How taking a chance on a young Jaden Jones paid off for Bald Eagle Area boys’ basketball
Jaden Jones knew where he was going when he scored his 1,000th point.
The Bald Eagle Area senior strolled past his coach Bill Butterworth and straight to one of his biggest fans: Bill’s wife, Sue.
“He got to me,” Bill said with a smile. “He walked right by me and hugged my wife before he hugged me because she’s our biggest fan.”
Jones became the sixth boys’ basketball player in Bald Eagle Area history to eclipse the thousand point mark when he did so against Bucktail on Jan. 20. The senior guard couldn’t contain his emotion once he met the mark, running to Sue because of how important she’s been to the Bald Eagle boys’ basketball family.
The way that Jones fit into the family culture Bill created within the boys’ basketball program — one that extended even to Bill’s own family members — is what the coach says he’ll remember most about Jones’ journey to the 1,000 points.
“I looked forward to basketball with him,” Butterworth said. “I enjoyed him coming into the gym because he brought a lot of life and a lot of enthusiasm. He talks to everybody. The little kids go by, and even my grandsons, and they think the world of him. He’s made an impact on me, my family, everybody else’s families, and the kids in this program.”
The senior guard has come a long way with Butterworth and the rest of the Bald Eagle program. He’s been an integral part of the team for four years. Butterworth was the only coach who had faith in Jones when he was only a freshman in high school, and that went a long way in giving the then-ninth-grader the confidence he needed to succeed in the sport.
“He was the only coach that had trust in me as a ninth grader to play varsity,” Jones said. “He was the coach that gave me a shot at that age. Then (that belief) carries and it builds to where we are now. You couldn’t ask for a better coach.”
While Jones came up to the varsity team in ninth grade, but he was good enough to earn a call-up a year prior.
When he was in eighth grade, Jones was shooting around at Bald Eagle when Butterworth took notice across the gym. Jones was hitting so many shots and playing well enough in a practice that the Bald Eagle head coach grew frustrated. He couldn’t understand why a student with that much basketball talent wasn’t playing for the varsity team, so he went over to find out.
“The first practice we had in eighth grade was in the back gym,” Jones said. “He walked back and asked me why I wasn’t coming up. I had to tell him I wasn’t allowed to because I was only in eighth grade.”
That set the course for a player who will likely finish as the school’s second all-time leading scorer. He may not have seen an excessive amount of team success in his four-year career, but that never deterred Jones.
He was always doing his best to involve his teammates. He did his best to avoid forcing shots and continued to make the right pass, even if he was passing up a good shot for himself, to get a great shot for a teammate.
Butterworth commended Jones for his passing and unselfishness. Plenty of players have chased 1,000 points relentlessly, even if it wasn’t always great for the team, but that was never a concern for Jones. In fact, Butterworth was worried he wasn’t going to get to the milestone because he moved the ball so much.
“When he was getting close to 1,000 I was more worried about him passing and not trying to score,” Butterworth said with a laugh. “If anyone’s not going to get it because they’re being unselfish and looking for the open guy, it’s going to be him.”
With his 1,000 point milestone behind him, Jones’ high school hoops career is coming to a close. The multisport athlete already ended his high school football career by helping to take Bald Eagle Area to the program’s first-ever state semifinal appearance as the team’s quarterback and will have a chance to end his baseball career with success as well. It’s easy to assume Jones, who set plenty of Bald Eagle records as a quarterback on the gridiron, would move on to college and play football.
As of now, that’s not the plan. Jones is a basketball player at heart and can’t give up his undying love for the game. It was instilled in him by his grandfather at a young age, and that’s something he carries with him on the court.
“My pap passed away in August of my 10th grade year,” Jones said. “He got me to love the sport. Everyone always asked me why I always wear wrist tape on one hand. I’ve taped it ever since he passed away and written his initials and the date he was born and the date he died.”
Reaching his 1,000th career point is Jones’ favorite athletic memory. He just wishes his grandfather, the man who inspired him to love the sport as much as he did, could have been a part of it.
“Doing this, it just meant,” Jones said, his voice trailing off as he remembered the man who brought basketball into his life. “I just wanted him to be here for it. We talked about it for so long.”
His love of the game is likely to lead him to the hardwood in college. He’s undecided on where he’ll attend school, but knows he’ll do so. Once he gets to his college of choice, one thing is for certain. Jones plans on finding his way onto the basketball team, whether that’s through a tryout or some type of scholarship.
Wherever his basketball career takes him, the senior guard will leave Bald Eagle Area as one of its most successful players in school history. But at the end of the day, that’s not what matters to Jones. He only cares about the impact he’s had and his ability to help others achieve their goals.
“I talk to the junior high kids and I like talking to them,” Jones said. “I like being that mentor. When I was that age I didn’t have that. That’s one of the biggest things. The biggest thing I carry myself on is being a good person.
“That’s the biggest thing my two grandparents pushed for,” he continued. “To always be a nice person.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
