Basketball big part of Jones family history

By Josh Troy

Beauregard Daily News

DERIDDER—Jodarius Jones, a senior point and shooting guard for the DeRidder Dragons basketball team, comes from a family where playing basketball has been a tradition.


Jones played basketball and football for DeRidder in junior high, he also played Dixie Youth baseball, but now he solely focuses on basketball. His dad Jeffery was a basketball player, his oldest brother Jeff played center for the Dragons and his older brother Justin was a small forward for DeRidder. Jones’ mother is JoEvelyn Jones.

“That’s the best sport,” Jones said. “I’m better at basketball. That’s the family tradition. I’ve got older brothers that came through here.”

Jones said he has played basketball as long as he can remember.

But Jones has had to work hard to earn playing time for the Dragons.

Last year, the team had 10 seniors, so Jones had not seen much action until the current 2009-10 season.

“So far I haven’t really had a lot of highlights,” Jones said.

Learning from older players has been beneficiary to Jones, as he has started to see more action.

“I learned what Coach Greene (Dragons head coach Mike Greene) was looking for,” Jones said.

“It’s all about buying into the system.”

And Jones hopes to be a strong contributor for the already 5-1 Dragons.

“I’m just working hard,” Jones said. “I lift weights. I got a little taller and better decision making skills.”

Jones also hopes to keep the Dragons motivated as the season moves forward.

“I see myself something like a leader to the team,” Jones said. “I’ve got to keep the team motivated because I’m a point guard and everything.”

That could translate into positive things for DeRidder as a team.

“I want to go as far as I can,” Jones said.

Jones enjoys being part of the Dragon tradition.

“My brothers came through and everything,” Jones said. “They were good basketball players. I kept the tradition going. It feels good to be a DeRidder Dragon.”

Jones’ favorite basketball team is the Denver Nuggets and his favorite player is Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings.

However, the person who helped Jones with basketball in many ways was Adrian Davis, who was a 2009 DeRidder High School graduate and point guard for the Dragons.

“I grew up with him (Davis),” Jones said. “I knew him all my life and we pretty much taught each other how to play basketball.”

Jones is a member of the Interact Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He used to be in the Black Heritage Club. His favorite subject is chemistry.

No matter how much extracurricular activities Jones takes part in, he always finds time to focus on academics.

“I just go with the flow I guess,” Jones said.

In college, Jones hopes to major in either Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering.

In Jones’ spare time, he liked to play video games with other people, which include NBA2K9 and NBA2k10. He also enjoys the myspace Web site on the Internet.

Courtesy of Beauregard Daily News