Shakara Jones

[davidlee]

Ron Jones, I believe, was around 6'4" stocky forward. He was Norm's type of player - hard nose

[bonwich]

From 1984, by Roy's favorite P-D staffer (besides me ;-) ):

U'S JONES ESTABLISHES PRIORITIES

By Mike Smith Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Roughly 48 hours before he is to position his broad shoulders squarely in the path of the broader shoulders of one of the best college basketball players in America, Ron Jones is fidgeting.

Oklahoma's Wayman Tisdale can have that effect on an opponent, but not on this day. Not when Ron Jones, University of Missouri basketball player, is about to make his debut as Ron Jones, University of Missouri teaching assistant in the department of child and family development.

''I can't really believe I'm going in there to teach,'' said Jones, claiming to have everything in order for the first day of class except his peace of mind.

''I'm actually going to lecture to college students. If I thought three years ago that I'd have to do something like this, I might not be here.''

So it is that from Jones' perspective, tomorrow's 2:10 p.m. encounter with All-America Tisdale and the Sooners (17-3, 4-1 in the Big Eight Conference) in Norman, Okla., will take on the delightful feel of a recess period.

''If I'm the one who gets a shot at stopping him, I'd love it,'' said Jones, notorious as the defensive ace of the Tigers (14-6, 3-2). ''If he does what he wants to do, that won't bother me. I'll have given it my best shot.

''Really, all it is is one game of basketball.''

R R R

Jones had stretched out his 6 feet 4 inches and 210 pounds on a bench in a corridor of Stanley Hall, a university structure which, as the hub of the school's child and family development program, has been largely the domain of women and toddlers.

If Jones doesn't seem so much as a trifle uncomfortable in this setting, perhaps it's because he's an old hand at looking out of place.

Take the time in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Mo., when Jones and a few friends, all blacks, went looking for a youth basketball team with which they could compete.

''There was this all-white church where I knew the preacher, and he also coached their basketball team,'' Jones said. ''My black church didn't have anything like that, so all of a sudden, here are these black kids showing up on Sunday at an all-white church. You had to go on Sunday if you wanted to play.

'It was pretty funny, some of the looks we got, but everybody really was pretty friendly. In Cape Girardeau, the blacks are over here and the whites are over here, so it was probably a good experience for everybody.''

Then there were the days when Jones was getting his basketball education on the Cape Girardeau playgrounds (''I still get static up here like, 'Street ball in Cape Girardeau?' They think I'm from the sticks or something.')

His father was deceased and his mother had to work, so the task of babysitting young Ron fell to an older brother.

''He'd take me down to the playground all the time, and I'd watch all those big guys play and I'd think, 'Man, I want to play so bad,' ''Jones recalled. ''When they finally let me in, I'd chase all the balls that went out of bounds -- anything so they'd let me keep playing.

''Playing with those guys when I was young, I think that's what made me tough and a hard worker. I was always the youngest, and they didn't want me to show 'em up, so they made it as hard as they could. After a while, I started making it tough on them.

''They're always watching our games now, and when I go home, we get up games and we talk about how we used to play. They feel good about me playing for Missouri, and that makes me feel good. There just haven't been that many players come out of Cape, especially from my neighborhood.''

Finally, there's the tale of what for him was an awkward initial contact with Mizzou Coach Norm Stewart. Folks back in the neighborhood perhaps don't realize how close they were to becoming Indiana State loyalists.

''Mizzou saw me play against Lex Drum (a Tiger recruit who later transferred) and against Stipo (Steve Stipanovich) when I was a junior, but he (Stewart) never said anything to me,'' Jones said. ''Then, all of a sudden, Norm stops me as I'm running off the floor at the state championship game. I didn't know what to say to him.

'To be perfectly frank, at the time I was sure I was headed to Indiana State.'

R R R

It was largely with the interests of family members in mind that Jones remained in-state, and they're in his thoughts now as he ponders his future in the sport.

''I don't come from a rich family,'' he said, ''but we're a close family. If something like pro basketball would come along and I'd be in a position where I could take care of my mother, that would be my top priority. She's a special lady.''

Admittedly it's a longshot vision, what with the 6-4 Jones not having established himself as an outside shooter and never having averaged higher than the 7.9 mark he carries this season. What acclaim Jones has been afforded at Mizzou is the result of him stuffing the All-America likes of North Carolina's Michael Jordan.

''I'm facing reality. It'd really be tough,'' Jones said. ''But if I really get a shot, I feel I could make it.

''A lot of people talk to me about David Thirdkill (the Soldan High graduate who made it to the National Basketball Association on his defensive reputation), and the dude at Philadelphia, Clint Richardson -- he's known for his defense. You have defensive players in the pros.''

