MACCC Sports Hall of Fame

FIRST ROUND NBA DRAFT PICK JONES TO REPRESENT NORTHEAST AT MACCC HALL OF FAME

Dontae’ Jones can add yet another accolade to a long list of accomplishments that have stemmed from his outstanding basketball career.

Jones was selected as Northeast Mississippi Community College’s representative for the 2022 class of the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Sports Hall of Fame.

“We are thankful for student-athletes such as Dontae’ Jones,” said Northeast president Dr. Ricky Ford. “Dontae’ helped solidify the great tradition of basketball at Northeast. He created an environment that was contagious with fans, students and teammates.”

Jones is the sixth member of the men’s basketball program to enter the MACCC Sports Hall of Fame and just the third player alongside fellow National Basketball Association (NBA) alumnus Adrian “Odie” Smith and Ken Lindsey.

Former Northeast head coaches Bonner Arnold, Harvey Childers and Mike Lewis are part of that distinguished group as well. Lewis instructed Jones during his tenure with the Tigers.

The list of awards for Jones runs long. He was named to the Northeast Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and earlier that year was part of the Allstate Southeastern Conference (SEC) Basketball Legends Class.

Jones was a two-time all-conference recipient for the Tigers from 1993-95. He also earned All-Region 23 and All-American honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

He completed his amateur career at Mississippi State University. Jones was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Southeast Regional in 1996.

The Nashville, Tenn., native skipped his senior campaign with the Bulldogs and declared for the 1996 NBA Draft. The New York Knicks chose Jones with the 21st overall pick in the first round.

He was a winner at each destination. Jones’ teams won conference championships during all three seasons at the collegiate level and Mississippi State made its first and only NCAA Final Four appearance with his help.

Jones led Northeast to a 51-14 cumulative record over

the course of two campaigns. He also guided the Tigers to their seventh all-time NJCAA Division I National Tournament berth as a sophomore.

It was in Hutchinson, Kan., that Jones cemented his legacy with the Tigers. He recorded three double-doubles, including 24 points and 21 rebounds against Vincennes (Ind.) University in the consolation bracket semifinals, to receive a spot on the all-tournament team.

Jones averaged a double-double during both of his years at Northeast. He posted 25.2 points plus 11.2 rebounds as a freshman and then increased that to 28.7 points plus 13.3 boards in his final season.

The 917 points that Jones scored during the 1994-95 campaign is the second most in a single season in program history behind Vincent Del Negro’s 1,022 points in 1959-60.

His statistical totals with the Tigers included 1,648 points, 751 rebounds and 111 assists. Jones was a 62.6 percent free throw shooter and made a stellar 50 percent of his attempts from the field.

Jones accumulated 21.3 points in victories over Auburn (Ala.) University, the University of Georgia and the topranked team in the country in the University of Kentucky to lead the Bulldogs to their inaugural SEC Tournament crown inside the Superdome.

Mississippi State captured the NCAA Southeast Regional behind 15 points per game from Jones over four wins, including an Elite Eight triumph over the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena.

Jones accounted for 16 points, which was second most on the team, in the Bulldogs’ NCAA Final Four loss to Syracuse (N.Y.) University in East Rutherford, N.J., at the Continental Airlines Arena.

His professional career spanned more than a decade between the NBA and international organizations. Jones’ career-high in the NBA was 15 points in a victory by the Boston Celtics over Golden State on February 27, 1998.

Jones played overseas in China, Greece, Italy, Korea and Turkey. He was the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) individual scoring champion in 2008 with an average of 32.3 points for the Yunnan Bulls.

He remains involved in the sport and uses it as a way to mentor young men in his hometown.