MacArthur Alumni Andrew Jones Playing Well for Texas After Battle with Leukemia |
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Irving, Texas. February 12, 2020 –
MacArthur's Andrew Jones graduated in 2016 where he was a star basketball player and a McDonald’s All-American.
As a freshman at Texas, Jones played in all 33 games with 23 starts. After that great season, he went through the NBA Pre-Draft Combine in May 2017 but decided to withdraw his name from the draft pool and return to Texas for his sophomore season.
His sophomore season started great, playing in 10 games and averaged 13.5 points in 22.6 minutes per contest.
In January 2018, Andrew was diagnosed with leukemia. He fought for his life and completed his final cancer treatment in September 2019. After a 2 year absence, Andrew is back playing with the Longhorns.
This past November, he rejoined the Texas rotation and scored a career-best 20 points in 29 minutes as the Longhorns defeated Northern Colorado 69-45 in the opener for both teams.
"I didn't know what to expect," Jones, now a redshirt sophomore guard, said. "It was a great feeling to be back out there. I didn't have any jitters. I wasn't nervous."
Andrew was granted a medical redshirt for both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and is currently classified as a redshirt sophomore.
In that first game back, Jones entered the game at the 13:50 mark of the first half, and he did not appear hesitant. One time he stepped in front of a Northern Colorado player to induce a charging foul, falling to the court in the process. Then Jones drove through traffic in the lane for a basket.
"Andrew's a great player," said Texas guard Courtney Ramey, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. "Him being out for so long, people kind of forgot about him. So he's gonna wake them up."
"I'm happy for Andrew," coach Shaka Smart said. "I'm happy for his family. Sometimes in life, when you are dealt a tough hand, it's really about how you respond. He was the best offensive player on the floor. He played with great energy. He played with an aggressive, confident and loose mindset."
This season has been solid for Andrew. He is averaging 10.6 points per game.
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