UTC guard Casey Jones blocks a shot by Western Carolina guard Haboubacar Mutombo during Saturday’s game at McKenzie Arena. Jones scored 19 points, his season high, as the Mocs won 77-65.Although Casey Jones has gone through a bit of a revolution as a player, sometimes it’s good to have a flashback.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior forward had that moment Jan. 28 at East Tennessee State University, when he drove the lane and flushed down a fierce one-handed slam. Although the Mocs lost the game by five, something seems to have changed inside the mind of Jones since then.
After playing somewhat tentative at times as he dealt with a dislocated ankle that cost him last season and an injury to the other ankle that has slowed him at times this season, lately Jones has been more aggressive and has more bounce in his step – as well as his explosion.
“I’m so proud of him,” UTC coach Matt McCall said. “What he went through is not easy, so to think he’s back and playing at this level I think he felt after the ETSU game, ‘It’s time.’ Time for him to trust his body, time to play, time to cut loose. The defining moment for him was the dunk at ETSU.
“I couldn’t be happier for him. He put his heart and soul in the program. I’m his third head coach. It’s going to take a while for his timing, but you can see he’s back, he’s in a good place, and our team’s on a different level when he plays like this.”
Jones said the dunk against ETSU “let him know he could do it.” He reaffirmed that thought with a similar slam in Saturday’s home win over Western Carolina, but one of his biggest improvements has been in his shooting. Mostly a slasher early in his career, Jones has added a 3-pointer to his repertoire, with 11 made shots from long range this season after entering the year with eight career 3-pointers.
He had two in a season-high 19-point performance against the Catamounts.
Some of that confidence comes from teammates being hard on him. Jones said seniors Tre’ McLean, Greg Pryor and Justin Tuoyo would make him do pushups if he passed up an open look in practice, which has given him the confidence to take those shots in games.
“Since the ETSU loss, he’s been great in practice with his energy and mentality,” McLean said. “He’s back to the Casey Jones we expected. In the ETSU game when he dunked the ball, I said, ‘He’s back. He’s the Casey Jones everyone got to know, and it’s great to see him like that again, out there getting to the lane, dunking the ball, expanding his game and knocking down some tre-balls for us, so it’s great to see him back.”
Already in line to go down as one of the greatest UTC players ever, Jones has chosen to be carefree in his final season and not worry about anything else. He was one of the most vocal players after the team’s loss to ETSU, and he has backed that up with his play the past two games, scrapping on the floor for loose balls and battling on the boards.
“Coach has told me to stop worrying about it (the injury),” Jones said. “He said, ‘If you get hurt, you’re going to be successful in whatever you choose to do because you’re a great person.’ That’s what I take from him.
“It’s going to be alright. After that dunk, I forgot about the ankles, the injuries, all that stuff.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.