Asjha Jones
Encyclopedia
Asjha Takera Jones is a professional basketball player. She plays the power forward position for the Connecticut Sun
in the WNBA
.
She started going to basketball camps at an early age, including one at Rutgers while she was in fifth grade. When she was in eighth grade, she was good enough to win the MVP of her summer league, despite playing with high school age participants.
and holds the school record of points and rebounds with 2,266 and 1,256 respectively. As a senior, Jones played on the high school team that went to the stale finals. In the semi-final game against the Shawnee Renegades, the opposing team knew they had to contain Jones. While they were successful in limiting her shots from the field (Jones was 3 for 18), they could not stop her rebounding or free throw shooting. Jones had 15 rebounds and hit 6 of 7 free throws to help lead the Piscataway team past Shawnee and on to the finals.
In high school, she was a McDonalds All-American and The Star-Ledger New Jersey Girls Basketball Player of the Year, earning her a scholarship to the University of Connecticut
. Jones was named a WBCA
All-American. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored seven points.
Jones came to the attention of a local AAU coach, Rich Leary, when she was a freshman in high school. At the time, there was an AAU team for boys, but not one for girls. So initially, she played with the boys. Leary formed a girls team, the Demons, with Jones as the centerpiece. By the time she was a junior, the Demons won the under-18 state tournament and advanced as far as the national AAU finals. The following year, Jones averaged 30 points a game and lead the team to the national tournament again.
, it was natural that Rutgers would be interested in persuading Jones to join their team. Recruiting of top athletes is a multi-year process, often starting before players enter high school. When Jones was a freshman at Piscataway, the Rutgers head coach was Theresa Grentz
, a highly regarded coach who had served as the Olympic Coach in 1992. However, Grentz moved to Illinois in 1995, and future Basketball Hall of Fame
coach C. Vivian Stringer
became the head coach of Rutgers. Although Rutgers continued to pursue Jones, along with many other schools, Jones decided she would prefer to play somewhere other than home. Jones accepted a scholarship offer from Connecticut
, and became one of a highly heralded recruiting class, including Sue Bird
, Tamika (Williams) Raymond, Swin Cash
, and Keirsten Walters.
While at UConn she played in every game since her sophomore season (144) breaking the UConn record for all-time games played (138) by Carla Berube (since broken by Ashley Battle
), and helped lead her team, known as the Huskies, to two NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
s in 2000 and 2002.
In the Big East Championship title game in 2002, the UConn team came to the game having won its first 32 games of the season. The opponent, Boston College, had a record of 23–6, and was ranked 17th in the nation. The game was never close. UConn scored four seconds into the game, hit their first six shots and ten of their first eleven. The final margin of victory was 42 points, breaking the tournament record of 36. The Tournament MVP honors were awarded to Jones, who scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds.
That year, the UConn team would finish the season undefeated. The team was dominant enough to prompt Sports Illustrated to call UConn "one of the best in history" before the final game of the season was played. Although the national championship game was against Oklahoma, the semi-final was against long-time rival Tennessee. SI's Richard Deitsch called Jones "the best player on the floor against Tennessee".
Sports Illustrated did a series of thirteen photographs featuring players and team member of teams chasing or achieving perfect seasons—an entire season without a loss. The photograph of the 2002 team including Asjha Jones is one of the photos in the collection.
for the Russian Basketball Federation Superleague. She is currently playing for Ekaterinburg in Russia during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.
Jones was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.
Jones was initially selected as one of the twenty players in the national team pool, from which the twelve members of the USA National team would be selected. Jones had to do something she had never done in her life—try out for a team. She chuckled as she explained, "None of us have ever had to try out for a basketball team in our life...It's a new experience having to try out and worry if they like you." She made the team, and played in the 2010 World Championships in the Czech Republic
. The team was coached by Geno Auriemma
who was Jones' college coach. The team was dominant, winning all nine games with an average margin of victory over 35 points. Jones averaged just over five points per games, on 57.9% shooting from the field.
in the 2002 WNBA Draft
. The third pick by the Mystics was Stacey Dales
, who said about Jones, ""Ashja Jones is one of the toughest players I've ever come up against," Dales-Schuman said. "Her physical nature, her stature, her mentality of the game, she's an exceptional player, and I see her as being a tremendous professional athlete."
After spending two seasons with the Mystics, Jones was traded to the Connecticut Sun
in a three-team deal that sent Tamicha Jackson from the Phoenix Mercury
to the Washington Mystics
and the Sun sent the 8th pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft
to the Mercury.
In 2009, Jones was the leading scorer for the Sun team, with 16.7 points per game. Unfortunately, she strained her left Achilles tendon, and had to miss the final eleven games of the season. She underwent surgery in the following February. She didn't fully recover during the 2010 season, but still managed to average double-digit scoring. Jones decided to take a break, and decided not to play in the European league during the winter. The break helped her heal for the 2011 season, where she is the third leading scorer at just over 13 points per game. Her coach, Mike Thibault
, says "I want a championship for Asjha as much as I want it for anybody...She's one of my favorite players I've ever coached, because of the way she approaches her job every single day."
