Mailee Jones makes her decision
So many players have fallen through the cracks over the years, which is the main reason I started doing what I do, and I always preach I have no agenda on who I observe no matter what team you play on so finding those hidden gems has always been something I was very good at doing because either you see it or you don’t. San Antonio Reagan’s Maille Jones was one of those players and even though I didn’t know about her, a conversation with her dad, Coach David Jones, who coached Maile’s club team (Shooting For Success) really had me interested and not just because of her dads background, he played professionally overseas for many years and the things he described to me about his daughter’s ability told me I definitely needed to catch her in action
I watched Mailee go against some of the “top” guards in the state numerous times and to say she held her own would be an understatement, this was during her sophomore season going against older players and although she was not only skilled, she had some intangibles you just can’t teach, high basketball IQ and even more importantly, heart because no matter what the score was, she played the same and when you add the fact that not only was she willing to take “the shot” during pressure situations, I watched her hit some big ones but over the past three years and the biggest shot she made was deciding she’d be heading to Youngstown State for the next chapter of her career and as talented as she is on the court, she’s an exceptional student off the court as well
I asked Mailee on why she chose Youngstown over the many offers she had and as always she was articulate in responding
“Good Evening Mr. Colson, First I would like to thank you for your support and for your help to get my talents recognized by Division 1 schools that best fit for my future. The story behind why I chose Youngstown State University was because the coaches and the women’s basketball program showed concern about being a student athlete and player development to not only succeed at the D1 college level but at the professional basketball level after college.”
I also had a chance to get a response from her dad on what this means
“Our journey through Mailee’s last year of high school was very challenging. The ups and downs and adversity that Mailee was put through and still stepping out on the court everyday shows how big her heart is for the game of basketball. When her coach and some of her players didn’t believe in her Mailee kept believing in herself. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger! Words cannot express how proud I am of Mailee for never giving up.”
One thing I know for certain is that this young lady will give everything she has at the next level and you will be hearing a lot more about her and again, I’ll be right here saying “I told you so”