NBA Draft hopeful Andrew Jones works out for Knicks after recovering from leukemia
Texas guard Andrew Jones looks to shoot in the second half of an NCAA basketball game against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 25. Credit: AP/Gareth Patterson
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Andrew Jones isn’t the best player in this year’s NBA Draft, but he just might be the best story.
Like every player hoping to hear their name called on June 23, Jones has long dreamed of playing professional basketball. Six years ago, that dream looked as if it could become a reality for Jones. A four-star basketball recruit out of high school in Irving, Texas, Jones averaged 11.4 points and became a starter his freshman year at the University of Texas.
That summer he saw his sister Alexis get drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the No. 12 overall pick in the WNBA. Jones had hopes of possibly joining her in the professional ranks after his sophomore season.
Early his sophomore year, however, Jones didn’t feel like himself on the court and had problems with getting dehydrated. After initially feeling he had some kind of flu, he went in for a blood test. His family and the entire Texas basketball community was stunned when doctors told him he had leukemia.
Over the next two years, Jones would go through a treatment so grueling that playing basketball again was not the highest on his list of worries.
“There was a point where I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” Jones said Thursday after going through a pre-draft workout at the Knicks' practice facility.
After two years of treatment, which included intense chemotherapy, Jones made a full recovery and rejoined his team. Last season, the 6-4 guard led Texas in scoring with an average of 14.6 and this past season he averaged 11.2 points.
Jones, 24, is a long shot to get drafted, and the Knicks are the first team to have him in for a workout.
“It’s a surreal opportunity to be here right now," Jones said. "After being diagnosed, I never thought I’d be here again. So I’m grateful for the opportunity to show that I’m improving and that I can play on this next level.”
Jones is hoping he can inspire others who go through a difficult time, whether they be sick or have some other challenge. Jones is also giving 10%t of the money he is earning through names, image and likeness deals to the V Foundation, which will use them for cancer research.
NOTES AND QUOTES: The Knicks also brought in Jimmy Boeheim, one of two basketball-playing sons of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, in for a workout Thursday. Jimmy averaged 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds playing for Syracuse while his brother Buddy led the ACC in scoring with 19.2 points for the Orange. Jimmy, who graduated from Cornell with a degree in finance before playing his final year at Syracuse, said he was happy to keep that career on the backburner while he pursues his dream of playing basketball professionally. Said Jimmy: “I love basketball more than I ever have right now. I’m so into it, there’s no way I can give it up right now. Whatever basketball throws at me – G league, NBA, overseas – whatever it may be, I’m ready and will attack it with all I got and continue to have fun and love the game.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