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Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
in the WNBA
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
.
Early years
At the age of three, Jones began playing basketball in a local park. She loved the game, and would have to be literally dragged, "kicking and screaming and crying" when time to go home. She began playing AAU ball at the age of eleven, but she was playing neighborhood ball before then. She tried to interest the girls in playing, but couldn't convince them, so she played basketball with the boys. By the age of twelve, she reached her adult height, so she was taller than most of her teammates, boys and girls. Her shoe matched her age for a time, until she peaked out at size 13.She started going to basketball camps at an early age, including one at Rutgers while she was in fifth grade. When she was in eighth grade, she was good enough to win the MVP of her summer league, despite playing with high school age participants.
High school and AAU
Jones attended Piscataway Township High SchoolPiscataway Township High School
Piscataway Township High School is a four-year public high school in Piscataway Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in grades 9-12 as part of the Piscataway Township Schools....
and holds the school record of points and rebounds with 2,266 and 1,256 respectively. As a senior, Jones played on the high school team that went to the stale finals. In the semi-final game against the Shawnee Renegades, the opposing team knew they had to contain Jones. While they were successful in limiting her shots from the field (Jones was 3 for 18), they could not stop her rebounding or free throw shooting. Jones had 15 rebounds and hit 6 of 7 free throws to help lead the Piscataway team past Shawnee and on to the finals.
In high school, she was a McDonalds All-American and The Star-Ledger New Jersey Girls Basketball Player of the Year, earning her a scholarship to the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
. Jones was named a WBCA
Women's Basketball Coaches Association
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels.The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches.The mission of the WBCA is:...
All-American. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored seven points.
Jones came to the attention of a local AAU coach, Rich Leary, when she was a freshman in high school. At the time, there was an AAU team for boys, but not one for girls. So initially, she played with the boys. Leary formed a girls team, the Demons, with Jones as the centerpiece. By the time she was a junior, the Demons won the under-18 state tournament and advanced as far as the national AAU finals. The following year, Jones averaged 30 points a game and lead the team to the national tournament again.
College
Jones was highly recruited around the country. As a high school star in Piscataway, the home of Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, it was natural that Rutgers would be interested in persuading Jones to join their team. Recruiting of top athletes is a multi-year process, often starting before players enter high school. When Jones was a freshman at Piscataway, the Rutgers head coach was Theresa Grentz
Theresa Grentz
Theresa Shank Grentz , from Glenolden, Pennsylvania, is the former head coach of the women's basketball program at the University of Illinois, Rutgers University and St. Josephs. She is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame....
, a highly regarded coach who had served as the Olympic Coach in 1992. However, Grentz moved to Illinois in 1995, and future Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
coach C. Vivian Stringer
C. Vivian Stringer
Charlaine Vivian Stringer is a prominent African American basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women's basketball...
became the head coach of Rutgers. Although Rutgers continued to pursue Jones, along with many other schools, Jones decided she would prefer to play somewhere other than home. Jones accepted a scholarship offer from Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, and became one of a highly heralded recruiting class, including Sue Bird
Sue Bird
Suzanne Brigit "Sue" Bird is an American professional women's basketball player for the Seattle Storm and WBC Spartak Moscow Region....
, Tamika (Williams) Raymond, Swin Cash
Swin Cash
Swintayla Marie Cash , better known as Swin Cash, is an American WNBA player who plays for the Seattle Storm. A prolific scorer and rebounder, as well as a capable ball handler and defender, she helped lead the University of Connecticut women's basketball team to national titles in 2000 and 2002...
, and Keirsten Walters.
While at UConn she played in every game since her sophomore season (144) breaking the UConn record for all-time games played (138) by Carla Berube (since broken by Ashley Battle
Ashley Battle
Ashley Battle , is a professional basketball player. Drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2005, she played 2 games for them before being waived. She was with the New York Liberty for the 2006 through 2009 seasons. Battle played collegiately for the University of Connecticut women's basketball...
), and helped lead her team, known as the Huskies, to two NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
s in 2000 and 2002.
In the Big East Championship title game in 2002, the UConn team came to the game having won its first 32 games of the season. The opponent, Boston College, had a record of 23–6, and was ranked 17th in the nation. The game was never close. UConn scored four seconds into the game, hit their first six shots and ten of their first eleven. The final margin of victory was 42 points, breaking the tournament record of 36. The Tournament MVP honors were awarded to Jones, who scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds.
That year, the UConn team would finish the season undefeated. The team was dominant enough to prompt Sports Illustrated to call UConn "one of the best in history" before the final game of the season was played. Although the national championship game was against Oklahoma, the semi-final was against long-time rival Tennessee. SI's Richard Deitsch called Jones "the best player on the floor against Tennessee".
