Buckskin86
Moderator
Joe Jones III gaining notice outside of Buffalo
Buzz building around 6-7 seventh grader taking early strides on national stage
? He?s big, he?s somebody to know about and he may get a lot better.? ? Clark Francis, Hoop Scoop editor
By Rodney McKissic | News Sports Reporter
on May 21, 2013
When he arrived at the John Lucas International Middle School Combine, Joe Jones III was issued jersey No. 125, the last of the bunch, probably because he was one of youngest in the group or maybe because they didn?t know who he was.
Then the whistle blew for the first scrimmage and the 6-foot-7, 200-pound 13-year-old stationed his big butt in the low post ? the Bermuda Triangle for today?s perimeter dominated generation ? and started to carve out some space and a name for himself.
With his size 17 feet and 7-foot wing span, he darted across the lane to block shots and set screens to the delight of the guards as the buzz increased like a live wire. The heat surged when someone mentioned the boy known as Jo Jo to his parents, coaches and friends, is Greg Oden?s little brother.
?They didn?t know who Joe Jones was,? said Joe Jones, Jr., Oden?s and Jo Jo?s father. ?They know now.?
Jo Jo, a seventh grader with a 3.5 grade point average at St. Augustine School in Buffalo, held his own at the Lucas Combine in Houston and at least one scout said of the 125 players invited to the event, he ranked in the top 50. That earned him an invitation to the Elite 125 National Camp on Aug. 10-11 in Nashville, where Jo Jo will compete against players who will be high school freshmen in the fall.
With more national competition comes national recognition and potential burdens. He?s Oden?s brother, meaning some will compare Jo Jo to the pre-2007 Oden before injuries robbed him of a once promising NBA career. Acknowledging a player as one of the nation?s finest before his voice changes is a gamble ? Rochester?s Jermaine Bell was ranked higher than LeBron James as a freshman ? and critics claim it hinders a player?s development and promotes an attitude of entitlement.
As Jo Jo continued to impress, it didn?t take long for Jones, who attended the Combine along with longtime friend and AAU coach Derek Summers, to notice a change in the way they were being treated. Men wearing four-figure suits and House of Testoni shoes began handing them business cards trying to recruit a child who hasn?t even thought about where he will attend high school.
Summers turned to Jones: ?Something?s going on here man. We haven?t paid for a dinner in three days.?
?I was told to keep the circle tight because things are about to change a little bit,? Jones said of protecting his son. ?That?s why I?m here.?
Jo Jo?s bloodlines are strong. His father is 6-6 and inhaled rebounds for the great McKinley teams in the early ?80s and his mother, Donna, is 6-foot. Jones? mother is also a 6-footer as is his sister Dorothy Jones, who played basketball at Louisville in the mid-?80s. And the 7-foot Oden was the top pick overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007. Jo Jo, unfailingly polite, shy and humble, has his priorities in order.
?I?m going to have to work hard in both school and basketball,? said Jo Jo, whose favorite college is Kentucky. ?School is first. There?s a lot of time for basketball.?
Jones said calls to Oden lately have gone unanswered and Jo Jo said he hasn?t spoken to him ?in a while? but he has his brother to thank for sparking his interest. He didn?t show any passion for basketball until he went to see Oden play in Detroit against the Pistons when he was a rookie.
?I was young, I was real young but when I saw my brother play that?s when I wanted to play basketball,? Jo Jo said. ?I want to try and be better than him.?
cont...
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130521/SPORTS/130529846/1004
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqJ_4xiRoSk"]Baby Joe - YouTube[/ame]