Jones was a senior at Madison East High School in Madison, Wisc., when the pandemic derailed his team’s dreams.
“One of the terrible stories I’ve had in my 15 years of coaching,” said Matt Miota, the coach of that team.
Miota, who stepped down as Madison East coach after the 2023-24 season, spoke to the Dayton Daily News this month about Jones. The conversation quickly turned to that 2019-20 season.
Madison East was 20-4 and was about to play for a spot in the state semifinals when the season ended.
“We just kept rising, and we were going to an apex,” Miota said. “You could just feel it. We were loaded. I think we had 10 seniors. We had every piece. That Thursday, we won by 20. We were just ecstatic. We were supposed to play our rival, Madison La Follette, that Saturday. Friday, school was canceled. It was just brutal. On top of that, it was like the last time I ever saw that group collectively. We didn’t have a banquet. They cancelled all that. It was tough. We were going to win the state championship that year, and (Jones) was one of our leaders without question.”
Jones averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots per game as a senior. He shot 58% from the field. He was the defensive player of the year in Madison East’s conference, the Big Eight.
Miota has known Jones since seventh grade and also coached his brother Kenny. He kept in touch with Jones over the last five years as he started his college career at the junior-college level — two seasons at Mineral Area College, in Park Hills, Mo., and one season at Midland College in Texas — and then often watched his games on TV over the last two seasons when he played at Cal State Northridge.
“He’s just dynamic,” Miota said. “He’s what we call a dog. He has one speed. He always goes all out. In the open court, he’s a problem. If he gets some space on the break, he’s going to make something happen. But I think his biggest impact on the game is defense. He has an innate ability to defend. Some of the things that I saw when he was even a sophomore, with help-side anticipation, he was way ahead of everyone else. He’s the best defensive player I’ve ever coached.”
Jones’ wingspan helps him defend. Miota said Jones has the length of a 6-9 player.
“He’s disruptive,” Miota said. “He can guard full court. He was guarding centers on switches last year. He can guard a point guard. He can guard anyone on the floor.”
Jones averaged 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game last season. He made the All-Big West first team.
Miota saw Jones grow as a leader in two seasons at Cal State Northridge.
“He would get on guys a little bit when they weren’t putting everything on the floor,” Miota said. “I think he expects everyone to rise to where he is. He wasn’t always vocal about that, but you could see that development where he was like, ‘All right, let’s go,’ when they needed a stop or when they were not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. You can’t do that unless you’re one of the hardest workers and guys respect what you do.”
The 2025-26 season will be Jones’ sixth in college basketball. Last winter, a NCAA decision paved the way for athletes in his position to extend their college careers.
“The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26,” read a NCAA memo in December, “if those student-athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility).”
Jones started his career at the junior college level, Miota said, because he needed to develop on the academic side and also needed to mature physically. Jones was 6-3 in 2020 and has put on maybe 50 pounds in the last five years, Miota said.
“He’s a gym rat,” Miota said. “He just loves lifting. His development hasn’t shocked me at all from where he was when I saw him and where he is now.”
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