Hall of Fame Class of 2020: The case for Tyrone Jones

Every week leading up to the reveal of the nominees for the Class of 2020 for the Ultimate Hoops Hall of Fame, we’ll feature a possible candidate for the upcoming induction class. None of these articles will focus on anyone who has already been nominated for the Hall of Fame but has yet to be inducted. If you want to learn more about those candidates, you can visit the Hall of Fame section of our blog.

Today we’re focusing on UH Arizona veteran Tyrone Jones.

The case for Jones

There are plenty of reasons why Jones should be considered for the Hall of Fame. The first one that comes to mind is that you can’t tell the history of UH Arizona without talking about Jones. He started playing in the Scottsdale Open League in the Spring of 2009, which was the second season of Ultimate Hoops basketball in Arizona. He was one of the best players in the league in that first year, as he averaged 25.2 points and 8.3 rebounds on 61% shooting from the field in his three seasons in 2009, winning a title in the spring, his first season in UH.

Jones has been a consistent presence in Arizona since 2009, playing in 366 career games. He’s still playing in 2020, as he had 17/10/7 in the first game of the Scottsdale Rec League this season.

He has put up career averages of 20.2/9.2/5.3 while shooting 58% from the field. He’s been consistently efficient from the field in all of the divisions he’s played in as well:

Draft: 53% in 104 games

National Tournaments: 52% in 28 games

Open: 61% in 216 games

Vet: 51% in 17 games

All of the numbers and all of the efficiency have added up to eight championships, all of which have come in open leagues.

The other aspect that adds to Jones’ Hall of Fame resume is his work as a trainer. Jones has been a trainer for almost five years, which adds to his value to Ultimate Hoops and shows the passion he has for UH and the game of basketball. He’s been playing for over 10 years, and he’s been training and teaching younger players to grow their love for the game of basketball for almost five. That’s a double-edged sword of exemplifying what it means to Never Retire.

The case against Jones

The Arizona logjam is for real, and it’s hard to imagine more than two candidates from Arizona getting nominated, let alone getting inducted. I’d say Brandon Walker is a lock to be nominated for the third straight year, which leaves possibly one spot for Jones, Fred Dudley, Donald Didlake or any one else from the region.

I do think Jones’ work as a trainer significantly boosts his chance to get nominated. His dedication at the national level is also very impressive, as he’s played in 28 games in seven different tournaments, boasting a 15-13 record.

I’d put him on the outside looking in of this year’s nominees, but if one or two candidates from Arizona gets inducted this year, it’ll help clear up space for the multiple deserving candidates from the region for the next few years.