3 Terrence Jones

Terrence Jones was born Terrence Alexander Jones on January 9, 1992, to Linda Mashia-Jones and Dennis Jones. He is the cousin of former Arizona All-American and NBA Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire.

In high school, Jones averaged 32 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals as a junior.  He averaged 30.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a senior, leading Jefferson High School to its third consecutive state championship, a feat no other 5A or 6A Oregon school had ever accomplished.  Jones is one of only three players to be twice named The Oregonian newspaper’s Class 5A Player of the Year (UCLA’s Kevin Love and Oregon’s Fred Jones).  He received 2010 McDonald’s All-America and Jordan Brand Classic All-American honors.  Jones was named to the 2010 USA Junior National Select Team.

Jones committed to Washington on April 30, 2010, but did not sign a National Letter of Intent.  He ended up changing his mind and on May 19, 2010, he signed a financial aid agreement with Kentucky instead of a letter of intent.  Jones chose Kentucky over Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Washington.

As a freshman at Kentucky, Jones started 35 of 38 games, averaging 15.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game.   In his first collegiate game on November 12, 2010, he scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against East Tennessee, both team-highs, earning SEC Freshman of the Week.  He was the first UK freshman to begin his career with a double-double since Jules Camara in 1998-99 and he joined Sam Bowie as the only freshman in UK history with a 20-10 game in debut.  Along with Doron Lamb, they became the first freshman duo in UK history to score 20 points in a debut.  On November 22, 2010, Jones led UK with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks against Oklahoma.  On November 23, 2010, Jones posted a double-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks against Washington.  On November 24, 2010, against Connecticut, Jones led UK with 24 points, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range.  At the Maui Invitational, he earned All-Tournament honors, averaging 23.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks.  He earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after his performance in the Maui Invitational.  On December 8, 2010, he scored a game-high 27 points and tied a career-high 17 rebounds against Notre Dame.On January 8, 2011, he led UK with 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds at Georgia.  Jones earned his third SEC Freshman of the Week honor after UK’s wins over Auburn and LSU.  On January 11, 2011, Jones broke teammate Doron Lamb’s UK freshman scoring record with 35 points against Auburn.  This was his career high.  On February 1. 2011, he led the team with a double-double of 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks at Ole Miss.  On February 19, 2011, Jones recorded his fourth double-double in six games against South Carolina at home with 19 points and 12 rebounds.  He earned his fifth SEC Freshman of the Week honor after home wins over South Carolina and Mississippi State.  On March 19, 2011, Jones recorded his 12th double-double in the NCAA Tournament second-round game against West Virginia, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  On April 2, 2011, he had 11 point, 15 rebounds, and four steals in the Final Four against Connecticut.  Jones and Lamb decided to stay a second year at Kentucky instead of entering the NBA draft.

Entering his sophomore year, Jones was part of what was considered one of “the most highly anticipated” Kentucky basketball teams of all time based on pre-season hype, recruit expectations, and existing talent.  As a sophomore, Jones started 34 of 38 games played.  He averaged 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.  On November 15, 2011, he tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in a win over No. 11 Kansas.  Jones had an all-around performance with 15 points and team-highs in rebounds (9) and assists (5) in a win over Penn State on November 19, 2011.  On December 1, 2011, he poured in a season-high 26 points while adding nine rebounds, four blocks, and a career-high tying four steals in a win over St. John’s.  On December 17, 2011, he suffered a dislocated finger in a win over Chattanooga and missed the Samford and Loyola games due to the injury.  Jones had a season-high 11 rebounds, three steals, and a bucket in a win over Louisville on December 31, 2011.  On January 17, 2012, he tallied 13 points, nine rebounds while adding a career-high five blocks in a win over Arkansas.  Jones erupted for a season-high 27 points, nine boards, and three blocked shots in a win at LSU on January 28, 2012.  On February 18, 2012, he notched his first double-double of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Ole Miss.  On March 9, 2012, Jones recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds, including going on a personal 9-0 run early in the second half in a win over LSU.  He recorded another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Vandy on March 11, 2012 then notched another double-double with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in a win over WKU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 15, 2012.  On March 25, 2012, Jones tallied 12 points with nine rebounds and a career-high six assists in the NCAA South Regional finals win over Baylor.  Jones scored nine points with seven rebounds in the national championship win over Kansas.

In April 2012, Jones was one of six Wildcats to enter the NBA draft, along with Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb, and Darius Miller.  All six players were drafted, setting a record for most players from one school drafted in the NBA draft.

Jones was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 18th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

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