This is the third of our “Meet the Jays” segments featuring the 2009-2010 Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball players. Join us as we profile a different scholarship player each day leading up to the season opener at Dayton on November 14.
The waiting game for Josh Jones has to be at a peak level heading into tonight’s exhibition matchup against Missouri Western State. The standout from Omaha Central High School redshirted last season, his first at Creighton, and he’s played 7 minutes for Creighton since leaving as the Eagles’ all-time scoring leader more than a year and a half ago. And even though tonight’s exhibition won’t count in the history books, you can bet it will be meaningful for Jones and all of those close to him.
Since Jones is a local product, many of you already know the road he’s traveled since September 2007, but for those who don’t: It has been two years since Jones contracted a virus that worked its way into his heart, an illness that left the senior in high school wondering if he’d ever play basketball again. He underwent open-heart surgery in the fall but worked his way back to lead Central to its third straight Nebraska Class A basketball championship. Still, some – including Jones himself – wondered if he’d be able to take on the rigors of Division I basketball.
And while he might have shared some of those same thoughts, Dana Altman reaffirmed his commitment to Jones and the scholarship Creighton offered the high school star before his illness took hold. However, with last season’s log jam at the guard position, Jones took a redshirt following 7 minutes of action in the Bluejays’ only exhibition game in 2008-2009. The backcourt situation with this year’s team continues to seem crowded, but don’t rule out Jones contributing to the Bluejays this season. His leadership skills and winning ways cannot be denied.
Jones’ list of accolades and honors is as exhaustive as any other local Omaha product in the past 10 years. In addition to leading Central to three straight Class A championships, he did it against teammate Antoine Young’s Bellevue West Thunderbirds. He and Young co-captained the Omaha World-Herald’s all-Metro team as seniors, and he helmed the OWH’s all-state team that same year. He averaged almost 20 points per game his final year at Central. As he recovered from heart surgery.
Josh is a fighter and a winner. Expect him to fight for playing time off the bench beginning tonight.