Jones has been touted at Mizzou as the strongest basketball player in the country -- which Jones disputes after having faced North Carolina State's Lorenzo Charles -- and it has been suggested that with his physique, quickness and athletic ability, he's ideally suited for football. NCAA rules permit a year of eligibility in another sport beyond the four years allowed for the athlete's principal sport.

''If that situation came up, and everything seemed right, I would try it,'' Jones said. ''If things didn't work out with basketball, I'm pretty sure I would.

''But this football thing has been a problem. I'd like to avoid that kind of thinking: 'Well, if it doesn't work out in basketball, there's always football.' I know for a fact I can do a lot better in basketball, and that's where I want to keep my thoughts.''

Regardless of whether Jones' athletic career continues, one senses in him genuine excitement for his future. He is scheduled to graduate in May, and save for preparing lectures for a lab course in human development, he is captivated by his work with children.

''I'd like to go back to Cape someday and start up a new civic center or youth club -- some kind of big recreation center for the community,'' Jones said.

''Cape needs more things like that; things to keep the young people out of trouble. I'd like that, to have a chance to give something back.'

_____

A tidbit from a 1985 article:

1980

All good things come to an end, but DeSmet didn't fall easily. Without Alcorn, without Dressler, and without Stipanovich, the Spartans still made the Final Four. This time, though, DeSmet was beaten by Cape Girardeau Central, 63-57, in the semifinals, and then by William Chrisman, 83-82, in the third-place game. Cape Central beat Hickman Mills, 53-51, in the title game. But the talk of the tournament centered on the demise of DeSmet. 'There's nothing like beating DeSmet once you get up here,' said Cape Central's Ron Jones, who scored 27 points against the Spartans. Chrisman Coach Warren Landess said, 'Sure we wanted to beat DeSmet, everybody does. We just didn't want it to be for third place.'

The other story coming out of the state tourney was Jones, who wasn't recruited by Missouri Coach Norm Stewart until he had success in the Final Four.

____

And one from Shakara's sophomore year:

Howell Central's Jones is sure to draw a crowd of recruiters

BY CRAIG MARTIN

Special to the Post-Dispatch

While channel surfing recently, Shakara Jones stumbled across the movie "Hoop Dreams" and saw a glimpse of things to come.

The movie documents the recruiting process of two highly touted prep basketball players. Jones, a 6-1 sophomore at Francis Howell Central, is just beginning to get a taste of what that recruiting process entails.

"That was the perfect show," said her father, Ron Jones. "She turned to me and said, 'Do they really do that? They come to your house?'"

Ron Jones knows the process first-hand. As a star at Cape Girardeau Central, Jones was recruited by the University of Missouri and played with the Tigers from 1980-84.

With Shakara still a sophomore, college coaches must go through Ron Jones, who is also her AAU coach, or Howell Central coach Brian Ricker. Both have attempted to deflect much of the early attention.

"By having me go through that situation, I can channel a lot of that," Ron Jones said.

Shakara's size made her an early target to take the next step. Her 18 points and 6.4 rebounds a game as a freshman cemented Shakara as a potential collegiate player.

Behind Shakara, who was named all-conference, the Spartans won the Gateway Athletic Conference South title and advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season. Now everyone is going to expect more.

"The surprise last year was she was able to assume as much responsibility as she did," Ricker said. "Few kids as freshman can come in and handle the responsibility we gave her."

While Shakara won't be a surprise this season, Ricker said she will bring a new dimension to her game that most squads haven't seen before -- shooting range. Not only can Shakara dominate a game in the paint, she has the ability to knock down baskets from the perimeter.

Ron Jones said her shooting ability comes from all the work she has done since she started the game in third grade. Not knowing how tall Shakara would grow, Ron had his daughter learn every position and work on all of the fundamentals, including shooting with both hands.

"What people haven't seen, and we'll try to incorporate into the game this year, is her ability to shoot outside," Ricker said. "She has a very good shooting technique."

Shakara also picked up a few things facing dad one-on-one.

"I've only beat him once," Shakara said. "It gets (intense) after a while. He puts that old school on me. I think it's helped me with my strength and helped me with my defense."

Shakara's inside game is built around her strength and her ability to fight through double teams. Ricker said the other thing that makes her such a good player is her unselfish nature. Shakara is just as likely to pass the ball back to the perimeter when facing a double team as she is to take it to the hoop.

Senior Kim Douglas is just one of the Spartans to benefit from the extra attention Shakara receives. Douglas averaged more than 12 points a game last season.

"I accept (my role) and my teammates accept it," Shakara said. "Since we've been together for awhile, we know each other's limits and expectations. We're more comfortable."

Shakara, who worked out in the weight room with the football team during the offseason, also added to her game by attending the Tennessee Lady Vols summer camp. She was named a camp all-star along with 12 other players.

"I learned how intense college basketball is and the level of play," Shakara said. "I try to play faster and play harder. It helped me understand the game better."

And now she understands what the next three years will hold for a top college recruit, too.