Throwback Thursday: Asjha Jones

Asjha Jones

Asjha Jones spent four years at UConn from 1998-2002, winning two NCAA championships in 2000 and 2002. Jones won Big East Tournament MVP honors averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Jones was part of the UConn team that went 39-0 as a senior Jones averaged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per on 55% shooting from the field. In four years at UConn, Jones scored 10.4 points and grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game. She shot 50% from the field and 33% from the three-point land.

WNBA

Jones was taken with the fourth pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. She spent 12 seasons in the WNBA playing for Mystics, Connecticut Sun, and the Minnesota Lynx.

Jones had her best season’s with the Sun; she made the All-Star team in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, Jones averaged 15.3 points per game and 16.7 points in 2009. The former WNBA player averaged double-digit points for seven seasons in a row. in 2015, Jones won a WNBA Championship with the Lynx. She averaged 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in her 12-year WNBA career.

International Play

In the 2005–06 off-season Jones played for the Russian Basketball Federation Superleague. After playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia for several years, she joined Rivas Ecópolis in the 2011–12 off-season, in her final season of international play. Jones won EuroLeague’s Final Eight MVP in her last season.

Coaching

Photo Credit: Amanda Loman / AP

In 2018, Jones was hired as a player development coach by the Mystics and was part of the staff on the 2019 championship team. Jones got promoted to assistant coach for the Mystics the next season. In April 2021, it was announced that Jones would join the Portland Trail Blazers as their Director of Basketball Strategy and Planning.

Jones was an outstanding player in college and the WNBA; she was excellent at scoring in the paint. Jones could also take you off the dribble and knock down midrange shots giving her an outstanding all-around game. The former WNBA player is one of 11 women to win an NCAA Championship, a Gold Medal with her two medals in 2010 and 2012., and a WNBA Championship. It’s nice to see Jones sharing her basketball knowledge in the Blazers front office.

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