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'18 NY C Joe Jones III (Georgia St. Verbal)

Buckskin86

Moderator
Joe Jones III gaining notice outside of Buffalo
Buzz building around 6-7 seventh grader taking early strides on national stage
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? 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

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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]
 
When your favorite school is Kentucky, school doesn't come first.

Kind of irritating to see Oden's brother favors UK when Oden did so well at OSU. But being attracted to UK is what all the NBA wanna bes are doing these days.
 
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DZ83CK;2345004; said:
When your favorite school is Kentucky, school doesn't come first.

Kind of irritating to see Oden's brother favors UK when Oden did so well at OSU. But being attracted to UK is what all the NBA wanna bes are doing these days.

He's 13. God forbid he likes a school other than Ohio State at 13. Sheesh.
 
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Bill Lucas;2345038; said:
He's 13. God forbid he likes a school other than Ohio State at 13. Sheesh.


Not only that, bu the kid didn't grow up around Oden, didn't grow up in the State of Ohio and was 6 years old when Oden committed to Ohio State.

So maybe we ought to cut him a little more slack for liking the most talked about, most popular college BB team at the ripe age of 13
 
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Hey, I think it is kind of irritating that he would favor UK considering he surely watched big brother at least somewhat closely, which should've given OSU a leg up (at least in reference to UK). That's disappointing to me - if you don't like that then too bad. What connection does he have to UK? None? At least less of a connection than his half brother starring there, I'm sure. UK is the most popular college BB team among the state of Kentucky, that's it. Being from Buffalo, I'd think he'd have more of an attraction to Syracuse than any other team (at least outside of OSU). Calipari is pretty much at the top of the heap in terms of slime in college basketball, if you think it's not a problem that his shenanigans have made it this far as to influence perception among top recruits, then that's another win for him. Pete Carroll all over again.
 
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DZ83CK;2345050; said:
Hey, I think it is kind of irritating that he would favor UK considering he surely watched big brother at least somewhat closely, which should've given OSU a leg up (at least in reference to UK). That's disappointing to me - if you don't like that then too bad. What connection does he have to UK? None? At least less of a connection than his half brother starring there, I'm sure. UK is the most popular college BB team among the state of Kentucky, that's it. Being from Buffalo, I'd think he'd have more of an attraction to Syracuse than any other team (at least outside of OSU). Calipari is pretty much at the top of the heap in terms of slime in college basketball, if you think it's not a problem that his shenanigans have made it this far as to influence perception among top recruits, then that's another win for him. Pete Carroll all over again.

I'm not a fan of the program as much as the other guy, but let's be honest....a UK offer means an incredible amount nowadays, and they are far more than just the most popular team in Kentucky.

They're loaded with a ton of prestige and history. When I was a youngster and Phil Argento came to scout a few of us, and he told us stories about playing for the legendary Adolph Rupp (this was in the early 2000's, so it wasn't like I'm from the 70's here) it was a total thrill.

Before this year, they'd been to 3 straight Elite 8's or better. They're perennial threats to win the title now, they've developed elite talent and have dominated the top of the drafts. On top of that, they have a phenomenal fan base who follow their basketball like we follow our football.

Let's be fair; we may not like them, but it's a great school for any athlete who has pro aspirations.
 
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To be fair, they are a blue blood program. But they didn't have the aura with recruits that they have now. Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie didn't have guys flocking to UK like Calipari has. Nobody anywhere has had 5* recruits flocking to anywhere every year like Calipari. Ever. Again, the Pete Carroll effect.
 
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And if you want to recount the history of Kentucky, don't leave out the fact that their adored coach Rupp was one of the biggest racist coaches in basketball history who did his best to hold back progress. Their "My Old Kentucky Home" song they sing after every game referred to "darkies" as late as 1986 when the lyric was changed by the state legislature. Calipari himself has directed a racial slur at a reporter in public, and generally is considered the biggest cheater in college basketball. And their school has had some of the worst scandals in college basketball history. UK is not a program that a kid from Buffalo whose brother starred at OSU should be biased towards, IMO. Like Pete Carroll, Calipari will have his downfall, but it doesn't make things any better in the interim.
 
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DZ83CK;2345050; said:
Hey, I think it is kind of irritating that he would favor UK considering he surely watched big brother at least somewhat closely, which should've given OSU a leg up (at least in reference to UK). That's disappointing to me - if you don't like that then too bad. What connection does he have to UK? None? At least less of a connection than his half brother starring there, I'm sure. UK is the most popular college BB team among the state of Kentucky, that's it. Being from Buffalo, I'd think he'd have more of an attraction to Syracuse than any other team (at least outside of OSU). Calipari is pretty much at the top of the heap in terms of slime in college basketball, if you think it's not a problem that his shenanigans have made it this far as to influence perception among top recruits, then that's another win for him. Pete Carroll all over again.

You've gone combo guard on us again.
 
Upvote 0
Hey, I think it is kind of irritating that he would favor UK considering he surely watched big brother at least somewhat closely, which should've given OSU a leg up (at least in reference to UK). That's disappointing to me - if you don't like that then too bad. What connection does he have to UK? None? At least less of a connection than his half brother starring there, I'm sure. UK is the most popular college BB team among the state of Kentucky, that's it. Being from Buffalo, I'd think he'd have more of an attraction to Syracuse than any other team (at least outside of OSU). Calipari is pretty much at the top of the heap in terms of slime in college basketball, if you think it's not a problem that his shenanigans have made it this far as to influence perception among top recruits, then that's another win for him. Pete Carroll all over again.
Don't be so sure.
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.
 
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