He’s Got a Serious Basketball Jones

Have gun, won’t travel.

That might as well top UC Irvine sharpshooter Ben Jones’ resume right now. No, he hasn’t wandered through the revolving door that seems to go in motion every spring with the Anteater basketball program.

But Jones, a 6-foot-7 forward, finds himself in need of a summer league team. He intended on playing this summer, but those plans changed when he dislocated his right elbow playing in a pick-up game May 14.

“They told me I wouldn’t be able to play until August,” said Jones, who averaged 9.4 points last season. “So I told the guy I was going to play for that I was out.

“It’s still a little stiff, but it healed a lot faster and now I need someone to play for.”

Jones will scour the Just Say No Summer League at West Los Angeles College, looking for a roster spot.

“I really found out how much I loved basketball while I was out,” he said.

That can get a little lost with trying to rebuild from disaster. The Anteaters were 1-25 in 1996-97 but have made slow progress since Coach Pat Douglass was hired. Irvine is 15-38 in two seasons under Douglass.

Jones, who was Douglass’ favorite target in practice at times last season. He can vanish one game, then his shooting can carry the team the next, as it did when the Anteaters upset New Mexico State in Las Cruces two years ago. Last season, though, his high points came in losses to Oregon State and Arizona.

Still, he shot 39% from three-point range last season, ranking him sixth in the conference. But his overall game is still a work in progress. Jones has worked on going to the basket more.

He was attempting to do just that on May 14.

“I was going up for a basket and got hit high,” Jones said. “My feet went up and my head went down. I put my arm out to catch my fall.”

Such intensity in a pick-up game?

“Well, it was game point,” Jones said. “I thought I had broken my arm at first. It was just hanging there.”

It took less than two months to rehabilitate the injury. He was lifting weights five days a week by late June and is playing pick-up games on campus with the other Anteater players three days a week.

“I’m already getting excited for next season,” Jones said. “Everyone is getting bigger. I think we’re going to be a lot better.”

Jones, who was a Times All-Orange County first-team selection at Sonora High, has 99 three-pointers in his first two seasons. It puts him about on pace for Jeff Herdman’s school record of 201.

That record might not be in his future. Jones, a junior next season, will likely play a smaller role in the offense. Sean Jackson, a 6-5 transfer from California, can play the wing, either as the off-guard or small forward. Adam Stetson, a 6-7 senior, can also play the wing.

LOCALS HONORED

Outfielder Aaron Rifkin, who helped Cal State Fullerton reach the College World Series this year, has been named to the Jewish Sports Review’s College Baseball Division I All-American team.

Rifkin, a sophomore, batted .384 with three home runs, 36 runs batted in. He was an All-Big West Conference first-team selection. Rifkin, who is from Fontana, batted .416 as a freshman for Chapman before transferring to Fullerton.

Chapman pitcher Jeff Blitstein was named to the Jewish Sports Review’s college division All-American team. Blitstein had a 13-1 record with a 1.31 earned-run average in leading the Panthers to the NCAA Division III West Regional title game.

The senior right-hander from Aurora, Colo., was drafted in the 39th round by the Houston Astros.

In softball, Stephanie Carew, a senior first baseman at Chapman last season, was named to the Jewish Sports Review’s college division first team.

Carew, daughter of Angel hitting coach and Hall of Famer Rod Carew, batted .515 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs. Chapman lost in the Division III championship game. Carew was named to the all-tournament team. She was also a first-team All-American.

PERFECTOS

Eight college sports teams finished their 1998-99 seasons with perfect records, including the women’s volleyball team at Long Beach State. The 49ers were 36-0 in winning the Division I title.

The other teams: Northwest Missouri State, Division II football (15-0); Mount Union, Division III football (14-0); Washington (Mo.), Division III women’s basketball (30-0); Maryland, National Collegiate women’s lacrosse (21-0); Middlebury, Division III women’s lacrosse (17-0); Brigham Young Hawaii, Division II women’s tennis (31-0), and Amherst, Division III women’s tennis (20-0).

DIG THIS

The UCI Men’s Volleyball Support Group, made up of several local businessmen, will hold a benefit for the Anteater program at at 5 p.m. Friday at the Balboa Bay Club.

The event, which will include a dinner and entertainment, costs $30 with the money going to the volleyball team’s scholarship fund. Tickets can only be purchased in advance.

For more information, call (949) 642-4363.

Staff writer Bob Rohwer contributed to this story.