Athlete of the Week: Jaxson Jones
Age 13 | School Frank Wright Middle | Grade 8
Three-on-three basketball is having a moment right now, it seems like.
Long considered the “we don’t have enough guys” version of the sport, the rec center staple has gained a surprising amount of cultural traction over the past few years, up to and including its own Ice Cube-backed professional league and a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Last weekend the game took over L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles, which played host to the 11th annual Nike Basketball 3ON3 Tournament.
Billed as “California’s largest streetball tournament” the massive event saw more than 1,500 teams featuring over 6,000 players compete across several age and skill divisions.
Jaxson Jones was one of those 1,500. The 13-year-old Imperial resident competed as a member of the Yuma-based Desert Elite squad. And they did pretty well for themselves.
They went 5-0 across Saturday and Sunday to win the whole thing at their level. How’s that for well?
The 6-foot-1 Jones was a force to be reckoned with, averaging in the neighborhood of 10 points per game — a more than healthy total given that the games only went to 21 points by increments of one and two — but despite his steady presence on the scoreboard, he felt it was his rebounding that made the biggest impact.
A throwback-type player who enjoys operating out of the post and admits that his jump shot is “just alright” (he’s working on it, though), Jones said it took him a little bit to get acclimated to the big-time tourney environment, but after a while, he got into a groove.
“When we first got there, just seeing everyone there and all the teams and games going on, I was in shock,” he said. “It was my biggest tournament ever, and the competition was way more advanced than I’m used to.
“In the first game, when the first couple of points were scored I was just kind of going through it, seeing how it was, but then I got the hang of it, and I started doing good.”
Jones is originally from Blythe and moved to Imperial toward the end of fifth grade. He joined up with Desert Elite earlier this year after previously playing for the Imperial Valley Wolfpack.
In addition to basketball, he also spends a good chunk of his time out on the gridiron where he plays defensive end, fullback and slot receiver. Last December he traveled to the American Youth Football nationals in Orlando as a member of the Imperial AYF Pee
Wee team.
My favorites
Pro athlete — Russell Wilson
Pro team — Seattle Seahawks
School subject — Social studies
Movie — “The Longest Yard”
Video game — Madden
Food — Mac ’n’ Cheese
Song — “Nonstop” by Drake
Musical artist — Drake
What do you enjoy most about your sport?
“It doesn’t really matter how tall or short you are, you can still contribute and help your team win (as long as you have skills and knowledge).”
What’s one of the best memories you’ve had playing?
“I don’t know if this could be a best memory, but … I really like it. It was in my first year playing and I made an all-star team, and we went to Twentynine Palms for a tournament, and I went up for rebound — and I was playing against older kids, thirdand fourth-graders — and a kid he (went up, too) and he fell on me … and I was down for a little bit, but after that, I got up and went back in and kept playing. That’s just one of my favorite moments in basketball.”
What are your goals going forward?
“Well my No. 1 goal is just to go to college. We have school coming up and I want to get straight A’s and pass with a 4.0.”