Texas guard Jones diagnosed with leukemia

Shaka Smart sounded like a worried father the last week over Andrew Jones. The Texas sophomore simply wasn’t feeling normal, and the UT training staff had no diagnosis.

“There’s something else,” the Texas men’s basketball coach said last week. “Some type of sickness.”

On Wednesday, the school made a heartbreaking announcement. Jones has been diagnosed with leukemia.

A statement from Jones’ family said Andrew had been undergoing “a number of tests and evaluations over the past week.

“He has begun treatments, and we hope everyone will keep him in your thoughts and prayers,” the family statement said. “This is obviously a difficult situation for our family, and we hope everyone will respect our privacy at this time.”

Smart has spent extensive time with Jones and the family in recent days.

On New Year’s Day, the 20-year-old tweeted, “Stay focus and let God’s plan for me take its course.”

Word of Jones’ condition began circulating over the weekend, but it was kept under wraps by the school due to federal privacy laws. Typically, coaches talk openly about sprained wrists or twisted ankles.

The 6-foot-4 guard from Irving MacArthur missed four games due to a hairline fracture in his right wrist after falling twice against Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 5. Prior to the injury, Jones was on a roll. He scored a career-high 19 points that night in Richmond, Va., and was averaging 16.6 points in the last five games. — Brian Davis, Austin American-Statesman