Sports Illustrated did a series of thirteen photographs featuring players and team member of teams chasing or achieving perfect seasons—an entire season without a loss. The photograph of the 2002 team including Asjha Jones is one of the photos in the collection.
International
In the 2005–06 off-season she played in NovosibirskNovosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
for the Russian Basketball Federation Superleague. She is currently playing for Ekaterinburg in Russia during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.
Jones was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.
Jones was initially selected as one of the twenty players in the national team pool, from which the twelve members of the USA National team would be selected. Jones had to do something she had never done in her life—try out for a team. She chuckled as she explained, "None of us have ever had to try out for a basketball team in our life...It's a new experience having to try out and worry if they like you." She made the team, and played in the 2010 World Championships in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The team was coached by Geno Auriemma
Geno Auriemma
Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team, which he has led to seven National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championships...
who was Jones' college coach. The team was dominant, winning all nine games with an average margin of victory over 35 points. Jones averaged just over five points per games, on 57.9% shooting from the field.
WNBA
Jones was selected in the first round (4th overall pick) by the Washington MysticsWashington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
in the 2002 WNBA Draft
WNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...
. The third pick by the Mystics was Stacey Dales
Stacey Dales
Stacey Dales, is a former Canadian basketball player and a current host on the NFL Network.-Basketball:...
, who said about Jones, ""Ashja Jones is one of the toughest players I've ever come up against," Dales-Schuman said. "Her physical nature, her stature, her mentality of the game, she's an exceptional player, and I see her as being a tremendous professional athlete."
After spending two seasons with the Mystics, Jones was traded to the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
in a three-team deal that sent Tamicha Jackson from the Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...
to the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
and the Sun sent the 8th pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft
WNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...
to the Mercury.
In 2009, Jones was the leading scorer for the Sun team, with 16.7 points per game. Unfortunately, she strained her left Achilles tendon, and had to miss the final eleven games of the season. She underwent surgery in the following February. She didn't fully recover during the 2010 season, but still managed to average double-digit scoring. Jones decided to take a break, and decided not to play in the European league during the winter. The break helped her heal for the 2011 season, where she is the third leading scorer at just over 13 points per game. Her coach, Mike Thibault
Mike Thibault
Mike Francis Thibault is an American basketball head coach, most recently of the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.-Career:Upon his graduation from Saint Martin's University in 1979, Thibault entered into the employ of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, for whom he worked...
, says "I want a championship for Asjha as much as I want it for anybody...She's one of my favorite players I've ever coached, because of the way she approaches her job every single day."
Awards and honors
- 1998 WBCAWomen's Basketball Coaches AssociationThe Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels.The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches.The mission of the WBCA is:...
All-American. - 2002 AP Third Team All-American
- Selected to 2002 NCAA Final Four and Mideast Region All-Tournament Teams
- 2002 Big East Women's Basketball TournamentBig East Women's Basketball TournamentThe Big East Women's Basketball Tournament determines the Big East Conference champion and the winner of the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Since 2004 the tournament has been held in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the XL Center .Starting in 2009, the tournament expanded to...
Most Outstanding Player - Member of 2002 All-BIG East First Team Selection
- 2001 Big East Tournament All Tournament Team
- Selected to 2000 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
- 1999 BIG East All-Tournament Team
- 1999 All-BIG East Rookie Team
- 2009 WNBA All-Star Selection2009 WNBA All-Star GameThe 2009 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 25, 2009 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, home of the Connecticut Sun. The game was the 9th annual WNBA All-Star Game...
University of Connecticut statistics
| Asjha Jones Statistics at University of Connecticut | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year | G | FG | FGA | PCT | 3FG | 3FGA | PCT | FT | FTA | PCT | REB | AVG | A | TO | B | S | MIN | PTS | AVG |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–99 | 34 | 140 | 284 | 0.493 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 52 | 73 | 0.712 | 170 | 5.0 | 45 | 74 | 25 | 26 | 681 | 332 | 9.8 |
| 1999-00 | 36 | 127 | 251 | 0.506 | 5 | 10 | 0.500 | 60 | 95 | 0.632 | 177 | 4.9 | 33 | 61 | 27 | 20 | 632 | 319 | 8.9 |
| 2000–01 | 35 | 128 | 291 | 0.44 | 4 | 16 | 0.250 | 44 | 73 | 0.603 | 190 | 5.4 | 50 | 55 | 38 | 32 | 683 | 304 | 8.7 |
| 2001–02 | 39 | 247 | 445 | 0.555 | 8 | 25 | 0.320 | 45 | 75 | 0.600 | 257 | 6.6 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 41 | 961 | 547 | 14.0 |
| Totals | 144 | 642 | 1271 | 0.505 | 17 | 51 | 0.333 | 201 | 316 | 0.636 | 794 | 5.5 | 194 | 253 | 151 | 119 | 2957 | 1502 | 10.4 |