Andrew Jones' career: a retrospective

Yesterday, lifetime Longhorn Andrew Jones, affectionately referred to as AJ1, decided to move on from the Texas basketball program after several years on the 40 Acres, being recruited and signing for the 2016-2017 season.

In this piece, I want to talk about both the on-court and off-court journey that Jones underwent, inspiring teammates and fans alike over his illustrious career as a Texas basketball player.

Jones was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, a five-star shooting guard from Irving-MacArthur high school, of which Chris Beard is also an alumnus.

2016-2017

Jones' freshman year was impressive – he averaged 11.4 points per game in nearly 28 minutes as a first-year guard at Texas. He arrived in a decorated class that also included current NBA star and McDonald's All-American teammate Jarrett Allen, who recently made his first NBA All-Star team. He was third-leading scorer for the Longhorns behind the aforementioned Allen, as well as behind Tevin Mack's 14.8 points per game.

Unfortunately, this was one of the toughest seasons for Texas basketball, as they finished just 11-22, 4-14 in conference and finished in last place in the Big 12. This didn't stop Jones from having multiple high-level performances throughout the season; for example, he had an 18-point outburst against the number three team in the country, Kansas, shooting 50% from the field in narrow loss in a game that they had no business being in. That was his highest-scoring performance of the year, but he was very consistent throughout his campaign, scoring over 10 points in 23 of this 33 games. Jarrett Allen left to go pro, but Jones stayed on.

2017-2019

Texas saw a turnaround in Jones' sophomore season, going from 11 wins to 19 and finishing in the middle of the pack in the conference. While Jones was the leading scorer with 13.5 points per game, he played just 10 games. His absence started when he fractured a wrist in December that kept him out of a few contests.

That's when things got real for Andrew Jones.

Suffering from an "unknown illness" that sapped his energy, Jones took the rest of the season after January 1st to piece together what may be happening with his health.

That month, the results came back: Andrew Jones was suffering from a form of cancer called leukemia. He immediately began to undergo chemotherapy, which forced him out of basketball nearly completely outside of two games played in 2019.

Through battling this illness, Jones became a hero to the country, and not just in college basketball circles. In a nation where cancer is so common, nearly anyone can relate to it, whether they've had a family member or friend pass away, or have battled with it themselves.

This would eventually become a catalyst for charitable action from Jones, who would, once NIL was legalized, donate 10% of his earnings to the V Foundation, a cancer research fund dedicated to legendary coach Jim Valvano. It would also eventually spark a relationship with basketball personality Dick "Dickie V" Vitale, who has been undergoing cancer treatment himself in the past few months. While Jones did little-to-no actual playing, he made an invaluable impact off the floor that anyone would commend.

2019-2020

After defeating leukemia, Jones amazingly was able to come back and play again for Texas, and not just play, but do so at a high level. Averaging 11.5 points per game, he had a streak of scoring 20+ points in three out of four games deep into the conference slate: he scored 21 against TCU, 12 against Kansas State, 22 points against West Virginia, and followed those up with another 22-point outing against Texas Tech. He was second-leading scorer on the team behind Kerwin Roach en route to a 19-12 season that ended prematurely with a second-round loss in the Big 12 Tournament to Oklahoma State.

The basketball program was struggling at this point, and coach Shaka Smart was beginning to look like the problem instead of the solution to much of the fanbase. Despite these distractions, Jones continued to plug away and get better.

2020-2021

In the 2021 NBA Draft, three Longhorns were selected: Kai Jones went 19th to Charlotte, Greg Brown went 45th to Portland, and Jericho Sims went 58th to New York. On a team loaded with pro-level talent, Jones still managed to stand out.

Despite the heartbreaking ending to the season – a loss to Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament – Andrew Jones helped put together the best regular-season team Shaka Smart ever had in Austin.

In a COVID-affected year, the Longhorns finished 19-8 and won the Big 12 Tournament, beating Oklahoma State in the conference title game, who was led by eventual number-one pick Cade Cunningham. Cunningham had 29 points in the loss.

During the season, Jones had a 13-game streak of double-digit scoring, including outbursts of 20+ points five times. He scored 25 against eventual national champion Baylor, and scored 24 against Kansas State. Unfortunately, much of the buzz about his impressive year would be mostly lost due to the result of the season. Once again though, Jones did everything he could to help them win.

2021-2022

Jones was one of just four returning players for new head coach Chris Beard when the coaching change went into effect. Beard convinced Jones, along with Courtney Ramey, Brock Cunningham, and Jase Febres, to come back for one more season. It took a lot of dedication to come back to a program after the devastating loss from the year before, especially when Texas brought in an entirely new coaching staff from the one he had been with since 2016 (as well as bringing in seven transfers).

Jones played big in big games, specifically the NCAA Tournament, where he scored 21 points against Virginia Tech in the first round, helping the Longhorns to their first tournament win since 2014. He also played well in their second-round loss to Purdue, putting up 17. He had back-to-back-to-back 20+ point games against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and TCU in mid-February, helping Texas to finish fourth in the Big 12.

While the season may not have gone as planned in Coach Beard's first year, Jones was a source of leadership during a season that, at times, was very frustrating. He did as he has done his whole career: overcame adversity.

No matter the results of these seasons, many of which were disappointing, Andrew Jones never complained, never rocked the boat, and always acted in his and his teammates' best interests. Despite a major coaching change, he stuck around and gave it his all. There are many lessons here about resilience.

"He's the toughest guy in college basketball," said Coach Beard during a media availability earlier this year.

I'd be inclined to agree with him.