Cal State Fullerton Notebook : Jones Works, Waits and Hopes to Play Again

Nearly every time the Cal State Fullerton basketball team plays, Derek Jones is listening in by radio.

Until the end of last August, Jones expected to be on the court with the Titans. But on Aug. 30, he was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in front of his home in Long Beach. The basketball season, it seemed clear, was out of the question, and a more difficult struggle was ahead.

Jones, who has been out of school both semesters, is undergoing rehabilitation and has begun to work on his basketball skills in the hope that he will be able to play again.

The Titans, meanwhile, have struggled through a dismal season. They have won just 6 of 21 games and haven’t won a game on the road in 12 attempts.

Titan Coach George McQuarn says there is “no question” that Jones’ absence has been a factor in the Titans’ difficult season. With him, Fullerton would have had another scorer to complement Richard Morton and Henry Turner. Although Jones averaged only 8.7 points a game last season in a starting role, he was capable of big games. Against UC Irvine in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament, he scored a career-high 22 points.

It hasn’t always been easy for Jones to listen to the games.

“I thought they were going to do a lot better than they’re doing,” he said. “They’ve lost a lot that could have been anybody’s game. It’s been pretty disappointing.”

Jones got to see his teammates play at Cal State Long Beach in January, and he has watched them on television whenever games have been telecast.

Whether Jones will have an opportunity to play for the Titans again--even if he is physically able--is up to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Players are allowed five years to play four seasons, and this was Jones’ fifth year. Fullerton soon will apply to the NCAA to have Jones’ eligibility restored.

In the meantime, Jones is working on his skills at a gym near his home in Long Beach.

The injuries were to Jones’ left side, his arm in particular. Although he has made considerable progress--for the first few weeks he had no use of his left arm--he still has no function in his ring finger and pinkie and may still require additional surgery to remove a buildup of scar tissue on the ulnar nerve in his forearm.

To add to the difficulty, Jones is left-handed.

At the gym, he doesn’t try to play in pickup games, but he works on fundamentals--shooting and ballhandling.

“My jumper, believe it or not, has improved,” Jones said. “I guess I was holding the ball wrong before. Now I’m not strong enough to palm it, and I have to use more wrist action.”

Handling the ball is more difficult.

“Sometimes the ball hits my hand and I won’t feel it. I begin to fumble and I have to look down and pick it up.”

In addition to the physical rehabilitation, Jones said he had seen a psychiatrist to help him deal with the incident, which is still unsolved, and his condition.

“Trying to get back for basketball has taken a lot of my anger away,” Jones said. “It gets my mind off what happened and who did it.”

He remains skittish about being out in the open in his Long Beach neighborhood.

“I’m very leery. I never have my back to the street. I always have my back to the wall. I don’t really hang out in front of my house anymore.”

He understands that this season has all but passed. His chance to play with Morton, Turner, Eugene Jackson, Vincent Blow and Oval Miller--all seniors--is in the past.

“We were looking forward to playing with each other this year,” Jones said. “We could have had a nice team.”

Now he works on his skills and hopes to have the opportunity to use them for Fullerton again.

“(The NCAA ruling) is in the back of my mind,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about it too much. It might take my mind off what I’m doing, what I’m trying to achieve.”

How will he respond if his eligibility is not restored?

“It’s hard to say. Mentally, I’d be devastated. It’s been my dream to play college ball, and maybe have a chance at the next level. For it not to happen because of an incident beyond my control. . . It would be hard to say. I wouldn’t know how to handle it right off.”

Benson Williams began the season as the Titans’ 13th man, a late walk-on still recovering from a serious knee injury who would be almost exclusively a practice player. He didn’t even get into a game until Feb. 6, when he played one minute against UC Irvine.

Now, in the late stages of a dismal Titan season, Williams has become a factor in Fullerton’s plans. He hit two quick jump shots last Thursday against Nevada Las Vegas.

For the Titans, who are desperately in need of scoring from someone other than Morton or Turner, that was cause enough to take a good, hard look.

The next day, the Titans spent most of their practice defining a role for Williams, McQuarn said.

“Ben at least can shoot the ball,” McQuarn said, adding that Williams “absolutely” will get substantially more playing time.

Williams, a 6-7 forward, is a transfer from the University of Illinois Chicago. Because of his knee, his mobility is limited and he is something of a defensive liability. But if he can score, that’s reason enough for the Titans to put him on the court.

Titan Notes

Eli Rodriguez of the men’s gymnastics team dislocated his elbow in practice recently and will be out for three to four weeks. The men’s gymnastics team (6-5) will compete against California and San Jose State Friday in Berkeley.