He’s King of the Lions’ Court : Although Wyking Jones Continues to Impress With His Improved Play, Loyola Marymount’s Losing Streak Is a Source of Frustration

He has been playing the best basketball of his life, but Wyking Jones refuses to be satisfied with any part of his game.

Not with his 62% shooting, which ranks among the nation’s best.

Not with his 17.3 scoring average, which leads Loyola Marymount.

Not even with his emerging confidence, which was lacking in two previous seasons.

As long as Loyola (0-9) continues to lose, Jones will remain one unhappy fella.

“The way I see it, if I get 25 points and we lose, I’m not going to be happy about that,” he said. “I’m never going to be 100% satisfied with any performance that I give.”

Monday’s 92-91 overtime loss to Fairfield was especially hard for Jones to handle. After the game, the 6-foot-7 junior forward went back to his room on the Westchester campus and tried to tune out the world.

“I was out of it,” he said. “Mentally I was very distraught. I just didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to talk to anyone on the phone or see anyone. It’s always tough to sleep after the game. I try not to think about it, but it’s hard.”

The postgame blues have become a regular part of Jones’ life as a college athlete. Loyola has not won since Jan. 30 of last season, and its 19-game losing streak is currently the longest among Division I teams.

But any frustration Jones feels after a loss is gone by the time he returns to the court. Despite Loyola’s string of failures, he said the players haven’t gotten down on themselves.

“Everyone tries to stay positive,” he said. “If we put our heads down and feel as though we’re losers, then we’re never going to win. We just have to keep working and giving 100%.”

By all accounts, Jones is doing his part. The former St. Bernard High standout leads Loyola in scoring, field-goal shooting (57 of 92), rebounds (42), blocked shots (10) and minutes played. He leads West Coast Conference players in field-goal percentage and ranks in the top four in scoring and blocked shots.

In back-to-back games last month against UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State, Jones totaled 51 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and made 19 of 27 shots.

Jones’ emergence after two uneventful seasons as a Lion reserve--he started only four of 51 games and averaged 3.5 points--hasn’t come as a surprise to second-year Coach John Olive.

Olive said Jones worked harder than any Loyola player last summer and has become a team leader by example, despite a quiet, unassuming manner.

“If he doesn’t have the personality (to be a leader), he definitely has the work ethic for it,” Olive said.

Because senior forward Zan Mason is sidelined indefinitely because of torn knee ligaments, Olive said Jones will have to shoulder more responsibility.

“He’s obviously our No. 1 option inside and he’s responded,” Olive said. “We have gone to him a number of times in the last few games and he’s done a good job of getting baskets down the stretch.”

Jones credits his improvement to maturing mentally more than physically. During his first two seasons at Loyola, he was often unsure of himself and lacked confidence in games.

“I could have easily had the type of season I’m having now last year,” Jones said. “But my focus wasn’t there. Last year I would get it every now and again, but it wasn’t consistent. It’s all confidence; being sure about what you’re doing out there and knowing that you can make something positive happen.

“I think all players go through that. I think confidence is a very big part of a guy’s

success or failure.”

Jones seemed destined for success after an impressive prep career at St. Bernard, where was affectionately known as Wyking the Viking, a reference to the school’s nickname. He backed up former Arizona center Ed Stokes as a sophomore and led the team in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior, earning All-Southern Section honors both seasons.

When recruiters came calling, Jones’ first instinct was to get away from Los Angeles, despite the fact he was a Loyola ball boy for the 1985-86 and 1986-87 basketball teams.

But he decided to sign with the Lions and stay close to his family in Inglewood after his stepfather, Luther Harper, was found to have cancer.

“When my dad got sick, I felt that I had to stay home,” said Jones, who picked the Lions over Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara.

Harper died shortly before Jones’ freshman season at Loyola, leaving Jones as sort of a surrogate father to his five younger brothers and sister.

“I take my little brothers to the movies and to the park,” he said. “We have a good time together.”

Jones also enjoys the company of his Loyola teammates, who, in a show of solidarity, have all shaved their heads for tonight’s 7:30 game against the University of Buffalo (4-8) at Gersten Pavilion. The look was first adopted earlier this season by freshman point guard Jimmy Harris.

Olive has helped promote the team’s togetherness, Jones said, by having meetings that allow the players and coaches to express their feelings.

“We have a lot of heart-to-heart talks,” Jones said. “It brings out everyone’s frustrations. I think it helps bring things out in the open.

“Coach Olive always stresses the little things. Before, I don’t think we paid as much attention to him when he told us that. Now everyone realizes that it is the little things that make the difference. In the past few games, it’s been letting the other team get offensive rebounds. Or a silly foul. We’re all starting to realize it is the little things.”

With Jones leading the way, Loyola has come close to ending its losing streak in recent games. The Lions’ last three losses, including two in overtime, have been by a total of seven points.

Rather than become discouraged, an optimistic Jones thinks Loyola is on the verge of turning its season around.

“I have a strange feeling that once we win that first game, everyone’s confidence will be boosted so much that we’ll get it going a little bit,” he said. “It will be like getting the monkey off our backs. We’ll be a little more confident, a little more loose.”

In other words, a little bit more like Wyking Jones is playing.