The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HOLMES Rock, Grand Bahama — She has already spent the first two months playing for the Connecticut Sun. But Jonquel Jones said she cannot wait for the Women’s National Basketball Association to return at the end of August.

The league is currently on a break to accommodate their players who are participating for their respective countries in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5-21.

She’s hoping to help the Sun pick up where they left off before the break when they won their last two games to improve on their dismal showing in the Eastern Conference where they have posted an 8-16 win-loss record.

Once the season is completed in October, whether or not they are in the playoffs, Jones will have an added incentive to continue her professional career, having been drafted by Woori BankHansae Chuncheon to play in the Korean League, starting in November.

“It’s been different at first. Coming out of high school in Maryland where we ranked nationally and we didn’t lose that many games and transferring to GW where we rarely lose that many games, it showed me that there’s going to be a process,” said Jones about her stint in the WNBA so far.

“We have a lot of young talent, but it’s going to take some time for us to develop because we have to learn to play together and we have to grow together. We started to come together right before the half, winning our last two games. So we are buying into what the coach is telling us and so I believe that we will only get better.”

After coming off the bench at the start of the season, Jones was moved into the starting line-up, but she prefers to take the initial role on the team.

“I feel more comfortable coming off the bench because I didn’t feel I was ready yet to be a starter,” she said. “I was put back on the bench and I was really able to contribute more to the team, so I think it was a really good call.”

Adjusting to the league’s physicality has been the biggest adjustment for Jones, only the third Bahamian female to earn a hoop scholarship to play division one in the United States where she starred for George Washington where she left an indelible mark on the Colonials record books in each statistical category.

“Our league has people who get cut because there is so much talent,” said Jones, who follows on the heels of Waltiea Rolle, the first Bahamian to be drafted and play in the WNBA, albeit just one season.

“Everyone in the league is good. You have to come out and play every single night, whether it is playing physically or you are locked in mentally, on any given night, any player can get off on you. You can have a 20-point lead in this league and literally in two seconds it could be gone just like that.”

Before the WNBA took a break, Jones was averaging 14.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.9 assist, 0.7 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per game and when she goes back, she’s hoping that she can continue to make a contribution to their rise in the standings.

In the meantime, Jones said she’s just delighted to be back home with her family and friends. She arrived home to a “red carpet” treatment at the International Airport, one day before NBA draftee Chavanno ‘Buddy’ Hield was welcomed to Grand Bahama in the same fashion.

The duo, who are close friends and were both drafted with the sixth pick overall in the two recent drafts, will spend the week being pampered by the Grand Bahamian community.

On her arrival home, a number of persons greeted her at the airport, including her parents Preston and Jones.

“I’m very proud of her,” said her father, who had built a basketball court for her to play on in her grandmother’s yard in Holmes Rock. “She would practiced there and then she went on to high school in the United States and then college and now she’s in the WNBA. I’m very proud of her.”

Although he’s built like an athlete, Preston Jones refused to take any credit for the genes developed in his daughter. He noted that he had a brother who went to Bethune Cookman and a nephew who went to Lafeyette and so he believe they all inspired her.

“We used to live in this community and we watched how when she go out how she would ride her bicycle through the community. That is how everybody can identify with her and welcome her back,” he said. “When the draft was held, we had a big TV set up to watch her. So we are very proud of her.”

Her mother, Ettamae Jones, said her daughter has developed over time, but there’s no better gratification for them as a family than to see how the community has welcomed her home.

“To see the persons in the community and those who have been instrumental in her life from the beginning to be here from the beginning and the Grand Bahama Power Company all being here, I think this is a wonderful tribute to her,” she said.

“We’re just praying that God will help her and keep her injury free as much as possible because it’s a very physical sport and at times, they end up with injuries, so my role as a parent is to petition God for her protection and all of the young ladies in the WNBA that will keep them as they travel by plane or by bus.”

Having visited her daughter on a couple times since she began playing in the WNBA, her mother said a lot of people don’t realize what it takes for them to be where they are, but they have to go through a lot of sacrifices, even though they are being paid for to do what they do.”

Come November, Jones will prepare to continue her pro career as she venture into the Korean Basketball League after being drafted No.5 by Woori Bank Hansae Chuncheon for the 2016-2017 on July 10 in Seoul, South Korea.

Jones, a 22-year-old 6-feet, 6-inches center, was among 12 WNBA players drafted with six of them having previous experience playing in the WKBL. The first player selected in the draft by Samsung Blue Minx was Alyssa Thomas who currently plays for the Connecticut Sun. Thomas played in the Korean League for the 2014-15 season and lead the league in scoring.

“I was honored to hear that I was picked in the first round,” jones said. “Over 200-300 players enter their names in the draft, so for me to be picked for this team is a honor because of my team-mates played for this team and she said they do a really good job with developing the players’ skill level.”

“A lot of players have told me that whenever they go over to Europe to play, they develop a level of confidence. You go over there and you’re one of the big players on the team, so you have to beg to come out of the game.  That’s how much the team rely on you they told me.”

If the Suns don’t win the WNBA title, Jones said she’s hoping that she will eventually help to shine in the Korean Basketball League with Hansae Chuncheon.