Avondre Jones Looks to Rebound From Turbulent Year

Avondre Jones had been through the recruiting process before.

But Jones didn’t know what to expect when he was granted a release from his basketball scholarship at USC earlier this month after a troublesome freshman season.

Thus far, interest in the 6-foot-11 center has been comparable to his senior year at Artesia High in 1993 when he was sought by nearly 100 universities.

“Not as many letters, but a lot of calls,” Jones said.

His mother, Virginia Ruffin, bracing for the deluge, changed the family’s home telephone number shortly before Jones’ decision to leave USC was announced.

“Recruiting was a very hard time for us,” Ruffin said. “We changed the phone number so we would not have to go through it again.”

An unlisted number, though, hasn’t stopped calls from some coaches. Others have resorted to calling Ruffin at work. Tranquillity, however, should be restored soon.

Jones, 19, who will play for the West team in the U.S. Olympic Festival in St. Louis on July 2-5, expects to make his decision early next month.

Jones has narrowed his choices to Missouri and Michigan, schools he considered before committing to USC, along with Louisville and Iowa.

“It feels good to know I’m wanted,” Jones said. “I didn’t know what the reaction would be when I left. I just want to start all over again. It’s good to know people understand what happened.”

Jones, who is playing in the Say No Classic summer league at Trade Tech, can’t pinpoint what went wrong at USC, but said he decided to transfer mostly because of lack of playing time.

“I considered the year a total waste,” Jones said. “I didn’t mind not starting when the season began and it wasn’t a big deal. I thought it would change as the season went along but it really didn’t change at all.”

Jones was touted as the first dominant center in eight seasons at USC for Coach George Raveling after averaging 21.2 points and 11.7 rebounds as a senior in leading Artesia to its third State Division II title in four seasons.

But that scenario never materialized at USC.

Jones started only one of 25 games, averaging 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13 minutes per game for the Trojans, which finished 16-12. He fouled out of one game at Stanford in five minutes without scoring.

“I felt like the (USC coaches) were looking over my shoulder and every mistake I made, I was coming out of the game,” Jones said. “I was thinking about that instead of playing my game. I could never get into the flow. Raveling wasn’t the bad guy, I expected to get yelled at during games. I just didn’t see the message of it.”

There were also problems off the court.

Jones was suspended twice, once from the first-round Fresno State game in the National Invitational Tournament, for missing practice and a team meeting.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would handle some situations differently,” Raveling said. “I thought he would play more as the season progressed but things just didn’t work out. There is not always immediate gratification in this society. There are rules. Patience is rewarded over time. I think he needs to realize that.”

It was a chance Jones was not willing to take.

“(Raveling) told me they don’t see any reason why I would want to leave because things were going to get better,” Jones said. “I’m thinking they told me the same thing last year. I had one bad year and I couldn’t afford to risk another one if I am going to do something with basketball.”

Jones, who finished summer school classes at USC this week, decided in late May to leave after receiving support from his parents, former Artesia teammate Charles O’Bannon, now at USC, and Artesia Coach Wayne Merino.

Raveling met with Jones and his parents before agreeing to the release. Both Jones and Raveling said the parting was not adversarial. Jones retains three years of eligibility but must sit out a season because of NCAA regulations.

Jones strongly considered joining O’Bannon at UCLA before signing with the Trojans and expressed desire to attend UCLA if it were not for stringent Pacific 10 transfer regulations.

The conference requires a player transferring to schools within the conference to sit out two seasons and relinquish two years of athletic eligibility. Under that rule, Jones could play only one more season.

“As far as big men, I still feel I can play with anybody in the Pac 10 but I didn’t see any future at USC,” Jones said. “It didn’t make any sense to be watching while somebody else was playing and getting better.”