Haley Jones has the expertise of a soloist however the mindset of a symphony conductor. She will be able to create like few others but is even higher as a facilitator.
Given the possibility to shoot or cross, the Stanford star will get as a lot or extra pleasure out of threading the needle to a teammate breaking to the ring as she does draining a 3-point shot.
The way in which Jones explains it, it’s a philosophy that isn’t nearly basketball however about life.
“Rising up, my mother at all times talked about being somebody that features others,” Jones stated Thursday at a press convention. “You by no means need to be on the outskirts of a bunch or be the one excluded so I attempt to not be that sort of particular person.”
Throw in a sunny disposition that invitations smiles, laughter and dance steps with a aggressive streak that lies simply beneath the floor and the 6-foot-1 Jones could be the most full participant in ladies’s school basketball.
If Stanford’s run-up to Friday night time’s recreation towards UConn is any indication, Jones’ seemingly limitless skillset may present the distinction on a nationwide stage within the NCAA ladies’s semifinal at Goal Heart in Minneapolis (6:30 p.m., ESPN).
“I name her ‘T’ Jones — Event Jones,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer stated. “The larger the sport, the higher she performs.”
Stanford (32-3) is the highest seed within the West, whereas perennial energy UConn (29-5), is a No. 2 seed within the East after outlasting top-seeded North Carolina State in double extra time to achieve the Remaining 4. The winner faces both South Carolina (33-2) or Louisville (29-4) in Sunday’s championship recreation.
Jones, 20, is a first-team AP All-America choice, was voted the excellent participant of the Spokane Regional and is a yr faraway from being essentially the most excellent participant in final yr’s Remaining 4 in San Antonio, main the Cardinal with 17 factors and a key 3-point play close to the top of a 54-53 title win over Arizona.
It’s not a stretch to recommend the primary title for Stanford in 29 years turned doable the second Jones determined in 2019 because the nation’s high recruit out of Archbishop Mitty of San Jose to remain house relatively than have her choose of any school within the nation.
“If you’re in a position to put somebody like that on the ground, you shoot the ball higher,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma stated. “You deal with the ball higher as a crew, you cross the ball higher as a crew, you rebound the ball higher as a crew. All due to one particular person. So there not very many Haley Joneses.”
As Jones put it: “I love to do every thing on the market, so my total recreation is what I'll proceed to work on.”
Auriemma was a part of a who’s who of girls’s basketball coaches who got here to the West Coast to recruit Jones, together with luminaries resembling Daybreak Staley of South Carolina and Muffet McGraw (now retired) of Notre Dame.
Jones went to highschool in San Jose however grew up and lived in Santa Cruz, making the day by day drive by means of the mountains on Freeway 17 for the ultimate two years of her highschool profession.
“It was a giant dedication and sacrifice,” stated Sue Phillips, Jones’ coach at Mitty. “It’s a dedication and sacrifice the entire household makes. From early on she was right here with a goal.”
Jones is the daughter of not one however two former highschool basketball coaches — Patrick and Monique Jones. She and her older brother Cameron grew up tagging alongside at basketball practices, which helps clarify why she is sensible past her years in a basketball sense.
Phillips needed her to be a “position-less” participant, succesful not solely of scoring, however striving for triple-doubles with rebounds and assists to associate with just a few steals and blocked pictures.
Pretty much as good as Jones was in all areas, the nuance and subtlety of her passing recreation had been evident early.
Jones may calculate and calibrate matchups and angles to get teammates in the very best place to attain, processing all the chances straight away. Greater than as soon as upon arrival at Mitty, teammates had been shocked to seek out the ball bouncing off their palms as Jones had delivered an ideal cross they didn’t assume was doable.
“She had an innate potential to cross on time and on track and to know methods to add an additional dribble and delay to get a window after which tailor the cross to her personnel,” Phillips stated. “I imply, we’re speaking about these main expertise as a passer and she or he mainly had all of them.”
It’s the backdoor lower for us. 🤌
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📱 https://t.co/yvZsmZuvFJ#GoStanford | @StanfordWBBpic.twitter.com/RPzMASKMSx— Pac-12 Convention (@pac12) March 28, 2022
Kelly Sopak, a longtime coach at Miramonte and Carondelet excessive colleges who runs the Cal Stars summer time program, discovered that Jones was on one other stage when it got here to passing.
“We name it the ‘no, no, no, sure, sure, sure, syndrome,’ ” Sopak stated. “She makes a transfer and also you’re like, ‘no, no, no,’ after which she makes a duck-in cross or does one thing superb and also you’re like, ‘sure, sure, sure.’ As a coach, you’re extra conservative and cautious, however with the ball in Haley’s palms, you’re in fairly fine condition.”
Cameron Brink, Stanford’s 6-4 sophomore put up participant, has been on the receiving finish of quite a lot of assists from Jones.
“There’s clearly a lot to her recreation, however I feel what actually stands out to me along with her skillset is her potential to cross the ball,” Brink stated. “She’s in all probability among the best passers I’ve ever performed with. She simply does an awesome job of discovering individuals which can be open.”
Whereas VanDerveer sometimes quibbles with Jones’ penchant for being too dangerous and turning the ball over, she stated, “She has nice imaginative and prescient. She would possibly see issues different individuals don’t know are taking place.”
Teammates need to be on Jones’ aspect even throughout scrimmages. Given her team-first mentality and sitting out for blocks of time in one-sided wins — Jones’ stats (12.5 factors per recreation, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists) are good however not essentially a real indication of her contribution.
“In apply, you need her in your crew, she’s so aggressive,” guard Lacie Hull stated. “Her crew might be going to win. I feel she’s the very best teammate you may ask for. I don’t assume what she does is essentially replicated within the field rating, however we’re positively very grateful for her.”
Jones does all this with a demeanor Phillips stated makes her chairman of the “Sunshine Committee” and couldn’t keep in mind a recreation at Mitty the place she wasn’t main the crew in track earlier than tip-off.
“She performs with nice pleasure, has this nice connection along with her teammates,” Phillips stated. “She’s so good at speaking there rapidly turns into synergy and connectivity on the ground and it’s simply stunning basketball.”
Phillips and Sopak weren’t shocked when Jones helped choreograph the dance steps for the “Electrical Slide” VanDerveer carried out along with her crew after the regional title win over Texas. VanDerveer conceded she wasn’t a lot of a dancer, however that Jones was too irrepressible to withstand.
“She took cost, she informed everybody what to do,” VanDerveer stated. “She was implausible. That’s in all probability why I may be taught it. When you've gotten an awesome instructor, college students do higher.”
Even in summer time basketball, which might foster individuality as gamers attempt to get observed in hopes of piquing the curiosity of faculty coaches, Jones’ mentality stood out.
“She was at all times large into the crew atmosphere, the bonding, and the crew getting alongside,” Sopak stated. “That was actually, actually vital to her.”
That goes a great distance towards explaining why Jones is so centered on beating UConn and increasing the season.
“We solely have 4 days left if we win, and we actually need to have these 4 days relatively than two,” Jones stated. “We’re going to do every thing we are able to to maintain enjoying collectively so long as we are able to. What’s particular about our crew is that in powerful instances and persons are stressing out, you’re in a position to come again to 1 one other as associates and folks first and relate to them and categorical the arrogance you've gotten in every one other. I feel that’s what units us aside.”