Background
Jones, Popeye was born on June 17, 1970 in Dresden, Tennessee, United States.
basketball coach basketball player
Jones, Popeye was born on June 17, 1970 in Dresden, Tennessee, United States.
Student, Murray State College, 1992.
Born in Dresden, Tennessee, Jones played college basketball for Murray State University. Jones was honored as the OVC"s Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992. He is one of only seven Moscow State University men"s basketball players to have his jersey retired, his number 54 hangs in the rafters of the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Jones ranks fourth on Murray State"s all-time scoring list with 2,057 points.
He is also Murray State"s all-time leader in rebounds with 1,374, and led the nation in that category in the 1990-1991 season. He is the only player in Murray State history to record more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
After college, he was selected by the Houston Rockets in the second round (41st overall) of the 1992 National Basketball Association Draft but his rights were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for those of former University of Michigan center Eric Riley. After playing professionally in Europe for a season, he played for the Mavericks for three seasons until being traded to the Toronto Raptors for Riley"s former Michigan Wolverines teammate, shooting guard Jimmy King.
Jones also played with the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors.
He had a second stint with the Mavericks during the 2002-2003 season, but played in only 26 of 82 games. His best season was in 1995-1996 with the Mavericks when he averaged 11.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game while making 14 of 39 three-point attempts, after averaging 10.3 points and 10.6 rebounds the previous year. He holds per game averages of 7.0 points and 7.4 rebounds.
He once secured 28 rebounds in a single game for the Mavericks in the 1995-1996 campaign, still a team record.
On August 14, 2013, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers. His nickname, Popeye, comes from the popular cartoon.
His mother chose the name once they got back from the hospital and Popeye was on television Jones" son, Seth, was a promising ice hockey prospect who was drafted in the 1st round of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. He was taken 11th overall by the Everett Silvertips.
Seth was then taken with the #4 overall pick in the 2013 National Hockey League Draft by the Nashville Predators.
He had a successful first season in 2013-2014 as a defenseman for the Predators, becoming one of few African Americans to have played in the National Hockey League. Seth was Traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 6, 2016. Jones" younger son Caleb was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round, #117 overall, in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft.
Married Amy Jones; children: Justic, Seth, Caleb.