Jones is Mount Vernon’s Latest Product
by Zach Smart
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – At first glance, the gym seems a bit mediocre. A standard-size basketball court, intriguing team logo at the center, two benches and sets of stands sitting across from each other, glass backboards and round, cylinder rims. Nothing too wild, really.
Then you look up and see the plethora of New York State championship banners, the numerous player/coach accolades, as well as the buffet-line of legendary names that surely echo in the head of any hoop junkie.
Mount Vernon High School is a Division I factory located just north of the Bronx. The city borders small Westchester towns such as Eastchester and Tuckahoe, though it contains a rich high school basketball program which measures up to that of New York City’s Lincoln, Rice, and Christ The King. Among the card-shop names that Mount Vernon High has produced are Chicago Bulls standout guard Ben Gordon, Gus Williams, and Scooter and Rodney McCray.
The past few seasons, the program has launched several players to top-flight Division I programs – Jonathon Mitchell (Florida), Chris Lowe (UMass), and Keith Benjamin (Pittsburgh) – to name a few. This past season, the Knights were led by Michael Coburn, a strong 5-foot-11 playmaker who will operate the offense for Rutgers next season. Coburn led Section I/N.Y.S. basketball in total points this past season, scoring 665 to the tune of 22.9 per game. He also handed out 154 assists as the spearhead of one of the state’s most potent offenses.
“Mount Vernon has such a storied basketball history,” said one Mount Vernon resident during a basketball clinic in nearby White Plains, N.Y., where the Knights’ longtime rivals’ lay. “And every player wants to be the next great one, the next Ben (Gordon), the next player to open eyes. It really is a hotbed.”
The next great one appears to be on his way. While many laud those that the program has groomed in the past, the focus is now on incoming senior Kevin Jones.
Money-earnin’ Mount Vernon is buzzing about Jones after the 6-foot-7 combo forward’s sublime junior season. Jones helped lead the Knights to the State Federation Championship, their third in four years, averaging 21 points per game behind Coburn. He hung 31 on Alquippa during the season and 29 on Section 2’s Bishop Maginn in the state championship game. In the beginning of June, Jones went off for 43 points and 19 boards in an IS8 spring league game, catapulting Mount Vernon to an 82-80 outlasting of the Juice All-Stars in South Jamaica, N.Y.
The book on Jones is an easy read. Great hands, polished footwork, feathery jumper, quick around the cup with a soft touch, can emerge as an inside/outside threat, and loves to pull up from mid-range and the elbow areas.
It’s been quite a spring for Jones, whose game has drawn high interest from Louisville, Syracuse, Indiana, Rutgers, UMass, and Kentucky, amongst many others.
“Everybody except UConn has offered,” said Jones during a recent interview with Scout.com.
Jones recently took part in the NBA Players Association top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Va., where he was paired up with the nation’s elite.
Jones, often lauded by Knights head coach Bob Cimmino and others for having a inexorable work ethic, has been hitting the weights and playing with the Westchester Hawks on the AAU circuit. The strong work ethic is fitting, as Jones will need to put some pounds on his spindly 195-pound frame before inking with a big-time college program.
“Hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll have a top five,” said Jones, who plays alongside Peekskill standout Mookie Jones – also a highly sought after recruit from Section I/N.Y.S. – on the Hawks. “Hopefully I can make a decision by the end of the next school year.”
During the Pittsburgh Jamfest back in April, Big East programs such as Syracuse, Rutgers, and St. John’s flocked to see both Kevin and Mookie Jones.
Kevin didn’t shoot the ball tremendously well at Pittsburgh, but he displayed the inside-outside game that makes him such a unique threat. Jones poured in 22 points in the Hawks’ loss to Philadelphia-based Positive Image in the playoffs.
While Jones is not yet sure what factors are going to play into his decision, one thing is for sure: All eyes will be on him next season, as a basketball community and culture expect him to keep the Knights’ prestigious name intact.
Spectators have seen names like McCray, Williams, and Gordon do it. Now it’s Jones’ turn.
