that makes Gillispie believe he can become one of the top big men in the Big 12.
"To go from the smallest classification in our state and be able to make a great contribution, I think you have to have a certain kind of makeup," Gillispie said. "Joseph definitely has that makeup. You only have to tell him things once.
"But I think the main thing is he's not afraid of too many things. He has great confidence, especially for a guy from a smaller classification. You can talk about scoring and rebounding and doing all those things, but I think it's some other things — like being a good teammate and always being happy and not getting down when things don't go his way — that really have given him a chance to do what he's doing."
UT a litmus test
Tonight's game against UT should the biggest test to date for Jones, who will have to contend with 6-9 senior Jason Klotz, 6-8 junior Brad Buckman and 6-10 freshman LaMarcus Aldridge.
Jones and Aldridge, who is from Dallas, have matched up during AAU games, but this is the first of what could be several head-to-head collegiate battles between the big men from the rival schools.
"We're cool," Jones said. "I'm looking forward to this game for a lot of reasons. The first one against Texas should be a good one."
To listen to Gillispie, who really has poor-mouthing down to a science, Jones will be lucky to make it off the court alive.
"I don't know if Joseph is good enough to battle all those guys all night long," Gillispie said. "We'll see. They've got two or three McDonald's All-Americans, and we've got Joseph. It'll be difficult. But I know he won't back down."
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Freshman excels in transition from small-town roots to big-time hoops
By NEIL HOHLFELD
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
COLLEGE STATION - At 6-foot-9, Texas A&M freshman Joseph Jones would stand out in any crowd. Considering he grew up in Normangee, a town of 800 about a half-hour from Texas A&M, he truly was a big fish in a small pond.
ADVERTISEMENT
But he's certainly not caught up in himself. Jones is good-natured and polite. Smiling all the time, he answers every question with "Yes, sir," or "No, sir."
Like his team at A&M, the freshman center is having a surprisingly fast start to the season. The Aggies are 11-1, with their only loss a 65-60 setback at No. 2-ranked Kansas last week.
Going into tonight's game against Texas at Reed Arena, Jones is averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. At Kansas, in front of a crowd of 16,300 (more than 20 times the number of people who live in Normangee), Jones had 16 points and seven rebounds in his first Big 12 game.
A year ago, Jones was playing Class A high school games, toying with teams from Snook and Hearne. This year, he's going head-to-head against the Jayhawks and Longhorns. And so far, he hasn't missed a beat.
"I didn't think I'd be doing this this year," Jones said. "I imagined it — it's what I wanted to do — but I didn't think it would come this fast."
A&M coach Billy Gillispie wasn't sure, either. After Gillispie was hired at A&M last March, one of his first trips was to Normangee to make sure Jones was still coming. Former coach Melvin Watkins and his staff had recruited Jones.
Coach in his corner
One of the first topics of conversation was their small-town kinship. Gillispie knows all about being from a speck on the map. He grew up in Graford (population: 494) in west Texas and feels a kinship with Jones.
"I like Normangee," Gillispie said. "Joe and I have a bond of being from small towns. All the guys on the team give us a hard time about it, but Joe and I hang together on that."
A&M junior Antoine Wright is from San Bernardino, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Wright is smooth, from the way he dresses to the way he speaks. He truly likes the freshman, even though there is a culture clash between city and country.
"From the moment he got here, he's done nothing but improve," Wright said. "I didn't think he'd be this good because of the level he was at last year. But he hasn't slacked off at practice one bit, even when he's had some success.
"Big Joe is a fun dude to be around — when you can understand what he's saying. Most of the time, Joe and I are speaking a different language. When he gets tired, it gets worse. But as long as he's working hard and smiling, it's fine."
Has Wright taken the time as yet to go over to Normangee and see Jones' hometown?
"Not yet," Wright said. "His family brought me some food around Christmas time, but I didn't think I was quite ready for that yet."
The Aggies certainly are ready for Jones. In their loss to Kansas, Jones showed the kind of assertiveness and toughness that makes Gillispie believe he can become one of the top big men in the Big 12.
"To go from the smallest classification in our state and be able to make a great contribution, I think you have to have a certain kind of makeup," Gillispie said. "Joseph definitely has that makeup. You only have to tell him things once.
"But I think the main thing is he's not afraid of too many things. He has great confidence, especially for a guy from a smaller classification. You can talk about scoring and rebounding and doing all those things, but I think it's some other things — like being a good teammate and always being happy and not getting down when things don't go his way — that really have given him a chance to do what he's doing."
UT a litmus test
Tonight's game against UT should the biggest test to date for Jones, who will have to contend with 6-9 senior Jason Klotz, 6-8 junior Brad Buckman and 6-10 freshman LaMarcus Aldridge.
Jones and Aldridge, who is from Dallas, have matched up during AAU games, but this is the first of what could be several head-to-head collegiate battles between the big men from the rival schools.
"We're cool," Jones said. "I'm looking forward to this game for a lot of reasons. The first one against Texas should be a good one."
To listen to Gillispie, who really has poor-mouthing down to a science, Jones will be lucky to make it off the court alive.
"I don't know if Joseph is good enough to battle all those guys all night long," Gillispie said. "We'll see. They've got two or three McDonald's All-Americans, and we've got Joseph. It'll be difficult. But I know he won't back down."
[email protected]