He’s All-Round Success for Westchester : High schools: Whether in track, football or basketball, Albert Jones has done a bit of everything.

The first time Westchester High senior Albert Jones attempted the high jump, he cleared 6 feet. When his coach asked him to run 100 yards, Jones quickly found himself on the sprint relay team.

To keep in shape during the winter, Jones went out for basketball. A reserve most of the season, the senior came off the bench in the City 4-A Division final and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds to help lead Westchester to its first title.

A newcomer on the football team last fall, Jones soon got the nickname, “Mr. Versatility,” for his ability to play a variety of positions. Although listed as wide receiver, he also filled in at quarterback and tight end, occasionally started at defensive back, handled kick-return duties and was the punter.

All this was accomplished in his first year at Westchester after transferring from St. Monica High in Santa Monica.

“That kid hasn’t even tapped his potential,” said Howard Smith, Westchester’s veteran track and field coach. “If I had had that kid for a couple of years, he’d probably be winning City titles. His capabilities are unreal.”

Jones, 17, may be the best all-around City athlete nobody has ever heard of. An untimely transfer caused him to become lost in the shuffle and scared off most of the major college football recruiters. He signed a letter of intent to attend the University of New Mexico, where he expects to start at receiver next season on a team that has struggled in the Western Athletic Conference.

“If he would have stayed at St. Monica for his senior season, he would have had his pick of colleges,” said Angelo Jackson, a former football coach at the school. “Notre Dame expressed a lot of interest in him his junior year, as did most of the big schools. When he left, I think they got nervous that he was behind on credits and wouldn’t graduate on time.

“I know he has the capabilities of playing anywhere. He’s been ahead of his time since he was a little kid.”

Jones is part of a fading breed of three-sport athletes, but his yearning to sample different sports has not been easy.

“Being a versatile and gifted athlete sometimes results in a tug-of-war among coaches,” said C. Renae-Jones, Albert’s mother. “Albert often was used as a ploy to see who’d get him, and I worked hard to not let that happen. I didn’t want my son used solely for his athletic ability.”

Jones is an only child, whose parents divorced when he was 7. His father, also Albert Jones, lives in another state and does not keep in touch. Young Albert has been raised under the strict guardianship of his mother, who kept him in Catholic schools until this past year.

Renae-Jones worked as a peace officer for the Southern Reception Center and Clinic, a California Youth Authority center in Norwalk, until an accident forced her on disability leave two years ago. With her salary cut, she was forced to withdraw Albert from St. Monica because of the high tuition costs.

Jones enrolled at Westchester, his neighborhood school, last spring, and for the first time in many years he did not go out for a sport. Instead, he spent idle time trying to make friends. He joined the school choir and sang in the spring concert.

Aside from the social difficulties of transferring late in his high school career, Jones also encountered problems on the football field. Several preseason articles tabbed him as one of the top recruits in the Southland last fall, creating jealousy among new teammates.

“For the first time in Albert’s life, his biggest battle on the field was not catching the football and running over tacklers,” Renae-Jones said. “He found himself trying to be accepted as part of the team. One time, he faked an injury so another kid could play. Once people got to know him, though, they liked him, and things got better.”

Jones, 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds, separated his shoulder in the first game of the season and missed the next three games. When he returned, he filled in for the team’s injured quarterback and impressed Coach Larry Wein so much that he was being considered as a permanent replacement. Asked to fill a variety of roles, Jones seldom left the field during games.

“It’s a shame more kids aren’t versatile athletes like Albert,” Wein said. “Kids used to try more sports, but they’ve become so specialized now. Albert expressed interest during the football season about playing basketball. Heck, I encouraged him. I want my players to try a lot of other things. That’s what high school sports is all about.”

Westchester is a traditional power in basketball, and most of the varsity players had been together while growing up. Jones, a forward, did not start, but he was a regular substitute and provided leadership.

His rebounding performance in the City championship encouraged Jones to the point that he is considering asking New Mexico football Coach Mike Sheppard if he could play basketball after football.

“Football is my ticket, but basketball is probably my favorite,” Jones said. “That’s probably because it’s the only sport I’ve ever won a team championship in.”

If Sheppard nixes the basketball idea, perhaps he will let his top recruit go out for track and field. Jones had never participated in the sport until Westchester’s Smith talked him into it this spring. With his speed--he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds--and leaping ability, Jones took an immediate liking to the high jump. He topped 6 feet in his first practice jump and has cleared 6-4 in a dual meet.

Jones also is on the 400-meter relay team and is about to earn a place on the 1,600-meter relay team. Westchester is favored to win the Coastal Conference.

“An athlete like Albert knows what to do,” Smith said. “He has those natural instincts, no matter what the sport. His concentration level is very good. I wish I had him around for a few more years.”

Athletics have played an important role in Jones’ life, and his mother has encouraged him to try different sports. As a single mother in South-Central Los Angeles, however, Renae-Jones did not want her son to rely on sports as his ticket out of town. She wanted athletics to enhance his education, so she made sure he became acquainted with the theater, classical music and literature. She even took him to a debutante ball.

“I never wanted Albert’s God-given athletic abilities to be his calling card,” she said. “I set up a college fund for him a long time ago so he wouldn’t have to rely on a scholarship for his future.”

But Renae-Jones recognized her son’s talents at an early age. When he was 6, she took Albert to the neighborhood park to play T-ball. He was voted most valuable player of the park, prompting one parent to ask her for Albert’s birth certificate to verify his age.

She later took him to the Crenshaw YMCA, where he played basketball with the older kids and took swimming lessons.

Jones started his high school career at Los Angeles Murphy, where he played basketball. When Jackson, a longtime family friend, landed a coaching job at St. Monica, Jones transferred to be with him. Eligibility guidelines forced him to sit out his sophomore football season, but he played basketball, baseball and volleyball.

Jones’ junior year marked his debut in organized football, and he was an instant success. St. Monica won the Camino Real League title, and Jones was voted to the All-Southern Section team.

Despite limited exposure, he was tabbed in several publications as a can’t-miss prospect. Florida State, Nebraska and Washington were among the schools that interested Jones the most.

The high school transfer didn’t help. Jones lost 30 credits because Westchester did not recognize religion classes. He also had not scored enough points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test to meet NCAA eligibility requirements. And his shoulder injury aggravated problems.

“We got a call from a coach in Kansas one night who said since Florida State could no longer recruit Albert, then they wanted to,” Renae-Jones said. “The guy said Florida State backed down because they heard he wasn’t eligible. That was an unfortunate rumor that just wasn’t true.”

Jones soon scored the necessary points on the SAT to avoid Proposition 48, and he will graduate on time this spring.

In the end, however, only New Mexico, Arizona State, Hawaii and Oregon were willing to take a chance. Jones said he chose New Mexico because the recruiters there seemed the most sincere.

“New Mexico got the biggest steal in all of Division I, if you ask me,” Jackson said. “They didn’t even recruit him heavily early on because they didn’t figure they had a chance.”

Before Jones leaves home for the first time, however, he has some unfinished business. He is considered a threat to win the City meet high jump; he is practicing for an all-star basketball game, and if he has time, he wants to try hockey.

“That may be my favorite sport,” Jones said. “I just don’t know that much about it yet. I’m sure I’d love it, though.”