The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL Jones enjoyed a surreal moment when she was matched against Elana Delle Donne, of the Chicago Sky, during the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) pre-season fixtures. Now reality will set in as she suits up for the Connecticut Sun in their 2016 regular season opener on Saturday night.

“The pre-season was a good gauge. This is something that I wanted to do for a long time, playing against WNBA players,” Jones told The Tribune. “So it was good to play against players who were not your teammates.

“One of things that I learn is that you can’t read too much into the pre-season. You use that time to get to learn the plays. What the coaches expect and getting familiar with your teammates. So it was a good start and a boost for the upcoming season.”

Jones, 22, will follow in the footsteps of Walteia Rolle as the first Bahamian to play in the WNBA, but she will crave her own legacy as the first Grand Bahama to play on the professional hardcourt.

During the pre-season that ran from May 4 to 8, the 6ft 6in forward averaged 21.7 minutes off the bench, averaging 11.3 points, 7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as they finished with an impressive 3-0 win-loss record.

The statistics were not bad for a rookie.

Head coach Curt Miller said Jones starting to fit right into the flow of things in Connecticut.

“The first thing that jump off the page watching her in the camp and the pre-season is her demeanour and her willingness to learn,” Miller said. “Her teammates love her and she has really adapted well and they really enjoy her being around and she has been great in the locker room as a rookie.

“On the court, she’s been very, very effective and she is skilled away from the basket. She can shoot it and she can pass it. But on the defensive end, she can rebound and block shots around the basket with her length. She’s had sufficient games where she showed that she can impact both ends of the court.”

Fresh out of George Washington, where she was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the first round of the 2016 WNBA Draft only to be traded before the night was over to Connecticut, Jones is fitting well into her new environment.

“The transition from college to the WNBA has definitely been more physical,” Jones said. “Getting used to the physicality of the game, a lot of plays that you have to learn and just playing against players who have been in the league for five, six, ten years.

“As a rookie coming out of college, this is all new, but you have to be ready to adapt to the game mentally. That is something that I’m trying to get used too. I struggled a bit in the third and fourth quarters in terms of my mentality, but that’s something that I know I have to grow into here in Connecticut with the coaching staff.”

From college to the professional ranks, Miller said there has been a lot of difference in the style of play and learning the new technicalities.

“At times she looked a little lost and a little hesitant, but that’s all part of her growth,” Miller stressed. “That’s one of the areas that we hope will eventually improve throughout the year and the upcoming years. She has to get adjusted to the speed and the technicality of playing at this level.”

Jones is only the sixth player in George Washington’s programme history chosen in the WNBA Draft and first since Jessica Adair was taken 34th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in 2009. Prior to Jones, Ugo Oha was the highest Colonial ever taken - at no.26 by Connecticut in 2004.

Jones was a two-time honourable mention All-American and finished her collegiate career ranking third all-time at George Washington in rebounds (961), fourth in scoring (15.4 points per game) and fifth in blocked shots (177). Including her time at Clemson as a freshman, Jones topped both the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound marks, tallying 1,249 and 1,041, respectively. She also owns George Washington’s single-game and single-season rebounding records.

She led the nation in rebounding (14.6 per game) this season and ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in per-game scoring (16.2) and second in blocks (3.3). The only player in the conference to average a double-double for the third year in a row, she registered 18 double-doubles in 23 games played and finished her career with 54 in 84 total games.

Jones is the eighth Atlantic 10 player chosen in the first round of the WNBA Draft and the highest since Xavier’s Amber Harris went fourth to the Minnesota Lynx in 2010. Jones joins Dayton’s Ally Malott, who was taken eighth overall by the Washington Mystics last season, to give the Atlantic 10 a first round pick two years in a row. 

During the pre-season, she got her first match against Della Donne - the 2015 WNBA MVP - and Jones said it was exactly what she anticipated.

“I had a surreal moment in the pre-season when we played against Elana Della Donne. She was someone that I was looking forward to playing in college, but for some reason when I was coming in, she was leaving college,” Jones said.

“So I didn’t get a chance to play against her in college, but when we played Chicago, I was surprised when I was matched up against her. I couldn’t believe it, but I played a little bit of defence against her. But there was one play where she just rose up and scored over me.”

If that was any indication of what to come, Jones said it should be even more exciting to face other top notch players like Maya Moore, from the Minnesota Lynx, and Brittney Griner, from the Phoenix Mercury.

“Coming to the States at the age of 14, she has really adapted well and has been a terrific teammate so far,” said Miller of Jones’ role in the team. “The veterans on the team have really taken her under their wings and have had a good time with her as their little sister as she makes this transition and to educate her in her rookie season.”

The Sun begin their regular season on Saturday on the road against the Chicago Sky. On Thursday they face the San Antonio Stars and play their first home game on Saturday, May 21 against the Washington Mystics.

Jones does not expect to have any of her family travel to Chicago to view her debut but, in June, her mother and others are expected to make the trek to Connecticut.

When the WNBA takes a break for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,Jones said she hopes to return home in July and remain until August before she heads back to Connecticut to hopefully get a chance to play in her first WNBA playoffs and eventually the championship.

As for the future WNBA players coming out of the Bahamas, Jones gave some encouraging words.

“Just keep pushing, keep striving and let make some more Walteia Rolle, Jonquel Jones, Joanna Evans and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and let’s keep the Bahamas on the map,” she said.