NBA’s Derrick Jones and the Clueless Reporter
Despite what some folks think, there’s a lot of stuff that crosses my desk that I just let slide. Some of it is too complex, or doesn’t appeal to many people, or is old news, or makes people look bad, or tells too much truth, or is just plain ole ridiculous.
I came across a plain ole ridiculous article on Chester’s reigning NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Derrick Jones, of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers — formerly of the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns, from NBC Sports Northwest. I was going to let it slide until I spent some time with an 11th-grade Philly high school football player this weekend. We talked sports, and life, and somehow I remembered this crazy article about Derrick Jones. I showed it to him as a lesson on how you have to own your own story and watch what you say to reporters, because they don’t always do their homework.
The November 21 article is headlined “2020 Trail Blazers Free Agency: 5 Things to Know About Derrick Jones Jr.”
I’ll rename this post “5 Totally Ridiculous Passages.”
The reporter doesn’t get everything wrong. “Jones is known for his high-flying dunks as the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Champion, but he’s also stellar on the defensive side of the ball,” he writes. And, “Jones was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Philadelphia. Other NBA players to come out of Chester, PA, include Tyreke Evans, Rondae-Hollis Jefferson, and Jameer Nelson.”
Here comes the ridiculous.
Jones told NBA.com: “Coming from Chester, it being a violent city, not a lot of people make it out of there, not a lot of people make it to the age of 21.”
Okay Mr. Jones, I agree Chester has its share of violence. But an awful lot of people make it past the age of 21. That’s like saying COVID-19 is raging in Chester, and everyone is dying. It’s true that COVID-19 is raging, but it’s also true that most people will survive it. (So far 2020, Chester has seen about 32 homicides and 49 COVID-19 deaths).
In West Philadelphia, Born and Raised
That’s a subhead of the article. The writer knows Jones is from Chester, but he seems to think Chester is a neighborhood of West Philly.
Jones attended Archbishop John Carroll High School, and while he’s the only NBA player to come from this high school, the Fresh Prince, Will Smith, went there.
I guess Jones is the only NBA player from Carroll, but when did Will Smith transfer there from Overbrook High?
He averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds his freshman season at UNLV. He declared for the 2016 NBA draft, but went undrafted. The Suns signed Jones as an undrafted free agent in 2016. “I know every person that got drafted before me and that’s one thing that I put on my checklist,” Jones said. “Once I play against them, I’m going to show them that they shouldn’t have been drafted before me.”
Okay, Mr. Jones, you weren’t even the best player on your college team, and you’re going to show all 60 NBA draft picks that you’re better than them?
Jones appeared in 38 games with Phoenix over two seasons, averaging 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes.
Mr. Jones, I will not check the stats, but you only played 38 of 164 games in two seasons and couldn’t score 5 points a game. I wonder what those 60 NBA draft picks scored.
But — and this is a big but — in 2020, Jones defeated Aaron Gordon to capture the Slam Dunk Competition crown, which occurred on his 23rd birthday.
We love seeing Derrick Jones living his best life as an NBA player. Unfortunately, when reporters don’t do their homework and think Chester is part of West Philly and Will Smith went to a Catholic school, I guess whatever Derrick Smith tells them is going to be considered gospel.
Stefan Roots blogs at Chester Matters.
